The Fruits of the Spirit exemplified in our Rule
When we are baptized we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are strengthened at our Confirmation. When we are professed as Secular Franciscans, we further strengthen our Baptismal Promises. As a result of the gifts of the Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord), we are able to demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, self-restraint, and chastity.) By living our rule, we hope to exemplify these fruits in everything we do in our daily lives.
Our Rule
— Spells out the way the Spirit wishes us to do God’s will
— Tells us how God desires us to live
Faithfulness to the Rule and Constitutions help us to build up God’s Kingdom (as we are called to do through our Baptism).
For your consideration—the Fruits of the Spirit and our Rule
First of all—Articles 4, 14 and 19 ask us to be open to the action of the Holy Spirit
Love: Articles 5, 13, and 18
+We are asked to encounter the living person of Christ in one another and to be mindful that all creatures bear the “imprint of the Most High.”
Joy: Articles 13 and 19
+We are reminded that a sense of community makes us joyful and that we are “Messengers of perfect joy in every circumstance…”
Peace: Articles 17 and 19
+We are reminded that we are “bearers of peace” and that we should “cultivate peace.”
Patience: Articles 7 and 10
+We seek conversion each day (metanoia) as we place ourselves in the hands of the Father.
Kindness: Articles 13 and 14
+With a “gentle and courteous spirit” we accept “all people as a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ.”
Goodness: Articles 13 and 14
+ “Secular Franciscans, together with all people of good will, are called to build a more fraternal and evangelical world…”
Long-suffering: Articles 10 and 19
+ We follow the “poor and crucified Christ, witness to him even in difficulties and persecutions.”
Mildness: Articles 9 and 11
+We live in the “spirit of the Beatitudes.”
Faith: Articles 4, 5, 10 and 14
+We express our faith in Jesus: “Christ, the gift of the Father’s love, is the way to him, the truth into which the Holy Spirit leads us, and the life which he has come to give abundantly.”
Modesty: Article 11
+We “purify our hearts from every teandency and yearning for possession and power.”
Self-restraint: Article 11, 12
+We “acquire purity of heart” in order to “set ourselves free” in order to “love God and our brothers and sisters.”
Chastity: Articles 6, 12
+We follow the teachings of the Church, “…devote themselves energetically to living in full communion with the pope, bishops, and priests,…”
For discussion or to answer in your journal:
+When people look at you, which fruits of the Holy Spirit are evident? Give an example.
+How does our Rule help you to demonstrate these fruits of the Spirit?
+Which of the fruits of the Spirit are difficult for you to manifest? Can you pinpoint why that might be?
+++++++++++++++++
Los frutos del Espíritu ejemplificados en nuestra Regla
Cuando somos bautizados recibimos los dones del Espíritu Santo. Estos dones se fortalecen en nuestra Confirmación. Cuando profesamos como franciscanos seglares, fortalecemos aún más nuestras promesas bautismales. Como resultado de los dones del Espíritu (sabiduría, entendimiento, consejo, fortaleza, conocimiento, piedad y temor del Señor), podemos demostrar los frutos del Espíritu (amor, gozo, paz, paciencia, bondad, bondad, longanimidad, apacibilidad, fe, modestia, dominio propio y castidad.) Al vivir nuestra regla, esperamos ejemplificar estos frutos en todo lo que hacemos en nuestra vida diaria.
Nuestra Regla:
· Explica la forma en que el Espíritu desea que hagamos la voluntad de Dios.
· Nos dice cómo Dios desea que vivamos
· La fidelidad a la Regla y las Constituciones nos ayuda a construir el Reino de Dios (como estamos llamados a hacer a través de nuestro Bautismo).
Para su consideración: los frutos del espíritu y nuestra regla
En primer lugar, los artículos 4, 14 y 19 nos piden que estemos abiertos a la acción del Espíritu Santo.
El Amor: artículos 5, 13 y 18
+ Se nos pide que encontremos a la persona viva de Cristo en los demás y que tengamos presente que todas las criaturas llevan la “huella del Altísimo”.
El Gozo: artículos 13 y 19
+ Se nos recuerda que el sentido de comunidad nos alegra y que somos “Mensajeros de la alegría perfecta en toda circunstancia …”
La Paz: artículos 17 y 19
+ Se nos recuerda que somos “portadores de paz” y que debemos “cultivar la paz”.
La Paciencia: artículos 7 y 10
+ Buscamos la conversión cada día (metanoia) al ponernos en las manos del Padre.
La Benignidad: artículos 13 y 14
+ Con un “espíritu amable y cortés” aceptamos “a todas las personas como un don del Señor y una imagen de Cristo”.
La Bondad: artículos 13 y 14
+ “Los franciscanos seglares, junto con todas las personas de buena voluntad, estamos llamados a construir un mundo más fraterno y evangélico…”
La Longanimidad: artículos 10 y 19
+ Seguimos al “Cristo pobre y crucificado, testimoniamos de él incluso en las dificultades y persecuciones”.
La Mansedumbre: artículos 9 y 11
+ Vivimos en el “espíritu de las Bienaventuranzas”.
La Fe: artículos 4, 5, 10 y 14
+ Expresamos nuestra fe en Jesús: “Cristo, don del amor del Padre, es el camino hacia él, la verdad a la que nos conduce el Espíritu Santo y la vida que ha venido a dar en abundancia”.
La Modestia: artículo 11
+ “Purificamos nuestro corazón de toda tendencia y anhelo de posesión y poder”.
La Continencia: artículos 11, 12
+ “Adquirimos pureza de corazón” para “liberarnos” para “amar a Dios ya nuestros hermanos”.
La Castidad: artículos 6, 12
+ Seguimos las enseñanzas de la Iglesia, “… se dedican con energía a vivir en plena comunión con el Papa, los obispos y los sacerdotes …”
Para discusión o para responder en su diario:
+ Cuando la gente te mira, ¿qué frutos del Espíritu Santo son evidentes? Dar un ejemplo.
+ ¿Cómo le ayuda nuestra Regla a demostrar estos frutos del Espíritu?
+ ¿Cuáles de los frutos del Espíritu le resultan difíciles de manifestar? ¿Puede señalar por qué podría ser eso?
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Tibor Kauser
Tibor Kauser, OFS, of Hungary has been re-elected minister general of the Secular Franciscan Order. This is his second six-year term.</p>
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Tibor Kauser (OFS General Minister)
 100vw, 352px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>The Conference of National Spiritual Assistants enlivened the National Chapter by focusing on being part of an order, on prayer and contemplation, and on the Liturgy of the Hours.</p>
<p><strong>As an Order, Respect Different Opinions</strong></p>
<p>“It’s important that we recognize that we are committed to an order, and we should try to be in harmony with the church… and with each other,” <strong>Fr. Jerome Wolbert, OFM</strong>, said. But, sometimes, he said, it’s difficult. Sometimes, even across the church, there may be disagreement.</p>
<p>He suggested that sometimes we take something that is true and blow it out of proportion, out of context and reinterpret it, moving people away from the truth. Sometimes, we may not hear the scholarly reply. It’s “important to be grounded to know where the church is – in scripture and to understand it in the light of Christ, to pay attention to church and its magisterium.” Respect it.</p>
<p>As an order, we should “be respectful of other people with a different point of view.” For him, he said he likes to “keep things open and on the table – It’s a dimension of being part of an order.” He recommended having a “broad collection of people and hear a lot of opinions. It’s helpful to sort things out that way.”</p>
<p>“There are a lot of things that we have to keep in our hearts and we can’t say</p>
<p>anything,” but, “we can take them to our spiritual directors. I hope that anyone who is in a position of authority, has a spiritual director.”</p>
<p>Being a part of an order can be difficult, especially if you are in the role of leadership, he said. We must not abandon but rather be “vigilant and persistent about coming ever closer to being coordinated with the rest of the church and among ourselves as an order.”</p>
<p>He added, “To be willing to be directed and to give up something you love out of the sense of harmony of the church is a dimension of leadership…” It’s challenging to keep some things in our hearts, but “we must face this challenge because we are part of an order.”</p>
<p><strong>Prayer & Contemplation: The Bedrock</strong></p>
<p>“Prayer and contemplation are the bedrock of our engagement with the divine,” began <strong>Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR</strong>. Prayer is about giving thanks, asking for intercessions, making petitions and adoring God. These are the four types of prayer, he said.</p>
<p>“The Liturgy is the summit with all forms of prayer included,” he noted. Quoting Sister Delio, he said “prayer is where we speak what we know and what we don’t know.” He added Bonaventure’s thoughts: “If we want to ascend to God, we must descend into our own humanity… In prayer, God bends down to embrace us.”</p>
<p>“God speaks to us,” he added, and we should be “listening and engaging with him…Where God is, he gives us the strength and speaks to us in the goodness of creation…We’re the ones who put the veil in front of our faces.”</p>
<p>Through prayer and contemplation, we can understand who we are. “It brings all into perspective,” he said, adding that St. Clare’s method of “contemplation begins with the mirror of the Crucified Christ; seeing oneself in daily prayer before the Cross; to accept God in the Crucified is to accept God in our own lives, to accept who we are; the more we contemplate Christ, the more we come to resemble Christ.”</p>
<p>He advised: “Find God in the midst of all that is humanity. Listen to him in creation and in fraternity. Keep your mouths shut and ears open to see how God wants the world to be.”</p>
<p>He closed by saying that Contemplation makes us “aware of God who is always here.”</p>
<p><strong>Liturgy</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Hours:</strong> <strong>Church’s</strong> <strong>Gift</strong></p>
<p>Fr. <strong>Chris</strong> <strong>Shorrock,</strong> <strong>OFM</strong> <strong>Conv.</strong> asked the questions: Can Liturgy of the Hours become a prayer for every person? Can it bring new energy? Can we learn from it?</p>
<p>Using the Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV, book, <em>Praying the Liturgy of the Hours – A Personal </em><em>Journey, </em>as his reference, he said that “spiritual life consists of ordinary experience with its daily joys and struggles, daily efforts to pray, and daily striving to love God and others.”</p>
<p>“When ordinary spiritual experience is expressed in words, new paths open in our lives of faith.”</p>
<p>Liturgy of the Hours, he said, is a “rich source of (that) spiritual growth.” The Psalms in the Hours “cry to God in times of affliction,” and “express hope and a deep longing for God.”</p>
<p>Quoting St. Ambrose, he said:</p>
<p>“A psalm is ‘a cry of happiness.’ A psalm soothes the temper, distracts from care, lightens the burden of sorrow. It is a source of security at night, a lesson of wisdom by day. It is a shield when we are afraid, a celebration of holiness, a vision of serenity, a promise of peace and harmony.”</p>
<p>The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office, is, he concluded, “the Church’s greatest gift for all members of the church.”</p>
<p>https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2022/05/30/friars-challenge-help-bring-prayer-alive-at-chapter-highlights-of-national-chapter/</p>
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