Note: Guest Writer contributor Fr. Robert Barbato, OFM Cap. (newly appointed Rector of the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi located in San Francisco Ca.), is writing for Fr. John DeLaRiva, OFM Cap. (newly appointed National Spiritual Assistant to the OFS).

A  scribe  asked  Jesus,  after  being  told  to  love  his neighbor, “And just who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, as we know, with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus turned the question around, “Who was neighbor to the man in trouble?” The answer, of course, was the Samaritan, who treated the man with true love and concern. Jesus said, “Go, and do likewise.” He challenged the scribe (and all of us) not to think of how other people are neighbors to us, but how we can become neighbors by the way we treat them, even our enemies.

When Francis of Assisi started calling himself “Brother Francis,” he wasn’t just picking a title. He was expressing the relationship he wanted to have with the world. In his youth, Francis would never have thought of lepers as “neighbors,” let alone brothers and sisters. He loathed them and avoided them. It was the Lord who led him among them, as he himself tells us, and turned what was bitter into sweetness of soul and body. In other words, Francis learned to see not “lepers,” but Christian brothers and sisters, not a repugnant disease, but a person created in the image of God.

Francis tried to live out what it meant to call himself “brother,” even when it was difficult. To consider those who ridiculed him, belittled him, and called him a fool as brother, was not easy. It took Francis much prayer and patience to learn how to be brother. This was true even when Francis found himself living with some of his friars who disagreed with him or who were simply difficult to live with. As he struggled to learn to be brother to other people, he also came to the insight that he was a brother to all creatures, since every being is made by the same Creator. This, of course, led Francis to compose the “Canticle of the Creatures,” praising God in, through, and for all God’s creatures, like Brother Sun and Sister Moon.

As followers of Francis, we emphasize the importance of fraternity, of being brothers and sisters to one another and to the world. It is true that God calls us into fraternity to support one another and find strength in our brothers and sisters. But frankly, God also calls us into fraternity to learn to put up with one another, to be patient with one another, to learn to thank God for that brother or sister who is the most annoying. Fraternity begins with our prayer for one another and our openness to the idea that each person is made in the image and likeness of God, no matter how hard that may be to imagine in real life! Like Francis, if we call ourselves “brother” or “sister” and try to live out what that title means, we will be led by the Spirit into deep solidarity with all creation and find true joy, for the Lord can turn what is bitter into sweetness of soul and body. Is it easy? No. Is it worth it? Definitely.

May the Lord bless and keep you always!

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2023/02/25/who-is-my-neighbor/

(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Fall 2022 Issue #107)

From Sandal Prints, the newsletter of the St. Clare Fraternity Portland, Ore

“First, it is so amazing gathering with at least 600 other Secular Franciscans! We celebrated Mass together every day in St. Mary’s Basilica, a block down the street from the hotel. The church was completely filled with Franciscans, and when we sang the first hymn, I was bowled over by the beauty of the voices of my sisters and brothers absolutely filling the church! The organist/cantor was wonderfully talented—and it turns out (if I got this right), he is a member of YouFRA (people up to age 30 or so can belong). “

Clare Reidy, OFS

The Q was like looking through a telescope and seeing a galaxy of Secular Franciscans. Some were older and limited physically, some were middle aged with an energetic acute interest, and all seemed driven by a love for the principles of St. Francis. Each one was trying to bring into focus their mission in these challenging times. The love for Jesus Christ was conveyed through discussions on social justice, care for creation, reaching and showing dignity to the marginalized and the poor in spirit.

Cheri Lorenzo, OFS

The first people I talked to (at the Q) were from Franciscan Missionary Service. Rhonda told me about her experience with people crossing the border and needing to be rescued.

“That night, I left for my campsite in Apache Junction. I arrived around 10 pm and set up my tent. It was 99 degrees with thunderstorms on the horizon. I lay there in a pool of sweat wondering if people were crossing the desert that night. The next day, I went back to the mission table and asked if people actually crossed the desert in August. I was told yes, “that is the most affordable time because the coyotes charge a lot less”. I am forever changed by my experience and grateful that God would allow me that small suffering. I have a picture in my living room now from the Q that reminds me of the people who die in the desert in search of a better life for their family.”

Ralph Anderson, OFS

This was the second Quinquennial I have attended, and again, it did not disappoint! I am hard pressed to choose a favorite moment. I urge everyone to watch the keynote addresses on the NAFRA website—they are rich and filled with encouragement for all of us to live our fraternal lives wholeheartedly and then to go out into the world and transform it.

Barbara Allen, OFS

Additional Reflections

After the days we spent in Phoenix, we can only say what an awesome time we spent with our family from the OFS USA. Having come together to the talk sessions, hearing, learning and hopefully applying this to our way of life. I can truly say that you will not forget this grand reunion. If this was your first Q Congress, it will stay in your heart and in your mind.

Sofia Villeareal, Regional Minister, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas

Our first speaker (Fr. David Courturier) was excellent. He covered an area I thought I was an expert in, and that was economics. He explained it in a way that was so Franciscan and made so much sense that I believe we would have a better world if we would adopt what he told us to do.

Bill Parras, OFS, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas

What we heard was necessary. We are all thinking about it, and nobody is talking about it. We need to be treating each other as brother and sister everywhere we go. How would you treat a brother or sister? Not with violence. Not with anger. We need to show the world how to live as brothers and sisters. It’s a huge issue, and we can each start living it in our corner of the world—in our homes and in our fraternities.

Esperanza Nugent, OFS, Blessed Solanus Casey

I am again reminded that we are a much larger organization.

Sometimes, we forget that we are international, and the little fraternities were a gift because we could talk openly and honestly about what we thought. The dialogue was very good. I must look at Pope Francis’s call to be a fraternity to the world. I knew he said that in his writings, but I need to look more closely at how I can make that happen at my local and regional levels. It is amazing that he is talking to us in each writing, but we don’t seem to be engaging in putting some of it into practice. I want to try harder to do that.

Rosemarie LeClerq, OFS, Tempe, AZ, St. Thomas More

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/2023/02/20/quinquennal-reflections/