(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA  Spring 2024 Digital Issue #111)

by Ron Lacey, OFS

National Ecumenical / Interfaith Committee Chair

You may have heard the Zen koan: “Coming, going – what’s the difference?” A koan is a riddle that at first seems nonsensical, but when properly understood, it shows the inadequacy of human logic. It is only in our deluded state that we think we’re entering one place without leaving another.

This koan has been much on my mind lately. My beloved fraternity – St Anthony, Boston – has been deactivated. We were once the largest fraternity in St Elizabeth of Hungary Region, but age, sickness, death, a few departures, and no new blood have taken their toll. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences; we’ve said a tearful goodbye to many fraternities.

But with deactivation come new things: exploring other fraternities, making new friends, learning new things, and ultimately, transferring into another fraternity. Coming, going . . . death, resurrection!

It isn’t just fraternity life, is it? It seems that everything works this way: the old gives way to the new. We are often sad to lose the old, but we must never despair, for our Lord may prune, but he does so only to help his branch yield more fruit (Jn 15:2). In the area of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, for example, we leave our old isolation, lose our false sense of security, and we enter a new path of discovery; we gain new friends and new wisdom. It doesn’t always happen in that order, but “joy comes with the morning!” (Ps 30:5).

Our beloved sister Carolyn Townes recently shared with us on the Ecumenical/Interfaith Committee a reflection by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, who spoke of real ecumenism as a path of “progressive convergence.” Drawing on the late Cardinal Dulles, Rolheiser says that ecumenism is not about making converts, pointing out everyone else’s errors, bringing them around our altar. (It is Jesus’ altar, not ours!) In other words, it isn’t about getting them to leave their church for ours. Progressive convergence is about drawing closer to the Prince of Peace – something that demands a persistent turning away from sin, arrogance, the horrible need to be right – and as we draw closer and closer to Jesus, we find in our disagreements a cause for shame, for we find ourselves gathered around him, whose one and only commandment is love.

This Easter Season, ask yourself: “Where am I going?” “Where does this lead?” “Where do I want to go, and what do I have to give up to get there?” Remember in whom we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Remember that we can ascend the heavens, and he is there; we can make our bed in the depths, and he is there (Ps 139:8). Remember that our neighbors – particularly the ones we ignore and the ones we don’t like – are in fact the gate of heaven. And remember, Jesus is making all things new (Rev 21:5)

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2024/05/06/joy-comes-with-the-morning/

Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR, explains how love gives meaning and fullness to life:

“It is love that tells you what life means.  God’s life in you is God’s love for you.  God’s love transforms you, changes you, makes you different.  You become a person in relationship.  A relationship that graces you with spiritual gifts beyond the sheerly human.  Only love gives meaning.  Without love, words are empty.  Without love, knowledge and insight are nothing.  Without love, the spiritual power of faith is lacking.  We may have, through the working of the Spirit, an enthusiasm for self-sacrifice, so that we give of ourselves for the neighbor or for God, giving away everything for their sake, even that is nothing done without love.”

the full text of this Sunday’s homily here: 6th Sunday in Easter – Fr. Christopher (text)

View his homily here: 6th Sunday in Easter – Fr. Christopher (video)

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2024/05/04/the-gospel-through-a-franciscan-lens-6th-sunday-in-easter-fr-christopher/

Diane Menditto, OFS National Vice Minister

Queridos hermanos y hermanas,

Mientras escribo esto, estoy de vuelta a los Estados Unidos desde Roma después de asistir a una reunión del Secretariado de Formación Internacional de la CIOFS. Trabajar con mis hermanos y hermanas ha sido una experiencia tan positiva y enriquecedora que comencé a reflexionar sobre por qué sería así.

¿Has pensado últimamente en el hecho de que todos nosotros somos miembros, no solo de nuestras fraternidades locales, sino también de las fraternidades Regionales, Nacionales e Internacionales? El tiempo que pasé la semana pasada con el Secretariado de Formación de la CIOFS me hizo comprender esto de una manera hermosa.

Los miembros del Secretariado provienen de todo el mundo. Somos de Argentina, Brasil, Chile, la República Checa, Rumania y los Estados Unidos, ¡una verdadera sopa de letras! Nuestros dos idiomas comunes son el español y el inglés. A veces me toca actuar como traductora, pero para esta reunión, uno de los consejeros de la Presidencia que habla español, inglés e italiano se unió a nosotros.

Nos reunimos presencialmente por última vez hace dos años, pero la semana pasada comenzamos nuestra reunión como si nunca nos hubiéramos separado. El ritmo de nuestra conversación y nuestro trabajo fue fluido y agradable. Nuestras oraciones y nuestras comidas fueron sinceras y abundantes. Hablamos en el idioma que nos resultaba cómodo en ese momento.

Puede que esto le suceda a usted cuando se reúne con amigos de toda la vida o con la familia. Pero, ¿no es cierto que a menudo sucede lo mismo cuando nos reunimos con nuestros hermanos y hermanas franciscanos?
El Secretariado se preocupa profundamente por nuestra Orden y por todo el material formativo que estamos creando, que nos acercará a todos más a Dios. Aunque nuestras fraternidades locales estén a miles de kilómetros de distancia, caminamos juntos siguiendo los pasos de San Francisco y discutimos lo que puede beneficiar a cada miembro de cada fraternidad local en el mundo entero.

Lo que realmente es especial y emocionante para mí, sin embargo, es ver cómo personas de diferentes orígenes, idiomas y culturas son tan similares en nuestro amor mutuo, por Dios y por nuestra vocación franciscana. El Espíritu Santo nos ha dado a cada uno de nosotros los precisos dones y talentos que necesitamos para llevarnos bien y ser productivos. Es un poco milagroso ver lo que incluso una pequeña Fraternidad “temporal” (6 de nosotros) puede lograr si estamos abiertos al Espíritu y a los demás.

Demos gracias a Dios por este don de fraternidad que se nos ha dado. Es un don sin precio que nunca debemos dar por sentado. Es una perla de gran valor, un tesoro, que debemos esforzarnos por preservar y compartir con otros.

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2024/04/30/fraternidad-es-mas-que-local/

Diane Menditto, OFS National Vice Minister

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As I write this, I am on my way home from Rome after attending a meeting of the CIOFS International Formation Secretariat. Working with my brothers and sisters has been such a positive and uplifting experience that I began to think about why this would be so.

Have you given any thought lately to the fact that we are all members, not only of our local fraternities, but also of the Regional, National, and International fraternities? My time this past week with the CIOFS Formation Secretariat brought this point home beautifully.

The Secretariat members come from all over the world. We are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, Romania, and the USA– a real alphabet soup! Our two common languages are Spanish and English. Sometimes, I get to serve as the translator, but for this meeting, one of the Presidency councilors who speaks Spanish, English, and Italian joined us.

We last met in person two years ago, but this past week, we began our meeting as if we had never been apart. The rhythm of our conversation and our work was smooth and pleasant. Our prayers and our meals were heartfelt and hearty. We spoke in whichever language was comfortable at that moment.

You may find that this happens when you get together with long-time friends or family. But, isn’t the same thing often true when we gather with our Franciscan brothers and sisters?

The Secretariat cares deeply about our Order and about the formative material we are creating that will bring all of us closer to God and strengthen our vocations. Even though our local fraternities are thousands of miles apart, we walked together in the footsteps of St. Francis. We discussed what can benefit every member in every local fraternity throughout the world.

What is truly special and emotional for me, though, is to see how people of different backgrounds, languages, and cultures are so much alike in our love for one another, for God, and for our Franciscan vocation. The Holy Spirit has given each one of us the exact gifts and talents we need to allow us to get along and to be productive. It’s a bit of a miracle to see what even a tiny (6 of us) “temporary” Fraternity can accomplish if we are open to the Spirit and to one another.

Let’s all thank God for this gift of fraternity. It is a priceless gift that we should never take for granted. It is a pearl of great price, a treasure, that we should take great pains to preserve and share with others.

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2024/04/30/fraternity-is-more-than-local/