Secular Franciscans held the first virtual chapter meeting via video conferencing because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.  This is one of a series of reports that appeared in TAU-USA Winter 2021 Issue 102.)

By Sharon Winzeler, OFS

Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR celebrated the masses for the virtual national chapter from his friary.

Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR, helped set the tone for a pandemic-caused virtual chapter by reminding attendees to take a Franciscan approach and see opportunity.

In the opening mass streamed from St. Joseph Friary in Hollidaysburg, PA, Father Christopher noted that many were experiencing anxiety in the midst of a pandemic as well as civil unrest.

“I cannot stop all of the issues from swirling around in my mind — racial discrimination, fear and uncertainty with every breath we take, divisiveness in society, in our institutions, in our church, bigotry, lack of civility in public discourse, injustices against human dignity, preventive health and safety measures misinterpreted as restrictions on personal freedom, disinformation,” he said.

Disruptions Can Be Opportunities

Father Christopher called on chapter participants to “see the disruptions” as “an opportunity to be alone with Jesus and go deeper and deeper.”

Approach these unsettling times with a Franciscan heart, he advised, by maintaining a joyful attitude like St. Francis of Assisi while being penitent and seeking conversion.

“The call to conversion is a change of mentality,” he said. “It predisposes us to believe in the gift of the Kingdom of God proclaimed and inaugurated by Jesus. Being penitent introduces us to the extraordinary and intimate relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Fr. Christopher, who is past president-in-turn of the Conference of National Spiritual Assistants, urged Franciscans to listen to the Holy Spirit during these trying times. “Act in ways that bear witness to our vocation. This hidden treasure has not lost its value in the current conditions of the world and of the Church. To the contrary, it is even more valuable as a Gospel alternative to the lacerations that oppress and distress today’s men and women.”

Unwavering faith in the face of uncertainty helps us to accept and understand Jesus’ words to be prepared against the unexpected, he said.

Fratelli Tutti

In the chapter’s closing mass on Oct. 24, Father Christopher pointed to the encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, as a way to spread harmony in these trying times.

“Pope Francis is surely right to think that a confused world urgently needs some Catholic common sense.” That is what he provides us in his latest encyclical, “universal fraternity put into dialogue with the Gospel. It points in the direction of the brotherhood and sisterhood of every human being.”

He referred to the Gospel in which Jesus told his disciples, “A new commandment I give you: Love one another as I have loved you.”

“Not just ‘love one another.’ Not simply ‘love one another as you love yourselves.’ No. ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’”

A Good Model

Franciscans have a good model for this type of love, he noted. “St. Francis lived and taught this reciprocal love as Gospel living. He showed us how to love the Father by being in harmony with all creation. How to love the Son by imitating his life. And how to love the Spirit to be Advocate of the Order.”

The encyclical is an expansion of  Catholic Social Teaching, he said, and a reiteration of the essentials of the Gospel, urging us to get back to the basics.

“Pope Francis stresses the importance of meeting others, of creating a culture of encounter, to really get to know one another. Covid-19 should not diminish our desire to connect with one another. Computers and smartphones and video communications are at the ready.”

Pope Francis’s example of ordinary human goodness working for the common good is exemplified in the life of St. Francis of Assisi as noted in Fratelli Tutti: “In the world of that time, bristling with watchtowers and defensive walls, cities were a theater of brutal wars between powerful families, even as poverty was spreading throughout the countryside. Yet there Francis was able to welcome true peace into his heart and free himself of the desire to wield power over others. He became one of the poor and sought to live in harmony with all.” (#34)

A Franciscan Approach to Today’s Times

(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Winter 2021 Issue 102)

Brothers and Sisters All: Pope Francis Reflects on Fraternity

by Mary Bittner, OFS

Pope Francis introduces Fratelli Tutti by acknowledging his inspiration from the life and words of St. Francis of Assisi. He then sets before us his own purpose: “It is my desire that, in this our time, by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. Brotherhood between all men and women.” [8]^[1]

After a description of the many problems facing today’s world, Pope Francis moves to an extended meditation on the parable we know as The Good Samaritan. This teaching underlies the lines of action the Pope would have us consider in later chapters. He invites us to use the parable as an examination of conscience of sorts. Read the parable of the Good Samaritan ([56] or Lk 10:25-37, and [64-66]). In which of its characters do you find something to identify with? Why?

Aside from the traveler himself, the first characters we hear about are the robbers. We can probably come up with examples of “dark shadows of neglect and violence in the service of petty interests of power, gain and division.” What does the Pope mean when he asks if the wounded man will “end up being the justification for our irreconcilable divisions, our cruel indifference, our internal conflicts?” [72]

The passers-by undoubtedly had their reasons for ignoring the fallen man [73-74]. What are some of the justifications we might use to justify passing by or looking the other way when we encounter those who are suffering? What part do politics or the economy play in how we “see” (or don’t see) those who suffer in our society (the poor, the immigrants, those of a different faith or skin color or abilities)?

Pope Francis cautions us that the passers-by “were religious, devoted to the worship of God: a priest and a Levite. This detail should not be overlooked. It shows that belief in God and the worship of God are not enough to ensure that we are actually living in a way pleasing to God.” [74] How should our Franciscan vocation help us to “ensure that we are actually living in a way pleasing to God?”

Collusion between the robbers and those who pass by can contribute to an atmosphere of “disillusionment and despair.” [75] What elements in our own culture might be like the “thieves” that rob people of their dignity? How do we support these thieves, or try to stop them? What might we do, as individuals and as a  community of faith, to counter disillusionment and be “messengers of perfect joy?”

“The parable eloquently presents the basic decision we need to make in order to rebuild our wounded world. In the face of so much pain and suffering, our only course is to imitate the Good Samaritan.” [67] How might we be neighbors to those who are “wounded” in our own society? In the global community? Do we differentiate between the two? Choose one concrete thing you might do during Lent to be a neighbor to someone you might otherwise ignore.

The Pope warns us that “…there are those who appear to feel encouraged or at least permitted by their faith to support varieties of narrow and violent nationalism, xenophobia and contempt, and even the mistreatment of those who are different,” and he suggests that “For this reason, it is important that catechesis and preaching speak more directly and clearly about the social meaning of existence, the fraternal dimension of spirituality, our conviction of the inalienable dignity of each person, and our reasons for loving and accepting all our brothers and sisters.” [86 (emphasis mine)] How do each of the themes italicized above relate to our fundamental charism as Secular Franciscans? How can our lives speak “clearly and directly” in their regard?

[1] All quotations are from Fratelli Tutti. Numbers in brackets refer to paragraphs. A PDF version of the full text of the encyclical can be found on the national website secularfranciscansusa.org/resources/ongoing-formation-resources/

Fraternity Life 2018-2021 National Priority