I also wanted to say thanks for making things even
more complicated for those of us who are making the attempt at understanding the Franciscan family… :banghead:
Hang on to your parachute, because the Franciscan family is going through a great renewal period. St. Francis is probably very happy. It’s his dream come true.
There are many Franciscans who are following one of his rules and responding to the Poor and Crucified Christ in many situations that Francis never imagined. Not only are they responding; but they’re being quite creative in the forms of community that they’re forming. During the last 20 years we have seen the birth of at least 20 Franciscan communities in the USA alone.
They all follow the same father. All are faithful to the same vocation: To live the Gospel in obedience, without property and in chastity. But the structures are varying. Today we have:
religious orders
secular orders
religious congregations
secular institutes
societies of apostolic life
monasteries
and all are Franciscan. Not a single letter of the Rule is lost. But the blanks in the rule, because of situations and questions that Francis never foresaw are being filled in by discerning Christ’s wishes as he speaks through the Rule, the Church and the world around us.
In essence, we’re moving into the future, by going back to the year 1209.
In my own case, I’m very excited. Our “new” community is very much like Francis and his first 10 brothers. They were neither fish nor fowl. They were neither clerics nor monks.
They went to Pope Innocent for his approval. He told them to go out and live the Gospel according to their rule and invited them to come back when they had grown in numbers. All they really had was his blessing They had no power, no parish, no house, no special place in the Church. Just the pope’s blessing and the promise that he would give them more, when they grew. He didn’t even give them a picnic basket for their trip back to Assisi. It would be 14 years before Pope Honorius III would write his papal bull declaring the Franciscan Rule to be of Divine Inspiration not to be touched by any man, except another pope.
For 14 years, the brothers prayed, did penance, served God’s people and lived in as a family with all of the challenges that come from family life. However, this was a family without security and without a promise for the future, just plain and simple dependence on God and trust in the Church’s goodwill.
That’s where we are. We’re not going to be part of any large protective institution. We’re going to be a group of simple men living as brothers to each other and to the voiceless Christ, without a permanent place in the Church, but still very much inside the Church and under her scrutiny. We belong to the Church. She is our mother and our spiritual protector. But she is also giving God and us room to work. She’s not interfering by giving us some big project and some definite security. Our only security is God.
We will have all of the graces that come with being sons of the Church and none of the security and protection. We have no money. We have no buildings. We have a lot of work to do. We need more brothers, consecrated and secular. We’re going to need a bigger roof over our heads. We’re going to need more resources to serve the voiceless Christ. But we’re not asking the Church to give us anything except her blessing and her guidance. We’re fortunate to have a Vicar for Religious who is a very holy woman and very helpful in her suggestions. I truly love her. She’s like a mother and a sister all rolled into one. If anyone ever says anything to me about women in places of authority in the Church, I’ll stick my tongue out at them.
If you want to be free as a lark and poor as church mouse, join us. You will need to work hard. Because you’re going to be like Francis and his early brothers. You’re going to be putting up the building, not moving into one that is well established.
It’s an exhilarating feeling and scary too. I am not going to lie and say that I’m not afraid. I am very much afraid. But my heart tells me that if the Church has given us the blessing to give it a try, then it must be an opportunity that comes from God and it cannot be wasted. Jesus is waiting to take us on a journey. It’s up to us to respond. I truly believe that it’s a sin to make God waste his time when he could be giving it to someone who’s going to make good use of it.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, FFV
