Inclusivity strengthens fraternal bonds, models Franciscan love

Sept. 14, 2022

Dearest Brothers and Sisters,

Jan Parker, OFS
National Minister

As I come to the end of my term as National Minister, I find myself thinking about all the hopes and dreams I still have for our Order.  Tonight, I am thinking of just one of those hopes – one that has been a priority for our NEC for the past several years – to build stronger bonds and improve communication with our Korean and Spanish-speaking fraternities.

I am thinking of this because early tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading to El Paso, Texas to be with the sisters and brothers of Our Lady of Guadalupe Regional Fraternity – a Region with a good number of Spanish-speaking members.   Tomorrow also marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, and it’s interesting to me that the beginning of this month-long celebration coincides with the beginning of my trip to El Paso.  But even more, I’m excited about spending time with many OFS sisters and brothers of Hispanic heritage.

It was only this week that I learned about Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, and as I researched it, I was especially struck by this year’s theme: “Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation.”  Beautiful, and so true.

We might adapt this theme, and give it a little more Franciscan flavor — How about “One in Christ: Inclusivity for a Stronger and More Fraternal World”?   We can phrase it in different ways, but it’s the word inclusivity that catches my attention this evening.

Inclusivity is something we need to focus on more and more.  Those who attended our recent Quinquennial experienced inclusivity in ways that were new to our national gatherings.  There were breakout sessions in both Spanish and Korean, interpreters for our hearing impaired members, large print programs, and mobility assistance offered.  Inclusivity was noticeable, and contributed greatly to the success of the Q.  But we must continue to do more. 

Yes, we have made good progress by translating resources and formation books into Spanish and Korean, and we now have fraternity registers available in Spanish, and soon the new “presentation edition” of our OFS Rule will be available in both Spanish and Korean, too.  But there is so much more that we need to do – and that we can do.  I pray our efforts in this area will continue.

Maybe the celebration of “Hispanic Heritage Month” can help all of us think a bit more about inclusivity — and ask ourselves are we doing enough in our fraternities to be inclusive?  How can we bridge that language gap?  How can we be more inclusive?

It’s getting late, and I need to get up early, so let me just close this little reflection by sharing with you this year’s Hispanic Heritage poster, pictured below.  It’s lovely, and I like the caption, “Let’s Connect with our Hispanic Heritage and Community.”   

I’m happy to have the opportunity to do just that this weekend!  Take care, all – and see you soon!

Paz y bien,

Jan Parker OFS,

National Minister, Secular Franciscan Order – USA

secularfranciscansusa.org

14 de septiembre de 2022

Queridísimos hermanos y hermanas,

Al llegar al final de mi mandato como ministra Nacional, me encuentro pensando en todas las esperanzas y sueños que todavía tengo para nuestra Orden. Esta noche estoy pensando en una de esas esperanzas, una que ha sido una prioridad para nuestro NEC en los últimos años: construir lazos más fuertes y mejorar la comunicación con nuestras fraternidades de habla coreana e hispana.

Estoy pensando en esto porque mañana temprano por la mañana me dirigiré a El Paso, Texas para estar con las hermanas y hermanos de la Fraternidad Regional de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, una región con buenos números de miembros de habla hispana. Mañana también marca el comienzo del Mes de la Herencia Hispana, y me parece interesante que el comienzo de esta celebración de un mes coincida con el comienzo de mi viaje a El Paso. Pero aún más, estoy emocionada de pasar tiempo con muchas hermanas y hermanos OFS de herencia hispana.

Recién esta semana me enteré de que este es el Mes de la Mes de herencia hispana, que se lleva a cabo del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre, y mientras investigaba, me llamó especialmente la atención el tema de este año: “Unidos: inclusión para una nación más fuerte”.  Hermoso, y tan cierto.

Podríamos adaptar este tema y darle un poco más de sabor franciscano. ¿Qué tal “Uno en Cristo: inclusión para un mundo más fuerte y fraterno”? Podemos expresarlo de diferentes maneras, pero es la palabra inclusión la que me llama la atención esta noche.

La inclusión es algo en lo que debemos centrarnos cada vez más. Aquellos que asistieron a nuestro reciente Quinquenal experimentaron la inclusión de maneras que eran nuevas para nuestras reuniones nacionales. Hubo sesiones grupales en español y coreano, intérpretes para nuestros miembros con discapacidad auditiva, programas en letra grande y asistencia de movilidad ofrecida. La inclusión fue notable y contribuyó en gran medida al éxito del Q. Pero debemos seguir haciendo más.

Sí, hemos hecho un buen progreso en la traducción de recursos y libros de formación al español y coreano, y ahora tenemos registros de fraternidad disponibles en español, y pronto la nueva “edición de presentación” de nuestra Regla OFS también estará disponible en español y coreano.  Pero hay mucho más que debemos hacer, y que podemos hacer. Ruego que nuestros esfuerzos en esta área continúen.

Tal vez la celebración del “Mes de la Herencia Hispana” pueda ayudarnos a todos a pensar un poco más sobre la inclusión — y preguntarnos ¿estamos haciendo lo suficiente en nuestras fraternidades para ser inclusivos? ¿Cómo podemos salvar esa brecha lingüística? ¿Cómo podemos ser más inclusivos?

Se está haciendo tarde y necesito levantarme temprano, así que permítanme cerrar esta pequeña reflexión compartiendo con ustedes el póster de la Herencia Hispana de este año, que se muestra a continuación. Es hermoso, y me gusta la leyenda: “Conectémonos con nuestra comunidad y herencia hispana”.

¡Estoy feliz de tener la oportunidad de hacer precisamente eso este fin de semana! ¡Cuídense todos, y nos vemos pronto!

Paz y bien,

Jan Parker, OFS

Ministra Nacional, Orden Franciscana Seglar – EE.UU.

secularfranciscansusa.org

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2022/09/15/inclusivity-strengthens-fraternal-bonds-models-franciscan-love/

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SHAPING THE FRANCISCAN FOOTPRINT – September 8 -September 14 2022

(attachment for printing in pdf format)

 

Five Important Spiritual Thoughts from the Liturgy of the Word

…and follow up for the Secular Franciscan

September 8 – September 14

 

1 — “And they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Mt 1:23)**

Extended meditation:

Limiting
myself to just the 2000’s, the song that stands out the most for me as having
the message of the Resurrection is The Fray’s song “You Found Me.” It is an incredible song for popular
music. It states outright that God is in
charge of life, but often we do not feel that way. In the end, however, God will help us in the
situations in which we find ourselves.
They sing, “I found God on the corner of First and Amistad, all
alone, smoking his last cigarette. I
said, ‘Where you been?’ He said, ‘Ask anything.'” And so the person in the song asks,
“Where were you when everything was falling apart? All my days were spent by the telephone. It never rang, and all I needed was a
call.” But he sings, “Lost and
insecure, you found me, you found me lyin’ on the floor, surrounded. Why’d you have to wait? Where were you? Just a little late, you found me.” God will find us no matter what the
circumstances.

Isaac Slade, a member of
the group The Fray, says this about the song. “‘You Found Me’ is a tough song
for me. It’s about the disappointment,
the heart ache, the let-down that comes with life. Sometimes you’re let down, sometimes you’re
the one who lets someone else down. It
gets hard to know who you can trust, who you can count on. This song came out of a tough time, and I’m
still right in the thick of it. There’s
some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over
the past year or so and can be overwhelming.
It wears on me. It demands so
much of my faith to keep believing, keep hoping in the unseen. Sometimes the tunnel has a light at the end,
but usually they just look black as night.
This song is about that feeling, and the hope that I still have, buried
deep in my chest.” For him, the
song is a statement of faith in God, even though things are not going the way
he wishes.

To me, that is the fundamental
meaning of Emmanuel. We realize that we
need someone to help us in our way of life, and then we discover such a
person. We know that we need God, but
often it seems that God is not part of what we are all about. The Christian and therefore the Franciscan
believes that Jesus Christ who is the Son of God actually came to our earth,
and showed us the way out of the misery that we can get ourselves into, giving
us the opportunity of having eternal life.
As The Fray sings, God found us, and the Christian believes that God with
us, that is, Jesus, led us to life, both here and hereafter.

 

 

2 – “No,
I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I
myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)

…The Franciscan preaches without saying
words. Is my “preaching” what it should
be?

 

 

3 – “Remove the wooden
beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly.” (Lk 6:41)**

…Am I seeing clearly?

 

 

4 — “I tell you, not
even in Israel have I found such faith.”
(Lk 7:9)**

The faith of the centurion should make me
stronger in my faith in Jesus.

 

 

5 – “For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)**


Does my belief in Jesus “show” itself to others?

** one of the most important passages of the Gospels

 

 

Our Freedom, our choice, is to live as Christ lived

(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Summer 2022 Issue #106)

by Fr. Jerome Wolbert, OFM

CNSA Logo Fourth of July is a civil celebration, but for us Franciscans—indeed for all Christians—any commemoration is infused with a sense of God’s presence. While many of the Founding Fathers of our nation did not believe in the kind of God we believe in as Catholic Christians, several were Christian, and others acknowledged some kind of godly presence worthy of giving direction to our lives and our common project of national government.

But what kind of freedom do we celebrate?

We no longer remember what it is like to be taxed without representation in the sense that the colonies were taxed by England. (Although, now that I live in the District of Columbia, there are some echoes of those feelings.)

The tyrannies that oppress us are most often those that result from our own choices: whether we discipline our tongues and typing, how much we succumb to the “demand” technology makes that we be ever-accessible and immediately respond to every notification, as well as other choices we make about money and food and where we will live, how well we might insulate ourselves from our “leper.”

By the time this article goes to print, I will have given a day of recollection on Fratelli tutti. You might remember Pope Francis’ letter, which begins with those words of St. Francis addressing all the brothers and sisters. The words are taken from his Admonitions, which we need to remember are intended as an encouragement rather than a scold, so rarely are we “admonished” as the word should properly be used.

As a boy, playing music from Fiddler on the Roof, I could relate to Tevye’s yearning to be a rich man. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that generosity is the realm of the affluent. Yet I have often found those struggling to be far more generous —even sometimes by objective measures—than many affluent people.

What prompts us to be more generous? Sometimes we give more to a person we like, someone who pleases us in some way. Maybe we recognize that we have so much, and the person in front of us has so little. We choose to be generous. As Christians, we are free to be as Christ, yet more generous than anyone could imagine.

I’m writing this article on the feast of St Anthony of Padua. In the Gospel at Mass, Jesus tells us that if someone demands our shirt to give that person our cloak as well. These words are more difficult to hear this year than ever, with one nation’s ruler demanding territory and subservience from another independent nation. What kind of freedom do you think Jesus is admonishing or encouraging in us?

Certainly at the least, Jesus is reminding us to be gracious and generous even in the face of demanding, ungenerous persons. Is there a situation in your life where this freedom is a challenge? May our Franciscan fraternity and the fraternal admonishment and encouragement we owe each other help us to answer these challenges well!

Pope Francis explains gratuitousness: “the ability to do some things simply because they are good in themselves, without concern for personal gain or recompense” (Fratelli tutti, 139). We have a choice, a freedom, to do things because they help us, or to do things because they are good in and of themselves.

Our freedom, our choice, is to live as Jesus Christ lived while he dwelt among us. We have reason to trust, to have faith, because the Church has experienced the Resurrection of Jesus, even if we have not personally felt that Power greater than the power of Death. Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe. And the living out of our faith is fed by the Holy Spirit we have received in Confirmation or Chrismation, the gift of the seal of the Holy Spirit.

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2022/09/12/our-freedom-our-choice-is-to-live-as-christ-lived/

Open post

FORMATION FRIDAY – Discerning before electing or being elected to a Secular Franciscan Council – Sept 9, 2022

Discernment before electing or being elected to a Secular Franciscan Council

After many delays, elections are coming up at the national level, in many regions, and in many local fraternities. If you are thinking of nominating, voting for someone, or accepting a nomination yourself, here are some things to think about.

Take into consideration the following items when thinking about your own or someone else’s service:

  • Love of the Order and willingness to serve
  • Faith in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is an important factor in daily life.
  • Time– A willingness to make working with the fraternity a priority even if it means leaving other activities, and realizing that we ask nothing in return for our service.
  • Experience: At the local level—participation in fraternity activities; at the regional level—prior service on the council at the local level and participation in regional events; at the national level—service on the local and regional levels, especially having served on the council.
  • Organizational skills—demonstrates timeliness in completing projects as promised. Shows a willingness to prepare ahead of time.
  • Communication skills—ability and desire to keep our members up to date with what is going on at the higher level in a variety of ways including print, verbally, and on social media. On the local level desire and ability to communicate with all members.
  • Fraternal dialogue—willingness to listen to others, ask for and act on their input and suggestions.
  • Collaborative spirit—ability to recognize and appreciate the gifts others have and allow them to use their talents to move the Order and its projects forward.
  • Ability to support others as they carry out their assigned tasks. If the council works together, the load we carry is much lighter.
  • Trust in the abilities and integrity of others in the fraternity.
  • Understanding that we can only move forward if we are well-formed as Secular Franciscans. Personal Formation and formation for councils should never end.
  • Energy and enthusiasm—councils are called to “animate and guide” the members. Having enthusiasm for living the gift of our Rule and Constitutions and encouraging others to understand how important our documents are to every aspect of our lives as Secular Franciscans is important.
  • Desire and willingness to collaborate with our spiritual assistants, friars, and other members of the Franciscan family, and with the Church in general
  • Willingness to ask for assistance from the higher level
  • Desire and ability to build on what has been accomplished by the prior Council—local, regional, or national.

For discussion in your fraternity, with a prayer partner, or to comment on in your journal.

+Think of the Franciscan servant leaders you have known. Which characteristics above apply to them?
+What kind of effect do these servant leaders have on the fraternity?
+Think about your qualities as a servant leader. How do you measure up?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Formation Friday 9 de septiembre de 2022 (Comparta con su fraternidad local)

Discernimiento antes de elegir o ser elegido para un Consejo Franciscano Seglar

Después de muchos retrasos, se acercan las elecciones a nivel nacional, en muchas regiones, y en muchas fraternidades locales. Si usted está pensando en nominar o votar por alguien, o aceptar una nominación usted mismo, aquí hay algunas cosas en las que pensar.

Tenga en cuenta los siguientes elementos cuando piense en su propio servicio o en el de otra persona:

  • Amor a la Orden y voluntad de servicio
  • Fe en la guía del Espíritu Santo. La oración es un factor importante en la vida diaria.
  • Tiempo: la voluntad de hacer que trabajar con la fraternidad sea una prioridad, incluso si eso significa dejar otras actividades y darse cuenta de que no pedimos nada a cambio de nuestro servicio.
  • Experiencia: A nivel local—participación en las actividades de la fraternidad; a nivel regional—servicio previo en el consejo a nivel local y participación en eventos regionales; a nivel nacional— servicio a nivel local y regional, especialmente haber servido en el concilio.
  • Habilidades organizativas: demuestra puntualidad en la finalización de los proyectos según lo prometido. Muestra disposición a prepararse con anticipación.
  • Habilidades de comunicación: capacidad y deseo de mantener a nuestros miembros actualizados con lo que sucede en el nivel superior en una variedad de formas, que incluyen impresos, verbalmente y en las redes sociales. A nivel local deseo y capacidad de comunicarse con todos los miembros.
  • Diálogo fraterno: disponibilidad para escuchar a los demás, pedir y actuar sobre sus aportes y sugerencias.
  • Espíritu de colaboración: capacidad de reconocer y apreciar los dones que tienen los demás y permitirles usar sus talentos para hacer avanzar la Orden y sus proyectos.
  • Habilidad para apoyar a otros mientras llevan a cabo sus tareas asignadas. Si el consejo trabaja en conjunto, la carga que llevamos es mucho más liviana.
  • Confiar en las capacidades y la integridad de los demás en la fraternidad.
  • Comprender que solo podemos avanzar si estamos bien formados como franciscanos seglares. La Formación personal y la formación para los consejos nunca debe terminar.
  • Energía y entusiasmo: los concilios están llamados a “animar y guiar” a los miembros. Tener entusiasmo por vivir el don de nuestra Regla y Constituciones y alentar a otros a comprender cuán importantes son nuestros documentos para cada aspecto de nuestras vidas como franciscanos seglares es importante.
  • Deseo y disposición de colaborar con nuestros asistentes espirituales, frailes y demás miembros de la familia franciscana, y con la Iglesia en general
  • Voluntad de pedir ayuda al nivel superior
  • Deseo y capacidad de construir sobre lo logrado por el Concilio anterior—local, regional o nacional.

Para discutir en su fraternidad, con un compañero de oración, o para comentar en tu diario.

+Piense en los líderes servidores franciscanos que ha conocido. ¿Qué características anteriores se aplican a ellos?
+¿Qué tipo de efecto tienen estos líderes servidores en la fraternidad?
+Piense en sus cualidades como líder servidor. ¿Cómo se mide?

 
Diane F. Menditto, OFS

Chair, National Formation Commission

Formation Director, Our Lady of the Angels Region
Formation Director, St. Francis Fraternity, Hackensack, NJ
 
Open post

SHAPING THE FRANCISCAN FOOTPRINT – August 31 – September 7 2022

(pdf copy of this article is attached)

Five Important Spiritual Thoughts from the Liturgy of the Word

…and follow up for the Secular Franciscan

August 31 – September 7

 

 

1 — “Do not be afraid.” (Lk 5:10)**

As I go about my life, have I truly placed my trust in the Lord?

 

 

2 –“In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.” (Psalm 90:1)

…As I study my life so far, in what areas should I have listened more to the Gospels.

 

 

3 – “Be my disciple.” (Lk 14:33)**

Extended meditation:

(adapted from Fr. Mike’s Seed Sown, volume C)

DISCIPLES OR ADMIRERS

Jesus tells two short stories to get a point across to the crowd around him and it is the same point for us today. That point—you must have some idea of a project before you do it. If you want to build a tower, you must plan on having enough material to finish it. If one king is marching against another, the king must know what to expect before he starts something. It is a characteristic essential to any leadership situation—having an idea of what will happen as a result of your decision. The same applies to being a disciple of Jesus. If we say that we will be disciples, we must know what it means.

One of the more interesting and more challenging American religious people in the past is a man by the name of Clarence Jordan. He was a Protestant peace activist of the 1940’s and 50’s who founded a place of refuge for persecuted black people in Georgia called the Koinonia Farm. It is an interesting thought that he could have been a good Franciscan.

In the early fifties, Clarence approached his brother Robert Jordan, later a state senator and justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, asking him to represent Koinonia Farm legally. Bob reminded Clarence that he had political aspirations, and therefore could not do what he asked because he would never be elected, saying that he could lose everything that he had worked for. Clarence pointed out that Koinonia Farm could lose everything also. Bob told him that it was different. “Why is it different,” Clarence said, “I remember, it seems to me, that you and I joined the church the same Sunday, as boys. I expect when we came forward, the preacher asked me about the same question he did you. He asked me, ‘Do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.’ And I said, ‘yes.’ What did you say?’” Bob replied, “I follow Jesus, Clarence, up to a point.” Clarence said: “Could that point by any chance be—the cross?” Bob said: “That’s right. I follow him to that cross, but not on the cross. I’m not getting myself crucified.”

Clarence replied: “Then, Bob, I don’t believe you’re a disciple. You’re an admirer of Jesus, but not a disciple of his. I think you ought to go back to the church you belong to, and tell them you’re an admirer not a disciple.” Bob’s answer to his statement—the lawyer getting the last word—was that then there would be no church at all because every Christian was an admirer and not a disciple.

To me, that is a classic distinction: the difference between a disciple and an admirer. Jesus says that you had better know what it means to be a disciple before you admit to being one, and he spells out what it means to be a disciple in the Gospel.

It means renouncing self and material possessions:

If anyone comes to me without hating [his/her family], and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

It is exaggeration, something that Jesus often uses in his sermons, saying that we have to know what is really important in life. He says that family and material things cannot be more important than God. In this matter, are we disciples or merely admirers of Jesus?

Being a disciple/follower means taking up the cross:

Whoever does not carry his own cross … cannot be my disciple.

In this life things are going to happen which are painful—the cross—life will be unfair, there will be tragedies, suffering, disagreements, family problems, bad along with all the good. And the only way we can understand it is to say that God is in charge, and when God is in charge, only good can come out of any situation no matter what is happening. So as we look at the way we have behaved, we must ask ourselves: are we disciples or merely admirers of Jesus?

Being a disciple/follower means truly following Jesus, that is, knowing what Jesus wants:

Whoever does not…come after me cannot be my disciple.

It means knowing what his principles and ideals are and exactly what they mean in our daily lives. So we must ask ourselves as we look at our Christianity: are we disciples or merely admirers?

We do not need more admirers of Jesus; we need more disciples. In fact, if we are only admirers, then we really do not have a church—Bob Jordan was right. A disciple gives up self, accepts the cross, and truly knows what Jesus wants.

Every Franciscan is automatically an admirer of Jesus. But they should also be a follower. Like Clarence and Bob Jordan, we have gone before a preacher and said that we will live a way of life that is so different that it will make us automatically a follower of Jesus.

 

 

4 — Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,and he spent the night in prayer to God. (Lk 6:12-13)**

…A Franciscan, according to my Constitutions, should spend significant time to prayer.

 

 

5 — “Blessed are you who are poor.” (Lk 6:20)**

…The Franciscan should be aware that Luke’s first Beatitude is stronger than Matthew’s. Jesus was speaking of the physically poor, and it is another reminder of the importance of control of material things.

 

 

** denotes one of the more important quotes in the Gospel

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Juan de Padilla