(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Spring 2024 Digital Issue #111)
by Justin Carisio, OFS National Formation Commission
In the days before his death in 1226, St. Francis created a document that the Franciscan tradition calls “The Testament.”[1] He described this text as “a remembrance, admonition, exhortation, and my testament, which I, little brother Francis, make for you my blessed brothers….”[2] Among other things, Francis recounts how he formed his order: “And after the Lord gave me some brothers, no one showed me what I had to do, but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the pattern of the Holy Gospel.” [3]
For St. Francis, living “according to the pattern of the Holy Gospel” was physical and sacramental. One of its signal characteristics would be its communal nature. Modeled on the example of Jesus and the apostles, it would be a community of brothers who would “give themselves to honest work,” living a life of poverty in the world “as pilgrims and strangers.” [4] In this and the other ways in which the Franciscan movement would take shape—St. Clare’s cloistered Poor Ladies or the secular Brothers and Sisters of Penance—the paradigm of Franciscan life would be fraternity.
Moreover, Franciscan fraternity would not be an abstract idea, not a collection of names on paper. For Secular Franciscans, fraternity then, as now, means brothers and sisters who are physically present to one another. That is why attendance at fraternity meetings is vital to our Franciscan way of life.
Our Rule states, “The local fraternity is to be established canonically. It becomes the basic unit of the whole Order and a visible sign of the Church, the community of love.” (Rule, Article 22) The commentary on the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order states, “The local fraternity is the basic living organism of the whole Secular Franciscan Order and a visible sign of the whole Church in miniature.”[5] The Constitutions emphasize that “The fraternity must offer to its members opportunities for coming together and collaborating through meetings to be held with as great a frequency as allowed by the situation and with the involvement of all its members.” (Constitutions, 53:1)
During the pandemic, many fraternities resourcefully turned to conference calls and internet services to meet these obligations at a time when physical gatherings were not possible. Some local fraternities continue to offer these options. However, they should only be employed in extraordinary circumstances or when necessary to engage members truly unable to attend a regular gathering.
In a homily he gave in April 2020, during the height of the Covid crisis, Pope Francis reminded us of the necessity of physically coming together. Acknowledging the utility of television and the internet under those circumstances, he nevertheless emphasized that Christians should seek a “daily familiarity with the Lord” that is intimate and personal but always in community: “The ideal of the Church is always with the people and with the sacraments. Always.” In a sentence that should ring true in the ears of every Franciscan, he stated, “The Church, the sacraments, the People of God are concrete.”[6] Believing that our local fraternities are indeed a living organism, a visible sign of the church in miniature, Secular Franciscans should take the Holy Father’s words to heart, reminding ourselves that fraternity is concrete. Fraternity is not virtual. The Lord has given us brothers and sisters as a gift. We should rejoice in our opportunities to come together and do so with eager anticipation.
[1] St. Francis of Assisi, “The Testament” in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents (FA:ED I), edited by Regis J. Armstrong, J. A. Wayne Hellmann, William J. Short (New York, London, and Manila: New City Press, 1999), 124.
[2] Ibid., 127.
[3] Ibid., 125.
[4] Ibid., 125-126.
[5] Conference of National Spiritual Assistants of the USA, From Gospel to
Life, The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order With Commentary (National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order, 2023), 25
[6] www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-churchs-ideal-is-to-be-with-the-people-pope-says-15505
 100vw, 250px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>February was Black History month in the US. I began it by watching Eyes on the Prize, the powerful documentary about the Civil Rights era. I reflected on the history of our Church in the US during that time, seeking lessons for our own struggle with injustices today. Our family moved to the South from New England in 1963. Many people we met there favored the oppressive status quo and saw the marches and sit-ins as an unfortunate result of “agitation.” I was shocked to learn that this included many white Catholics. Our family was on the side of Dr. King, and Peter, Paul and Mary and all the “good guys” in favor of integration. Our parents taught and modeled respect and dignity for everyone regardless of color, but it was the activists (including many Franciscans) who really practiced love. They took the beatings and died in the streets and did the heavy lifting of getting Civil Rights into law. They made what John Lewis called “good trouble.” To put it in Secular Franciscan terms, they were “individually and collectively… in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of their human lives and courageous initiatives.” What I was reminded of was that love must be practiced, unreservedly, relentlessly, without fear, to make a difference.</p><p>It was another one of those “For up to now, we have done nothing.” moments.</p><p>Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation is meant to be more than a list of topics. It is a model to show how our life in the Rule brings about conversion, and how our actions are its fruit. We practice contemplative prayer, we reflect on our Gospel call, experience conversion, and apply it to this age and place. In our work, in our family life, in the parish and in our fraternities, we are a people of renewal.</p><p>Innocents will still be suffering and dying in wars and displacement, politicians will be scapegoating and marginalizing groups of people, the poor will struggle for human dignity, and we will still be putting unsustainable amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. We do not obsess over the people whose errors have caused all this. In Chapter 7 of his Rule of 1223, St. Francis said of his friars: “They must be careful not to be angry or upset … because anger or annoyance in themselves or others, makes it difficult to be charitable.” (Omnibus P. 62.) We do not fear. We forgive, we pray for everyone, and we roll up our sleeves to make peace and justice and respect for all creation a living reality. When possible, we strategize as fraternities to address the greatest needs in our community and form an apostolate. We are doing a lot, whether it’s marches and megaphones or letter writing, or public prayer events, private fasting or Novenas, or public singing, we are out there in love, trying to further human dignity in this world. It is nothing less than the demands of the Gospel.</p><p>Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.</p><blockquote class=)
