The 25^th Anniversary of the Rule of the SFO

The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, Inpiration Document for YOUFRA

The Rule: Document of Creativity

Presentation of a Series of Options

Presence and Mission

Formation

News

Philippines: Congress of Spiritual Assistants of Asia and Oceania

Philippines: Congress of the SFO in Asia and Oceania

The Rule: Document of Creativity

The SFO Rule is a document of inspiration to live the Gospel as Francis did without forgetting, as the Pope reminds us that, “each one is called by name, in the uniqueness of his personal history which cannot be repeated, to contribute to the coming of the Kingdom of God. No talent, not even the smallest, can remain hidden or unused”. [1]

Presentation of a Series of Options

It is not possible to think of YouFra separate from the SFO, just as it is difficult to think of the SFO being indifferent to YouFra. All the Fraternities of the SFO must feel the need to share their experience of evangelical life with the young people who “constitute an exceptional force and are a great challenge for the future of the Church” [2] - and for the SFO itself in so far as YouFra is the fruit of its own pastoral youth ministry and promotion of vocations. The future and creativity of the Church and of the SFO is reflected in the depth of the source of its being. They keep themselves fresh and alive when they address the present culture of youth, unstable - yes, but capable of being molded to and converted into the hope of a mature and loving future. It is necessary to lovingly maintain the hope and trust of young people as John, when he was an old man said: “I am writing to you, young men, because you have defeated the Evil one... I am writing to you young men, because you are strong, the Word of God lives in you, and you have defeated the Evil One” (I Jn 2:13-14).

The SFO has to present to young people the Franciscan way of life and help them to attain maturity in their vocation and in the plan of fraternal life with the joy with which Jesus looked at the young man of the Gospel (cf. Mk 10:21). It must try to help them discover new horizons and to grow “in wisdom, age and grace before God and men” (Lk 2:52). The Fraternities of the SFO should consider the members of YouFra not just as passive subjects in their vocation, but as active ones. They should create a spirit of welcoming acceptance in the life of the Fraternity and allow the youth to be engaged and involved in its meetings and activities.

The SFO should be generous in offering options to YouFra. It must not forget that the one who really calls is the Lord. YouFra is not the nursery of the SFO, from which it takes members to transplant when it feels convenient for the Fraternity. This is short-sighted and stingy. On the contrary, the SFO considers YouFra as a garden which can be cultivated and in which, with confidence, one sows the seeds of the multiple states of Christian life: family life, consecrated life, priestly life, SFO, Secular Institutes, and other multiple ways and forms in which the Franciscan Family expresses the same charism of the common Seraphic Father.

The more numerous, broader, and richer the options presented to the Young Franciscans the better it will be. This will permit them to contemplate, reflect, and decide, with greater capacity, to become the protagonists of evangelization and of the mission of the Church and of being always available for a simple and dedicated service to the poor. It is important to go from theory to the supplying of effective experience in order to offer YouFra occasions for its human, Christian and Franciscan growth. As Novo Millennio Ineunte says, we trust that “if Christ is presented to young people as he really is, they experience him as an answer that is convincing and they can accept his message, even when it is demanding and bears the mark of the Cross”. [3]

Presence and Mission

The Pope, in his allocution to YouFra of Italy, stresses a point saying that “the central element of your Franciscan identity is the presence of the brother who has to be accepted, listened to, forgiven and loved”. [4] From the identity of the SFO, its Rule offers YouFra a broad field of presence and mission: the construction of a more fraternal and evangelical world (art. 14), the promotion of human dignity (art. 14), the promotion of justice, with concrete options which are coherent with faith (art. 15), work as a prolongation of God’s creating hand (art. 16), the challenge of the values of the family (art. 17), universal fraternity and respect for the goods of creation (art. 18), the construction of peace in dialogue, love and pardon (art. 19).

The above mentioned challenges implicitly contain others: the world of politics, of social reality, of finance, of culture, of sciences and arts, of research, of social communication, and of suffering. All this indicates the urgent need that the young Franciscan has for new light and energy to carry out the mission, “without losing or sacrificing any of the human element, but rather manifesting a transcendent dimension which is frequently unknown”. [5] The Ministers General of the First Order and of Third Order Regular trust, as they say in their letter, Vocation and Mission of the Franciscan Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World (1989), that the SFO and YouFra will be capable of using, for a more creative and fruitful service, the spiritual and cultural patrimony which they have, and at the same time using the resources offered by the Franciscan tradition.

Formation

In order that the Young Franciscan can carry out the creative and committed mission as presented by the Rule of the SFO they need much formation, an integral solid formation: human, Christian and Franciscan. Formation is one of the priorities of the SFO and of YouFra. The ex-Minister General of the SFO, Emanuela De Nunzio, was asked in an interview what priority was most important for the SFO. Her answer was formation. The journalist asked her what the second priority was. Her answer once again was formation. In response to the question about the third priority she responded a third time: formation. This is because without formation, the vocation, prayer and mission of the SFO and of YouFra would be mediocre. But, if formation reaches the foundation of the Fraternities of YouFra there will be a vocational spring time and there will be an authentic osmosis among the vital challenges of the Franciscan lay vocation - where the young Franciscans are formed with the capacity of self-giving, of deciding to embrace and give a true Christian and Franciscan witness. In this, the Council of YouFra has an important role to play as well as “the fraternal animator and the spiritual Assistant”.[6]

It seems to me that it is very interesting to transcribe the exhortation given in Christifideles Laici on formation, which corresponds very well to the interests of YouFra: “The formation of the lay faithful has the fundamental objective of discovering always more clearly, one’s own vocation and an always greater availability to live it in the fulfillment of one’s own mission”. [7]

Philippines: Congress of Spiritual Assistants of Asia and Oceania

The Spiritual Assistants of Asia and Oceania met from November 8-15 in the Retreat House of the Sacro Costato Sisters in Manila. The first three days were dedicated to the presentation of reports from South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. The rest of the time was devoted to a study of the Statutes for Pastoral and Spiritual Assistance to the SFO.

The group of participants was joined by another 20 friars and sisters who serve as local Spiritual Assistants. Ivan Matic, OFM, reported on the introduction to the Statutes for Assistance and the assistance to YouFra and the SFO. Irudaya Samy, OFM Cap., talked on the responsibility of the major superiors and the role of a Spiritual Assistant. Valentín Redondo, OFM Conv., discussed the responsibility of a Spiritual Assistant and collegial assistance to the SFO. Michael Higgins, TOR, presented talks on the formation of friars to understand and assist the SFO and on the role of the Spiritual Assistant in the formation of the SFO. The next congress will take place in September 2005 in Australia or Korea.

Philippines: Congress of the SFO in Asia and Oceania

A congress for the SFO in Asia and Oceania took place in the Claret House in Manila on November 6--9. The meeting began with a message from Encarnación del Pozo, SFO, Minister General, and Valentín Redondo, OFM Conv., the President of the Conference of General Spiritual Assistants. The participants came from Australia, Korea, the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The first two days were dedicated to presentation of reports from the different countries.

Peter Keogh, the National Minister of Oceania, presented a talk on Ecclesia in Oceania and Irudaya Samy, OFM Cap., spoke on Ecclesia in Asia. Encarnación del Pozo presented a talk on the 25th Anniversary of the Rule and then responded to questions from the participants. This was followed by a round table discussion facilitated by the Minister General and the four General Spiritual Assistants. The next congress will be celebrated in Australia or Korea in 2006.

On Sunday, November 9, all the participants gathered together in the Parish of St. Pedro Bautista where the Minister General gave a talk on the priorities of the SFO General Charter.