Pope Francis restricts celebration of EF Mass by Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate

[simple_soul]

Well the charism needs to be part of the discussion because we’re talking about a conventual Mass, and the impact of the Mass form on the health and unity of the community.

Well, actually, we shouldn’t even be having a discussion on this. It’s an internal, family matter. Imagine someone coming into your home and dictating how to run your household… it’s exactly that.

I could be wrong but I beleive this post, post #68 is what gives some people the idea that they have a right/obligation “in the name of charity” to pry into and challenge what the order considers its charism is and should be.

From St. Francis, to His followers near his death.

"Act bravely, my Brethren; take courage, and trust in the Lord. The time is fast approaching in which there will be great trials and afflictions; perplexities and dissensions, both spiritual and temporal, will abound; the charity of many will grow cold, and the malice of the wicked will increase.

The devils will have unusual power, the immaculate purity of our Order, and of others, will be so much obscured that there will be very few Christians who will obey the true Sovereign Pontiff and the Roman Church with loyal hearts and perfect charity. At the time of this tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate, who, by his cunning, will endeavour to draw many into error and death.

Then scandals will be multiplied, our Order will be divided, and many others will be entirely destroyed, because they will consent to error instead of opposing it.

There will be such diversity of opinions and schisms among the people, the religious and the clergy, that, except those days were shortened, according to the words of the Gospel, even the elect would be led into error, were they not specially guided, amid such great confusion, by the immense mercy of God.

Then our Rule and manner of life will be violently opposed by some, and terrible trials will come upon us. Those who are found faithful will receive the crown of life; but woe to those who, trusting solely in their Order, shall fall into tepidity, for they will not be able to support the temptations permitted for the proving of the elect.

Those who preserve their fervour and adhere to virtue with love and zeal for the truth, will suffer injuries and, persecutions as rebels and schismatics; for their persecutors, urged on by the evil spirits, will say they are rendering a great service to God by destroying such pestilent men from the face of the earth. but the Lord will be the refuge of the afflicted, and will save all who trust in Him. And in order to be like their Head, [Christ] these, the elect, will act with confidence, and by their death will purchase for themselves eternal life; choosing to obey God rather than man, they will fear nothing, and they will prefer to perish rather than consent to falsehood and perfidy
Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it under foot and deny it. Sanctity of life will be held in derision even by those who outwardly profess it, for in those days Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor, but a destroyer."

as given in the Works of the Seraphic Father St. Francis Of Assisi, Washbourne, 1882, pp. 248-250)

I beleive, and I know I could be wrong but from reading these kind of threads for a while, is that some people beleive that since Vatican Ii these orders lost sight of what thier true charism is and refuse to beleive that the changes they saw in orders as them going back to thier roots they took as them giving up thier true charism. So they take quotes like this as a way to try and prove that St. Francis himself warned that there would be a time that this would happen not realizing that it happened befor Vatican II and that it was Vatican II that told them to go back and reclaim it. Or something like that.

So now we have people who when they see these orders tying to regain and live by thier true traditional charism they beleive they are actually abandoning what they beleive thier true traditional charism should be.

I so hope that made sense.

It’s like things just keep on being twisted and twisted and then twisted again to try and prove how wrong the Church’s leadership and guidence is…

The really scary thing is that they do not realize that what they see in others is really what they are. I beleive it is called projecting onto others what one is themselves or something like that. Know this makes we wonder and question all the time if what I am seeing or understanding is all me getting it all wrong yet again. It really is a chaotic and confusing world when we try to understand other people’s reasons for doing or not doing things.

 

[JReducation]

Well, brother I’m sorry you feel the privacy of your order is being invaded. I certainly wish to retract any rash judgments I have made.

With all respect though, the Mass is what’s on the table here. It’s what people are going to talk about. The charism isn’t up for discussion as far as I can see, so no one’s discussing it. I’m not sure there’s more to it than that.

I agree with you that the mass is what people on the Internet are discussing and this is what has the Franciscans so upset, not just the Friars of the Immaculate either, but several hundred thousand of us. Because what’s being said on the Internet is disgraceful.

If people understood the charism, then the issue with the mass would be much clearer.

1. The Rule of St. Francis founded an order of brothers, not an order of priests. Therefore, every priest who is a Franciscan is canonically a religious brother and must behave accordingly.
2. The Rule of St. Francis allows for only one community mass per day. It prohibits private masses. A brother priest who cannot celebrate mass that day, must participate with the rest of the congregations, lay or religious.
3. The Rule of St. Francis says that the brothers shall obey the local bishop and the Holy See without questions. No questions allowed, period.
4. The Rule says that no one, not even the general chapter, which is the highest law making body in the order, may make changes to what Francis has commanded. The general chapter can interpret what Francis commands and can address issues that Francis never addressed.
5. The Rule says the the order exists to obey, live in fraternity, do penance, and serve the Church as the Church. Whatever service we provide, must be approved by the hierarchy.
6. The Rule says that the friars are equal. Any form of prayer, work or activity that implies that one friar is superior to another, must be avoided to the point that superiors may never be called Prior. Every friar must be consulted when making a change in a house.
7. The Rule says that the friars are to make the Eucharist and the LOTH the focus of their day.

Now enter SP

1. SP said that religious can celebrate the EF in private without permission. However, the Rule of St. Francis says, “No private masses”. Therefore, this part of SP does not apply to Franciscans, unless the superior gives a waiver.
2. SP said that religious may celebrate the EF with the permission of the major superior according to particular law. No religious can celebrate the EF without permission. The superior has to comply with the law of the founder (St. Francis) when giving permission. He cannot authorize what St. Francis does not delegate to him. Anything beyond what St. Francis wrote in the rule must be approved by the pope.

Our situation

Whatever happened in the FI was not in compliance with either SP or the Rule of St. Francis and needed correcting.

What happened? We don’t know and should not be speculating. It’s none of our business.

What part is our business?

That the friars live their life according to the Rule of St. Francis, because when they do so, we benefit much more than the form of the mass. As long as they offer the sacrifice of the mass and pray for us, we benefit the same, regardless of the form. If they are out of compliance with the mind of St. Francis or the mind of the Church, they suffer and so does the body.

The great thing is that the friars are happy to adjust whatever they need to adjust. They are not fighting anything. Everyone else seems to be fighting.

Why are they not fighting?

Because our Franciscan charism is to obey obey obey. We would hope that everyone out here would respect, support and encourage that rather than wage a battle that we don’t want, because it offends St. Francis and Christ.

In closing, I will add that all of this is causing the friars to sin very gravely.
St. Francis said that the laity and other clergy may never intercede on our behalf before the Church. And if you do and we don’t stop you, St. Francis places the burden of grave sin of disobedience at our doorstep. Obedience is our charism. Without obedience, there is no real poverty. The greatest form of poverty is to divest oneself of one’s will.

 

[Rich_C]

Well the charism needs to be part of the discussion because we’re talking about a conventual Mass, and the impact of the Mass form on the health and unity of the community.

Well, actually, we shouldn’t even be having a discussion on this. It’s an internal, family matter. Imagine someone coming into your home and dictating how to run your household… it’s exactly that.

Well, someone has come into their house to dictate how to run it, and it isn’t a score of random people on the Internet.

We’ve been told that the judgment was based on friction in the community. Whether or not the charism is relevent I don’t know. Since the Franciscans had Latin Masses for 96 percent of their history, it seems like it goes fine with their charism. So it seems this is a people problem to me.

 

[JReducation]

Can you not understand why the laity or secular priests are concerned? Since the beginning of Francis’ pontificate there have been fears regarding his views regarding the traditional Mass and to the public eye, this is only making us more weary. There seems to be an attitude from some that celebrating the old rite is wrong. If as Benedict XVI said, the 2 rites are one in the same, a lot of us are asking, then why the constant attacks on the traditional Mass?

It was Pope Benedict who started this investigation of the FI, not Pope Francis. It was Pope Benedict who assigned the Commissioner, not Pope Francis.

 

[livingwordunity]

I trust whatever decision the Pope makes simply because he is the Vicar of Christ. And, as Peter said, to whom shall we go?

 

[JReducation]

Well, someone has come into their house to dictate how to run it, and it isn’t a score of random people on the Internet.

We’ve been told that the judgment was based on friction in the community. Whether or not the charism is relevent I don’t know. Since the Franciscans had Latin Masses for 96 percent of their history, it seems like it goes fine with their charism. So it seems this is a people problem to me.

Let’s take this in the Franciscan context. If a superior or the general chapter elects to adopt anything that is extraordinary and make it the norm for the community, then such an action is contrary to the charism of the order.

Superiors and general chapters do not have that kind of authority. Only the pope does. St. Francis makes it very clear that superiors and general chapters must obey him, even after he is long gone and his body has turned to dust.

If a general chapter or a superior wants to make ordinary that which is extraordinary, it must get the permission of the Holy See. This is part of the charism of the order.

It has always been part of our charism to submit to the Holy See in all matters. If the Holy See says that we celebrate mass while standing on our heads, we do it. As ridiculous as that may be, it’s not a sin against the Commandments.

 

[OraLabora]

Well, someone has come into their house to dictate how to run it, and it isn’t a score of random people on the Internet.

Yes but it was someone for whom, canonically, it was their business to come into their house, just as legally, the police can come into yours if you’re doing something illegal or disturbing the peace.

We’ve been told that the judgment was based on friction in the community. Whether or not the charism is relevent I don’t know. Since the Franciscans had Latin Masses for 96 percent of their history, it seems like it goes fine with their charism. So it seems this is a people problem to me.

The issue is not the form of the Mass not being compatible with their charism. It’s that the use of the EF and OF together was being done in a manner not consistent with their charism and their constitutions. As Brother JR has repeatedly pointed out from his vast experience and knowledge of Franciscan life.

I should think that we should trust that pope emeritus Benedict who initiated the investigation and pope Francis have done what needed to be done. The community itself has accepted the intervention and has indicated its full intent to obey it. That would suggest to me that it’s case closed and any discussion on this is moot.

 

[Alindawyl]

In closing, I will add that all of this is causing the friars to sin very gravely.
St. Francis said that the laity and other clergy may never intercede on our behalf before the Church. And if you do and we don’t stop you, St. Francis places the burden of grave sin of disobedience at our doorstep. Obedience is our charism. Without obedience, there is no real poverty. The greatest form of poverty is to divest oneself of one’s will.

And this point cannot be stressed enough. No matter how badly we may want the EF, leading others into sin is unconscionable. We cannot do evil with the excuse that we intend good to come from it.

My prayers are with you and your brothers, brother.

 

[Rich_C]

I wish I had been more clear.

I am not arguing with the Church’s decision.

But many people here are going too far in their attempts to stand with the Church, by implying that:

1. you can’t be a good Franciscan and love the Latin Mass,
2. that if you care about this issue as a layperson you are obviously misguided,
3. that no display of sympathy for those hurt by this decision is acceptable.

All my posts have been in contra to those three contentions.

 

[Debora123]

I trust whatever decision the Pope makes simply because he is the Vicar of Christ. And, as Peter said, to whom shall we go?

 

[Church_Militant]

The great thing is that the friars are happy to adjust whatever they need to adjust. They are not fighting anything. Everyone else seems to be fighting.

Why are they not fighting?

Because our Franciscan charism is to obey obey obey. We would hope that everyone out here would respect, support and encourage that rather than wage a battle that we don’t want, because it offends St. Francis and Christ.

In closing, I will add that all of this is causing the friars to sin very gravely.
St. Francis said that the laity and other clergy may never intercede on our behalf before the Church. And if you do and we don’t stop you, St. Francis places the burden of grave sin of disobedience at our doorstep. Obedience is our charism. Without obedience, there is no real poverty. The greatest form of poverty is to divest oneself of one’s will.

And if I have in any way contributed to this disobedience then I apologize and beg forgiveness from Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ and all our Franciscan brothers. God have mercy on us all if we have drawn these gentle brothers into sin.

Perhaps we should all join in reciting the Confiteor together.

***I CONFESS to almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the saints that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore, I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.

And for those big into Latin:

**CONFITEOR Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Ioanni Baptistae, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, et omnibus Sanctis, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo et opere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelem Archangelum, beatum Ioannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, et omnes Sanctos, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum. Amen. *