SFO International Council - Weekly edition
Volume: 10 - N. 5 - 2004 - January - V
From: Koinonia, 2003, n. 3
Fr. Irudaya Samy, OFM Cap
(Part III)
The interconnectedness of the Franciscan Order is illustrated by the close relationship between the SFO and the First Order and the TOR. The entire Franciscan Family is called to live the charism of St. Francis. We are brothers and sisters within this one large Franciscan family.
It is important that the SFO not be presented as a poor substitute for those who really would like to be "Real Franciscans" but for one reason or another were not able to enter one of the regular Franciscan Orders
Professor Mariano Bigi, SFO, (National Minister of the SFO in Italy) addressed a meeting of Third Order Regular friars in 1979 who were meeting in Assisi to discuss the role of formation in the Order. Apparently, and only apparently, clarifying the secular quality of secular Franciscan Order has widened the gap between it and the First Order and Third Order Regular. To my way of thinking the following two points are fundamental: first, at its origin there is only one vocation to the Franciscan charism; and secondly, the co- responsibility for this charism before the Church and the world is one and the same for all its components. The differentiations, both legitimate and necessary, come later and in no way preclude or exclude one in relation to the other. In light of this, it can be said that the Franciscan charism is united and complementary and that it can and must be lived and actualised by religious, priests and laymen. [1] What he said at that time is still valid today.
There is only one Franciscan Family made up of all those who have the same common mission to perpetuate, in the Church and in the world, the charism of Saint Francis. These comments help us clarify some important aspects of formation of our friars for work with the Secular Franciscan Order:
The genuine concern of a Franciscan is to be a Franciscan, not just by the way we dress but by our way of life, which ought to be recognizable and recognized as such. This holds true equally for religious men and women and for the laity.
The offices we hold: parishs, hospitals, schools and missions do not qualify us as Franciscan; rather our being Franciscan should qualify our being pastors, chaplains, educators and missionaries and guide us in the way we embrace and accomplish these tasks. The chief concern must be to present ourselves as FRANCISCAN pastors, educators, Chaplains and missionaries. [2]
The Church entrusts the spiritual and pastoral care of the SFO to the Franciscan First Order and the TOR. This duty of service to the SFO is the responsibility of the Ministers General and Provincial of the First Order and the TOR. The purpose of this assistance is to guarantee that the SFO is faithful to the Franciscan charism, remains united with the Church and is in union with the whole Franciscan Family. There is mutuality in our relationship that makes this a loving service rather than an imposed duty.
Franciscan life is not solely about information. It is about becoming more and more Christ like becoming more and more those people God has created us to be. In this sense, then, formation should be about providing opportunities and encouragement of the friars to grow into their own Christ-likeness. We are convinced, of course, that this can be accomplished as the members embrace the Rule, Constitutions and Statutes of our respective Orders as they are lived out in our fraternities. Thus, we believe that as one embraces the fullness of the Franciscan charism and life style one enters into a way of life that leads to wholeness and holiness. To grow in our Franciscan identity is a means for us to become more those people God created us to be. In other word, the more Franciscan one becomes the more he grows into the image and likeness of Christ. This was the greatest and deepest experience of Francis himself
The attitude of being with the seculars, of inviting them to live their own vocation, should enter also in the formation programmes of the Friars. The Assistants, at all levels, should promote the interest of the Friars for the SFO. In their relations with the religious Ministers, they should underline that the attention to the SFO is a communion determining our lives, is a must and not just an optional activity. To fail to recognise this life-giving union with one another means to risk losing our identity, not only the identity the SFO, but also of the First Order.
The SFO has to be seen as a task, not only of the Assistant, but also of the whole Family, of all Friars. It is a question of winning back motivations, of recovering our fundamental identity. The General Ministers, Provincials and formation team of the First Order and the TOR should insist that there be room for the SFO in the formation of the Friars, in initial formation as well as in on-going formation. Once this attitude is integrated into the formation programme the basic question will be changed. The focus turns to one of identity and relationship. The more important questions in the formation are these: do you want to know Francis, his gift, his charism-are you ready to embrace the life based on the Gospel, nurtured by the fraternity, dedicated to the mission of the Church and enlivened by ongoing conversion of life. Our young student friars should be taught to know and live this particular dimension as their first commitment, and not as something added, secondary or incidental. Formation, after all, deals with the essential nature of identity, self-understanding and expression. In essence it is the way one becomes Human, Christian, Franciscan, Holy and Whole.
The Assistant has to call attention to the SFO during the visits of the Minister Generals and Provincials to their religious, to make the visit a moment where the religious Order can come into closer contact with the seculars. A letter of the General Ministers is not enough; the attitudes expressed in the documents should shape all aspects of the life of the Order. We should stress that no aspect of our life can escape from this communion with one another. It is not a question of talking about the SFO, but of talking with the SFO, to make the SFO speak to the Friars and with the Friars. The Assistants have the task to make this life-giving communion pass from words to facts.
The preferential field for Assistance, at this moment in history, is the first Order and the TOR. The Assistants should invest their energies in getting the Friars interested, in developing among the Friars a mature, informed vision on the place of the SFO in the Franciscan Family. The Assistants of the various Orders should together animate their Friars, not each separately for his own Order, but together, collegially, so that the specific experiences can bear fruit for the others.
The General Election Chapter of SFO 2002 in Rome, took up the recommendations of the Round Table discussions on this theme and expressed its deep awareness and conviction on the fact that we Franciscans, religious and lay, "exist as members of the same body." [3] Therefore, we are all integral parts of a single project where each Franciscan, in different ways and expressions but in mutual life-giving communion, share the same mission of bringing the charism of the common seraphic father St. Francis in the life and mission of the Church. It is necessary to work intensely so as to let this mutual awareness grow and be lived in fullness. The General Chapter suggested the following initiatives:
1. Promoting a permanent and intensive dialogue between the various branches of the Franciscan Family at all levels;
2. Proposing and supporting common initiatives and formation programmes within the Franciscan Family;
3. Promoting a true and substantial equality among all the branches of the Franciscan Family, underlining the common mission in its various forms and expressions. [4]
The Chapter reflected on the theme: "The mutual life-giving communion in the Franciscan Family". On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the approval of the Pauline Rule, the Presidency recommends that all Secular Franciscans and all Fraternities at every level around the world celebrate this Jubilee of our charism. During this time, JUNE 2003 - JUNE 2004, all are invited to take appropriate initiatives and to find the most suitable ways to celebrate and to live more intensely the mutual life-giving communion in the Franciscan Family.
I conclude this article by emphasizing what PASCHAL RYWALSKI, General Minister of OFM Cap., (1976- 1988), had written in one of the circular letters to his Capuchin Brothers:
A revival of the Secular fraternities goes hand in hand with our progress. I would further add that the quality and the vitality of the Secular Fraternities are the reflection of the vitality of your Provinces, because we advance and grow together.
The Lord has chosen us to be Franciscans by the power of the Holy Spirit, and he has given us a particular gift for the benefit of his people, the Church. Our Franciscan way of life is a precious gift and an involving mission. Therefore, we always seek life--giving collaboration and unity with the entire Franciscan Family. Let us support, encourage and appreciate one another. By committing ourselves to the gospel way of life, we become a living sacrifice of praise and thanks and a vibrant witness of the Good News for all to see and hear.
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