K O I N Ō N I A
_ ...together on the journey
THE CONFERENCE OF GENERAL SPIRITUAL ASSISTANTS OFS-YOUFRA
2020 - 1 Year 27 n.105
SECULAR FRANCISCANS IN TIMES OF GREAT CHANGES
THE OFS RULE AS A RESPONSE IN TIMES OF GREAT CHANGES
Fr. Francis Bongajum Dor, OFMCAP.
Introduction
Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the pontifical house says in one of his reflections that if, by some miracle the whole Bible were to be concentrated to pronounce one word, all it would say will be “God-loves-you!”1. Sacred Scripture is all about the love of God. Jesus Christ, by his incarnation, life, passion, death and resurrection, is the supreme prove and eternal covenant of this love. The Church is founded to be a means and instrument, “some sort of sacrament”2 to tell the world of this love until the end of time. In this light, evangelization is telling the world of God’s love made known to us in Christ Jesus. However, how can this be done in language intelligible to each generation”3? This is the challenge of inculturation. It is the challenge of up-dating, “aggiornamento” which the universal Church decided to take up with faith and courage from Vatican II. As times and cultures change, so too should we update and adapt our language and methods to ensure effective evangelization.
K O I N Ō N I A
…together on the journey
THE CONFERENCE OF GENERAL SPIRITUAL ASSISTANTS OFS-YOUFRA
2019 - 4 Year 26 n. 104
«Walking with the young people: a vital challenge for OFS»
The Relationship between OFS and YouFra: Challenges and hopes
Fr. Claudio Hernán Eguzquiza Rodríguez, TOR
Introduction
Dear sisters and brothers: my greetings!
With this small writing I would like to share with you my joy of being part of this great project of our Franciscan family. I reached in Rome two months ago and I am in the process of accommodating myself and getting used to my new house and to this pastoral work that the Order has entrusted to me and I assume it with a great desire to continue learning and sharing the rich experience of our Franciscan spirituality.
K O I N Ō N I A
_ ...together on the journey
THE CONFERENCE OF GENERAL SPIRITUAL ASSISTANTS OFS-YOUFRA
2019 - 2 Year 26 n. 102
«Walking with the young people: a vital challenge for OFS»
«Identity and Mission of YouFra»
Fr. Pedro Zitha, OFM
Introduction
At times the world shows a negative and false image of youth, presenting it as lost in worldly things and without a future. It is sad to see that this is the idea that adults have of young people. Sometimes they forget their duty to empower young people to discover their true identity as living images of God and to live it in a dignified manner. Often young people are identified as generations that suffer a crisis of religious, cultural, political, social and economic identity. But this identity crisis often depends on the different realities in which they live, see and judge the world, a world in which the moral aspects in the political, social and religious spheres are almost non-existent. It is precisely in this kind of situation that the mission of Franciscan Youth is to show the world that young people still feel able to reactivate the flame of faith, so that they will never lose the hope of identifying themselves with those disciples of Jesus who have been called to be light of the world and salt of the earth. Their active participation in the recent Synod of Bishops centered on the theme «young people, faith and vocational discernment». Their engaging joy manifested not only in World Youth Days but also in the most humble and simple parish meetings and the presence in the various projects and proposals of the Church. All this shows that young people still continue to turn their eyes to Jesus, in order to be totally «rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving» (Cf. Col 2,7). If this is the daily attitude of young people, there is still hope that they can live their identity and mission.
(please click on the link above to download the complete version in .pdf or .doc version)
K O I N Ō N I A
_ ...together on the journey
THE CONFERENCE OF GENERAL SPIRITUAL ASSISTANTS OFS-YOUFRA
2019 - 3 Year 26 n. 103
«Walking with the young people: a vital challenge for OFS»
«Spiritual Assistant and YouFra: the art of vocational discernment»
Fr. Francis Bongajum Dor, OFMCAP
Introduction
The Synod on young people was on the theme «young people, faith and vocational discernment». Continuing our reflection on the journey with young people in this third issue of Koinonia, we focus on the role of the spiritual assistant in the vocational discernment of the Franciscan Youth (YouFra).
All Christians are called to life, to friendship with God in Jesus and to holiness1 in the current context as it is, “with its risks, its challenges and its opportunities”2. YouFra shares the Franciscan vocation with other members of the Franciscan Family. However, being young, many are still in search of their own vocation and others try to mature in the vocation they have discovered. They need to be accompanied in discernment and maturation.
The service of spiritual assistance recommended by the OFS legislation has this purpose as well. Therefore, as pastors and traveling companions for young people, the assistant should be an expert in the art of vocational discernment. Starting from the experience of Francis of Assisi, model of YouFra and from some indications offered by Pope Francis in the Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, we propose here four elements which, in our opinion, should guide the assistants of YouFra in the vocational discernment for young people. These four elements are: identifying the dreams of young people, helping them to ask the question “Lord what do you want me to do?”, giving them opportunities to serve the poor and then propose some pathways.
(please click on the link above to download the complete version in .pdf or .doc version)
K O I N Ō N I A
_ ...together on the journey
THE CONFERENCE OF GENERAL SPIRITUAL ASSISTANTS OFS-YOUFRA
2019 - 1 Year 26 n. 101
Walking with the young people: a vital challenge for OFS
St. Francis and the youth of today
Fr. Alfred Parambakathu OFMConv.
General Introduction
The year of 2018 saw the Universal Church living a Synod of Bishops dedicated to the theme “Young People, Faith, and vocational Discernment”, held in Rome from 3 to 28 October. The main purpose of the Synod was, as seen in the Instrumentum laboris (Art.1), to reemphasize the fact that, Taking care of young people is not an optional task for the Church, but an integral part of her mission in history. In just a few words, this is the specific scope of the upcoming Synod: just as our Lord Jesus Christ walked alongside the disciples of Emmaus (cf. Lk 24: 13-35), the Church is also urged to accompany all young people, without exception, towards the joy of love.
