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

by Anne Mulqueen OFS

Spiritual Assistant, National Formation Commission

This issue of TAU-USA is dedicated to our most recent National Chapter—the first of its kind to be conducted virtually. May God grant that this is the first and the last virtual chapter we will ever have to experience.

We are familiar with the line from William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, where Juliet says to Romeo, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Adapting Juliet’s line I say, “A chapter by any other name would be called a meeting.” But what kind of a meeting? It is not simply a regularly scheduled meeting. A chapter is a special time of gathering.

The word chapter originally came to us from the Benedictines in around the 12th or 13th century. When the monks gathered, they would read and meditate on a chapter of their rule; hence the gathering took on the name chapter. Apparently, St. Francis was familiar with the term and used it.

What exactly is a chapter? What is involved when we call the membership to gather for a religious chapter? You might think this is an unusual topic for a formation article, and you would be correct. It is an unusual topic. However, I believe one of the objectives of formation is to help us understand why we do what we do. As agents of formation, we assist by feeding the mind as well as the soul of a person.

Basically, a canonical, ordinary chapter is a gathering of members who have the authority to govern a religious organization that meets at regular intervals. This governing body makes decisions and sets direction, bearing in mind the official guiding documents.

In the United States, there we are most familiar with two types of chapters: the annual national and regional chapter and the triennial elective chapter. If unusual circumstances were to occur that required convening the National or Regional Frater nity, it would be considered an extraordinary chapter.

The International Fraternity (CIOFS) calls a general chapter every three years and gathers representatives from the entire Secular Franciscan Order throughout the world. The general chapter is a sign of our worldwide unity. CIOFS meets in elective chapter every six years.

Periodically, St. Francis called his brothers back to enjoy fraternity and to share their experiences on the road. He called these gatherings chapters of mats. While the brothers were still small enough in number to gather in one place, all the brothers came to the chapter of mats. Our Quinquennial celebrations are modern-day chapters of mats. All Secular Franciscans are called, and all are welcome.

Finally, since a chapter is a type of meeting, it is not necessary to refer to it as a “chapter meeting.” Using the word chapter is sufficient.

Now let’s move from the head, our intellectual understanding of chapter, to the heart, our formative, affective understanding of chapter.

Whenever Franciscans gather, they form fraternity. As an example, when the regional ministers and the national executive council come together, they form the National Fraternity Council. The same ideals and components of a healthy, vibrant fraternity apply to chapters. Therefore, much of what I write in this portion about chapters also applies to your local fraternity gatherings and council meetings.

Is governance, or business, a chapter’s primary focus? I don’t think so, but you may disagree. Yes, there is an agenda with many issues that must be discussed and voted on; issues that will affect Secular Franciscans not in attendance. However, I believe the governing body has an obligation that takes precedence over issues and votes. Their first obligation is to come together in prayer to discern the will of God for the Order and the people they represent. Only by turning first to God for direction can they hope for the oneness of heart and mind to accomplish the tasks set before them.

Therefore, it naturally follows that every day of the chapter must be saturated in prayer; prayer in common and private prayer. Quoting our former National Minister and brother Tom Bello,

“Leadership should never sacrifice the spiritual to business,” to which I add, prayer is our connection to God, and it is the Almighty who actually calls us together and blesses our work.

Just as every fraternity gathering should engage in ongoing formation, so too every chapter should allot time for ongoing formation.

Sometimes I think we use terms such as ongoing formation so often that we become immunized as to what the terms really mean. If ongoing formation is necessary, and we all believe it is, that means we are not yet fully formed. And if we are not yet the person we want to give back to God, that means ongoing formation is crucial. And if ongoing formation is that important, it must be a part of every Secular Franciscan gathering.

Have you ever noticed that during a discussion after a presentation, not everyone will comment on the same thing? People hear what they need to hear. That is the movement of the Holy Spirit, meeting the unique needs of each person. And that is what ongoing formation is meant to accomplish. And so it follows that we must be attentive and involved in our own ongoing formation.

Finally, not all ongoing formation occurs during its designated timeframe. God uses countless encounters and experiences to form us. These aha moments are the reward of being open to the

Spirit.

All chapters set aside time for social and fraternal interaction. From the very first time I attended a gathering larger than my local fraternity, I wished every Secular Franciscan could have my experience. I was a newly elected local formation director, and I was attending the first National Formation Commission workshop. Some of you may remember that Commission led by Donna Marie Kaminsky, OFS. It was the first time I met Fr. Steve Gross, OFM Conv. My eyes were opened. It wasn’t the information shared that changed everything for me. It was the people I met; people just like me who were doing extraordinary things, and I knew I would never be the same. My vocation took on a new and deeper meaning.

I believe God wants that for all of us. God wants us to enjoy the life He gave us. God wants us to laugh and find joy in life. Social times enhance our sense of belonging. The human part of us needs to feel connected to others. Social times strengthen that connection and increase our own commitment. Gatherings larger than our local fraternities allow us to meet people we would normally never meet and develop lifelong fraternal connections.

We will have an opportunity to enter into and experience all of this at the forthcoming Quinquennial Chapter of Mats in 2022! And I promise you, there will be a minimum of business, if any. See you there.

https://secularfranciscansusa.org/2021/05/10/formation-commission-tau-usa-issue-102/

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

By Fr. Jerome Wolbert, OFM, CSNA

I don’t remember hearing about abortion until it was brought up for discussion in my high school English class. Abortion remains a hot topic after all these years, in spite of several commentators claiming decades ago that other issues would squeeze it out, but it still gets modest attention in many elections. Over my years as a priest, I’ve heard several confessions from women and a few from men, about how their choice for abortion has hurt their lives. As long as abortion is with us, it will continue to affect us.

My parents did an end-run around the public schools’ family life education, which started in fifth grade. When each of us reached fourth grade, Mom took my sisters, and Dad took my brothers and me to the local museum, where father-son and mother- daughter classes learned about human physiology and development. Our entire family watched the development of the child from conception to birth on NOVA on PBS. We were watching the rerun when our grandparents were watching us. My grandmother entered the room just as the mother was giving birth. Her reaction: “What would your parents say if they knew you were watching this?” “Well,” we said, “they already saw it with us.” Seeing the development of a child a stage at a time pulls back the curtain from the mystery of pregnancy and makes it just “common sense” that there is a child developing inside the mother. There is no magic point of a “formless blob” suddenly becoming “a human being.”

When my high school English teacher brought up the topic for discussion, I was relieved to find out that the Church already acknowledged that abortion is the taking of human life. I was relieved that the Church was on the side of what, to my eyes, was clearly science.

There are many scientists who would frame things differently. But the simple, direct view of the development of a child in the womb is so powerful that many women leaning toward an abortion choose differently when they see an ultrasound.

Only three of us in that class thought abortion was at all questionable. The simple, direct proclamation of a woman’s so-called “right to choose” is so powerful that it affects how people today interpret even the photography that clearly demonstrates there is a growing being. We learn how to interpret who is favorable or beautiful or trustworthy in part from those around us and the way they interpret and interact with others.

The Secular Franciscan Rule tells us to “be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of [our] human lives and [our] courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, [we] should make definite choices in harmony with [our] faith.” (15)

Our public role extends far beyond the voting booth. My parents’ direct and respectful approach to human life and development had a profound and lasting impact on me. Everything has a proper name, can be discussed with respect and without fear or shame. We can have a great impact when we deal openly, honestly, and without fear about every topic with each person.

For your reflection: What has helped form your Gospel-centered approach to engaging in public life? Is there a challenge you still need to take up? How do you pray about this? What kind of choices do you make that are contrary to social norms but in harmony with our faith?

https://secularfranciscansusa.org/2021/05/03/our-life-in-christ-and-our-public-life/