Recognize Fraternal Life: Relationship
(This article originally appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Tau-USA)
By Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, T.O.R.
We live in a world of change. We witness a significant re-ordering of our social fabric almost at the blink of an eye. The cultural, moral, and spiritual framework in which we live is evolving dramatically. This is the context where our Franciscan witness to the Rule is challenged. Fraternity members are immersed in society. We are acutely aware of the power and influence of many streams of thought and prevailing attitudes on the lives of people.
The discussions and the sharing of experiences in our formation gatherings, in order to “exercise our responsibilities competently in the Christian spirit of service, we together with all people of good will, are called to build a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively” (Rule 14).
The heart of our Franciscan living is the reality of relationship. It is this bond of mutual love that forms the center of Franciscan evangelical life. To live the Gospel and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus means to build up the kingdom by living in loving relationships (RegB III: 10-14).
For Francis, the word “fraternity” identifies this relationship that each of us has with Jesus our brother. For St Francis, fraternity is his radical living in solidarity with all of humanity and creation. From the poetry and prayer of the Canticle of the Creatures to the Story of the Wolf of Gubbio and exemplified in the Encounter with the Sultan, Francis’ heart rests in the faithful recognition of his relationship with the other. “The strongest and most demanding love is that which is required with regard to those to whom we have committed our lives” (Thaddee Matura, “Fraternity,” 112). Such love is an active self-emptying love that frees our hearts from self-interest, in a daily conversion, which builds up the bonds of fraternity. Its absence undermines and breaks this bond.
When ruptures inevitably occur despite the best of intentions, the remedy of reconciliation becomes essential in fraternity life, to ask for forgiveness and to receive forgiveness (EpMin 9-12). We make peace with one another in a spirit of kindness and humility, accepting one another without preconditions, being realistic and merciful, and exercised in fraternal equality, blended together with our love of God, is the central value of our Franciscan vocation (Matura, “Fraternity,” 117). The Kingdom of God is realized when we live in loving relationships.
Living the Gospel means accepting to live with our sisters and brothers — all of them — bearing witness of God’s infinite patience, His inexhaustible forgiveness, His constantly renewed grace. To have the heart of God in our hearts. “Thy Kingdom come.” Is this not the kind of witness to be given for the light of the Gospel to shine in a murky world in which we serve? — in peace, justice, and in love. Fraternity becomes the place , and increasingly, the place of compassion and relationship.
National Minister Message TAU-USA Spring 2019
(This article originally appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Tau-USA)
NATIONAL MINISTER’S MESSAGE
by Jan Parker, OFS
The Rule: Rebar for Concrete Christian Lives
Thirty-five years ago, a wise Capuchin friar handed me a copy of The Ideals of St. Francis of Assisi[1], and suggested I read it. It was a pivotal 1 moment. I can still picture the outdoor wooden stairway where I sat down, opened this book and read for hours. I remember the cool breeze as night fell, and how thankful I was for the porch light. I did not want to put this book down. Each chapter made my heart sing a joyful “yes!”
That book was my first study of Franciscan spirituality. Here I began to learn what distinguishes St. Francis, and what constitutes his individuality, his personality, his soul, his spirit, his genius – his ideals. This book explores these ideals one by one: “Francis and the Gospel,” “Francis and Christ,” “Francis and the Eucharist,” “Francis and the Church,” “Francis and His Love of Poverty, ” continuing with chapters on Franciscan Livelihood, Humility, Obedience, Simplicity, Chastity, Penance, Joy, Brotherliness, Charity, Peace, Apostolate, Science (yes, science!), Piety, and Nature. It was during this time that I was beginning to learn, too, about the Franciscan Order. How delighted I was to discover that there was a Rule that incorporated these ideals! I embraced this Rule as a way to develop and live the ideals of St. Francis. I made my profession, and from that day forward, the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order has been the rebar of my life. Rebar?
It was Cal Prewitt who introduced me to the importance of rebar. Cal was a great friend, a fellow parishioner, and an engineer who helped oversee the construction of our new church. One day, as we toured the newly-poured foundation, Cal explained that rebar (short for reinforcing bar) is a steel bar or mesh of steel wires used to increase the tensile strength of concrete. He went on to say that rebar greatly increases the amount of stress that concrete can withstand before breaking, then added, “You know, the values we hold onto in life are like rebar – like steel giving strength to concrete.” The image stuck.
Rebar is a good image for how I see the Rule working in my life. The ideals embedded in our OFS Rule are very much like steel bars, encased deep in the center of my being. They give fundamental support to my life. They reinforce me, keep me from breaking away, and help me stay strong and true to my vocation, especially in times of stress. These Franciscan reinforcement bars guide and direct my actions.
This analogy of rebar returned to mind a few months ago when Pope Francis gave a homily about how our Christian lives need to be concrete. He reflected on the different opposites stressed in Matthew 7:21-27, notably between “saying and doing”:
“To say is a way of believing, but very superficial, half-way: I say I’m a Christian, but I don’t act like a Christian. To say it simply, it’s a bit like making oneself up as a Christian: only to say it is to make oneself up, to say without doing.” On the contrary, “Jesus’ proposal is concrete, always concrete. When someone approaches you and asks for advice, it’s always for concrete things. The works of mercy are concrete.”
Another opposition: rock and sand. Sand is “a consequence of saying”; it leads to a life “without foundations.” The Lord is the rock, “He is the force. However, very often one who trusts in the Lord doesn’t seem to have success; he is hidden . . . but he is solid. He doesn’t have hope in words, in vanity, in pride, in the ephemeral powers of life,” but in the Lord, stressed the Pontiff. “The concrete aspect of the Christian life makes us advance and build on that rock which is God, which is Jesus, on the divinity’s solidity — not on appearances or vanity, pride, recommendations… no, on the truth.”
Third opposition: the vain and the humble. The Holy Father quoted the Magnificat: “The Lord raises the humble, who are in the concreteness of the everyday, and brings down the arrogant, those who build their life on vanity, pride . . . they don’t last.”
Secular Franciscans should certainly exemplify this concrete living our Holy Father speaks of – living solid Christian lives on the foundation that is Christ. The rebar of our Rule is there to reinforce our efforts. As our sister St. Clare says, “Hold fast.”
As we close this Jubilee Year in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of our Rule, let’s make it a celebration not just of our Rule, but of our lives as Secular Franciscans. We must be resolute. There’s no point in celebrating the Rule unless we celebrate how we are living it. Let’s celebrate today and every day by living concrete Christian lives, grateful for the Rule and the rebar that it is.
[1] The Ideals of St. Francis of Assisi by Hilarin Felder OFM Cap., translated by Berchmans Bittle OFM Cap., published by Berziger Brothers, Printers to the Holy Apostolic See, copyright 1925