PREPARATORY DOCUMENT
TO DEAL WITH THE THEMES
OF THE NEXT GENERAL CHAPTER
THE PROFESSION OF SECULAR
FRANCISCANS AND THEIR SENSE OF BELONGING
Introduction
What is the Secular Franciscan Order? What is
its ecclesial nature?
Who is the Secular Franciscan? What does he/she
do?
What is his/her deepest identity and the nature
of his/her belonging to the Church and to the Franciscan Family?
How do the Secular Franciscans and the Order,
as a whole, place themselves before the world and what is their role?
Not only people frequently ask us these important
questions but, often, they also emerge even within us, and the response determines the self-affirmation of our “being”
and qualifies our “doing.”
During almost 800 years of our existence, for
more than 500 years (up to 1978 and beyond), the history of the Order has been characterized by a “diminished”
life, due to the practical impossibility of secular Franciscans to self-determine themselves and assume their responsibilities
as an Order.
The Order was prevented, in fact, from “writing
its own history,” to give its contribution as an Order and to assume, as a whole, the providential role belonging to
it, within the context of the Franciscan Family, to fulfill the mission entrusted
to Francis of Assisi by the San Damiano Crucifix.
Today, this possibility has become real and it
largely depends on us.
The Church, in the light of the teachings of the
Second Vatican Council, has providentially reflected about our existence and has recognized the unity and autonomy of our
Order in a centralized, world structure. Our history has demonstrated how such elements, already existing in embryo from the
beginning, were essential to fully accomplish the project entrusted by God to Francis for us, for the benefit of the Church
of all time.
But are we truly ready?
To what an extent and in what way, has the sense
of belonging to an “Order” matured within us?”
What is the true and concrete awareness that individual
Secular Franciscans have of belonging to a real Order, to an Order that finally, after eight centuries has a unified and centralized
structure?
“…, (Francis) founded
a true Order, that of the Tertiaries, not restricted by religious vows, as the two preceding (Orders), but similarly conformed
to simplicity of customs and to a spirit of penitence. So, he was the first to conceive and happily carry out, with the help
of God, what no founder of regulars (religious Orders) had previously contrived, to have the religious life practiced by all.”
(Benedict XV, Encyclical “Sacra Propediem” June 6, 1921)
“You are an Order: a
lay Order, but a real Order. Ordo veri nominis, as our predecessor of holy memory,
Benedict XV (Sacra propediem, June 6, 1921) called it. You will not, as is obvious, be an assembly of the perfect; but you
must be a school of Christian perfection. Without this resolute will one cannot suitably be a part of such a chosen and glorious
militia.” (Pius XII, July 1, 1956, Speech to the Tertiaries in Rome)
“…you are also an ‘Order,’ as the Pope said (Pius XII): A Lay Order, but a Real Order;”
and after all, Benedict XV had already spoken of “Ordo veri nominis”.
This ancient term – we can say medieval – “Order” means nothing more than your intimate belonging
to the large Franciscan family. The word “Order” means the participation in the discipline and actual austerity
of that spirituality, while remaining in the autonomy typical of your lay and secular condition, which, moreover, often entails
sacrifices which are not lesser than those experienced in the religious and priestly life.” (John Paul II, June 14,
1988, General Chapter, SFO)
Thus, in recent times, three Popes of great stature and spiritual authority have spoken of our Secular Franciscan
Order!
We are an Order, A Lay Order, but a Real Order. Ordo
Veri Nominis !
It is astonishing how in the course of the centuries
the Order was always spoken about as “one” even when the Order did not exist as a structured and autonomous entity.
Since 1471 up to 1978 the Order had lived in a state of substantial inferiority, of division and practical subjection. In
practice, there existed only local Fraternities that were, for all practical purposes, appendices of the respective religious
orders who guided them.
And yet, this awareness of being only one thing
and of operating in a virtually singular, unanimous form never lessened, neither in the awareness of the individual “tertiaries”
nor in that of the Church.
The longing for unity and autonomy was born with
the same lay penitential movement of Saint Francis and, for those who know the history of the SFO, it is well known how, instead,
that such aspirations were frustrated from the very beginning.
We, today’s Secular Franciscans, can well
say to be privileged: we are the protagonists of a historical epoch-making time in which the dream of all our predecessors
becomes reality. It is absolutely essential to realize this and to enter into our role responsibly and with a sense of our
history.
The SFO is still a fragile creature. The Order
must consolidate, it must create anew structures and new and original methods of operating to help the Order to confront the
challenges that the world presents to us, be it internally or externally, in order to develop its role effectively in the
third millennium of Christian history.
The challenges are immense
It will be necessary to “invent”,
“create” a way of being and to manage ourselves that will correspond to the requirements of a secular Order, composed
mainly of lay people, fully involved in the world and in the ordinary activities of family, work and society.
It will be necessary to implement an intimate
interconnection and effective coordination between all the parts of the Order, without losing the ability to be, everywhere,
equal and diverse at the same time, to express the common charism in the varied and complex situations of the world, with
that ability to adapt and inexhaustible charismatic thrust that alone can allow us to weave ourselves into the vital fabric
of the world.
The challenges can be conquered but they can also
be lost and the results are not certain.
Centralized Structure
Centralized structure was, and is, necessary for
the purpose of allowing the Order to occupy its place in the Franciscan Family and in the Church and to be an effective apostolic
projection of the Franciscan charism in the secular world.
The Novitas
(Novelty) of Francis is connoted by a mission whose field of action is the whole world and the same Roman Pontiff has confirmed this
mission also for us since the very beginning of our Order.
We are a body composed of some 430,000 professed,
who, together with the over 150,000 male and female Franciscan religious must accomplish in time and in history the mission
that the San Damiano Crucifix entrusted to St. Francis.
We will be able to fully accomplish all this by
developing, living and letting grow within us, in every part of the world, a deep Sense
of Belonging and a living awareness of the Grace of Profession that has made
us Franciscan, fully realizing our Baptismal vocation and introducing us into the body of the Secular Franciscan Order and
of the entire Franciscan Family.
Profession and Sense of Belonging
Profession
and Sense of Belonging are two fundamental intertwined elements to fulfill our mission, without which
the Order does not and cannot exist.
What authentic awareness do we have of the fact
that Profession has constituted us in the state of
“Professed” members by imparting to us the Franciscan character and introducing us vitally and indissolubly in the body of the Secular Franciscan Order?
Does this sense of belonging to the very same body (the Order) surpass the boundaries of states, of languages, of social classes,
of cultures in order to make of us one single invincible body, for the spreading of the Gospel and the restoration of the
Church in Christ and the restitution of a world redeemed to God the Father?
The General Chapter
These two fundamental elements of our life are
the themes of our next General Chapter.
It is essential that all the national Fraternities
reflect on these two aspects so that the contributions of excellence that we will receive from the spokespersons will not
end in an embarrassed silence due to the lack of preparation of those attending the Chapter.
The International Councillors
It is, therefore, essential that the International
Councillors come to the Chapter well prepared to be the faithful interpreters of the experiences and reflections gathered
from the discussions to be held in each country so that this fundamental Chapter reflection may become an authentic moment
of grace, a kairos, of holy resolutions that will make our Order strong and vital,
as a whole and no longer as simple committed individuals.
For this reason, we strongly suggest that in every
National Fraternity, constituted or emerging, the National Council organize some moments of qualified reflections to discuss
these themes. The tracks are those offered in this document.
The Formators
The Formators at all levels should take the responsibility
to deepen with all their brothers and sisters the nature of Profession, its concrete effects of incorporation into the Order,
and the effects of belonging that this incorporation produces.
The fruits of this work should be collected and
delivered to the International Councillor so as to enable the Chapter, through the spokespersons and all the Capitulars, to
provide responses, stimuli, specifications, projects and commitments that may let the Order, and all of us, grow, individually
and collectively, to assume completely our role in the Church and in the world.
Conclusion
We wait to receive from each and everyone of you a reply to this letter and to learn about
the initiatives that each National Fraternity, constituted and emerging, will want to take.
By way of pure example, we offer, in the form of questions, other possible tracks for discussion and reflection, it
being understood that you have full liberty to develop this preparatory work at your own discretion.
1. To what degree is your
being Secular Franciscan an essential part of your life? Is your life in Fraternity only a meeting among many others?
2. What can you do to
be more involved in the intimate life of the SFO?
3. Profession by its very
nature is a permanent commitment. Do you live it as such?
4. Why, according to you,
is the local Fraternity so important in the life of the SFO? To what an extent is your Fraternity helping you to accomplish
what your Profession demands of you?
5. Does the Fraternity
help you to remain faithful to your Profession and to give you a sense of belonging?
To what extent do you yourself work to help the brothers and sisters of your Fraternity to achieve these very same goals?
6. Why did you want to
enter the Secular Franciscan Order? What contribution do you give to the SFO by means of your Profession and your presence?
7. To what an extent do
you believe that the new Rule has contributed to the changes that have taken place in the way of “feeling” the
Order and “being” part of it.
8. Do you believe that
the sense of belonging that you live today corresponds genuinely to what the Order
truly is, to its “nature” and to its mission? Or does it correspond to something else that belongs to the past
or to a personal conception of the Order?
If you think that there is not a sufficient sense of belonging to the Order,
what are the reasons, according to you?
1. Lack of formation?
2. Lack of communication?
3. Lack of contributions and sharing?
4. Other?