The Manual for Assistance to the SFO and to the Franciscan Youth
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Conference of the General Spiritual Assistants OFS-YouFra M A N U A L for assistance to the OFS and to the Franciscan Youth Rome, 2006 / 2012 PREMISE Conference of the Ministers General of the Franciscan First Order and TOR From the beginning, the charism of Francis and Clare of Assisi has fascinated men and women who, even in diverse states of life, have followed their example to bring the Gospel of Christ to the world. These have always constituted a single Family that, through the centuries, has known how to maintain among its members solid links of collaboration and has always offered reciprocal support. Moreover, belonging to this Family has been constantly guaranteed by the strong sense of communion, by sharing the same ideals and deepest aspirations, by the acknowledgment of being included in one and the same call to live the gospel life according to a properly Franciscan style. One of the instruments that has strongly contributed to keeping alive this profound unity of the Franciscan identity in its three Orders is certainly that of spiritual and pastoral assistance of the OFS, entrusted by the Church to the Franciscan First Order and to the TOR. This mandate, which every Friar has received in regard to their secular Brothers and Sisters, in order to be better guaranteed, is always carried out by some in particular, the spiritual Assistants, those most personally committed so that all, in “life-giving union”, may proceed towards the fullness of life to which the Lord has called us. It is a matter of a great responsibility because the spiritual Assistant, offering his or her own contribution especially in the area of formation, helps the Brothers and Sisters of the OFS to grow in fidelity to the unique Franciscan charism, in communion with the Church and in union with the entire Franciscan Family. So we are happy that this new Manual for spiritual Assistants to the OFS, whereby they will be able to enter more deeply into harmony with the history and the spirit of the Secular Franciscan Order that they serve, is now going to the press. Here we have an ample aid that presents the spiritual journey made by the OFS from its beginning till now and illustrates well the roll taken up by the Assistant. If, indeed, the importance and the necessity of an adequate formation has been very much emphasized nowadays in order to live one’s vocation in a complex world like ours, it is likewise urgent that those who are appointed to carry out the delicate service of formators be the first to undertake it seriously, so that they can prepare themselves adequately to carry out ever better what has been asked of them. Therefore, we entrust this new aid to all the spiritual Assistants of the OFS and of Franciscan Youth, with the hope that we can always grow together in the discovery of the marvelous call that we have received from the Father of mercies. Fr. José Rodríguez Carballo OFM Fr. Joachim Giermek OFMConv. Minister General Minister General Fr. John Corriveau OFMCap. Fr. Ilija Živković TOR Minister General Minister General Rome, 18 December 2005 2 PRESENTATION Conference of General Assistants of the OFS The Manual for Assistance to the OFS and to the Franciscan Youth (YouFra), prepared by the Conference of General Assistants, issued as a response to the repeated requests of the spiritual Assistants and of some provincial Ministers to have a Manual as an aid for the Assistants who are dedicated to this fraternal service. After having examined so many articles published in Koinonia, in the Letter from Rome to the Assistants and in the official website of the International Council of the OFS (CIOFS), and after a labour of systematizing all the material, the present Manual is now ready. The aim of this Manual is to help the spiritual Assistants in their service of spiritual accompaniment to the Fraternities of the OFS-YouFra, by providing them with a compact and precise instrument for treating the basic themes of the OFS-YouFra, specifying also the role and responsibility of the spiritual Assistants. We are certain that the Manual will be very helpful also for the Friars who are not Assistants, but who want to know about the OFS and YouFra. Besides, it will surely be a useful aid for the secular Leaders of the OFS-YouFra Fraternities. The main themes treated in the Manual are the following: the history of the OFS (ch. I); the identity and mission of the Secular Franciscans (ch. II and ch. III); spiritual and pastoral assistance (ch. IV); Franciscan Youth (YouFra); Franciscan Children and Heralds (Ch. V) and the collaboration of the OFS with other groups (ch. VI). Chapter VII contains the Rule and the Statutes for Spiritual and Pastoral Assistance to the OFS in force today, while the Appendix contains the previous Rules that the OFS has had in its eight centuries of history. We are aware that the Manual constitutes a point of arrival. It is in fact the fruit of a work that took about four years, being initiated immediately after the definitive approval of the General Constitutions of the OFS (8 December 2000) and after the updating of the Statutes for Spiritual and Pastoral Assistance to the OFS. But it is also a point of departure for so many other themes that must still be deepened. From now on, we pledge ourselves to take into careful consideration all the observations and suggestions that will come to us: they will be very useful for further research and new publications. To all the brothers and sisters who have collaborated with the Conference of General Assistants in the realization of this Manual we express our very sincere thanks. Our appreciation goes also to Emanuela de Nunzio, ex-Minister General of the OFS, to Fr. Valentin Redondo OFMConv and to Fr. Ben Brevoort OFMCap, both ex-General Assistants of the OFS, for their great contribution. For the translation of the Manual into English we sincerely thank Fr. Edward Hagman OFMCap, Fr. Carl Schafer, OFM and other persons who have collaborated in proof reading and correcting the texts, especially Sarah Mulholland, OFS. Our wish to all is that this Manual may be an effective instrument in the service of spiritual and pastoral assistance to the Secular Franciscan Order and to the Franciscan Youth. Fr. Samy Irudaya, OFMCap Fr. Ivan Matić, OFM General Assistant of the OFS General Assistant of the OFS Fr. Martin Bitzer, OFMConv Fr. Michael Higgins, TOR General Assistant of the OFS General Assistant of the OFS Rome, 6 January 2006 3 CHAPTER I BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER (OFS) 1. Introduction The OFS is a penitential Order that comes under the name of a Movement born in the Church as the result of the ecclesiastical penitential discipline. From the beginning of the Church a penitential doctrine and a practice – doctrinal and ritual – was outlined, which can be summarized in these terms: the baptized who commits sin can obtain pardon provided “he does penance” and “is converted”. The sinner who wanted to be converted, to change his life, to give up sinning, entered into the Order of Penance or of Penitents and remained there until he carried out the expiation determined by the church community together with the bishop. Alongside the “compulsory” penitents there arose, in time, the “voluntary” penitents, who desired a life of greater perfection. The OFS is a secular Order, and this value of secularity always appears with the passing of time in such a way that in the Middle Ages it was recognized as one of the three Orders existing in the Church: The Order of Clerics, the Order of Monks, and the Order of Penitents. This Order of Penitents does not refer to all the faithful of the Church but only to those Christians who have decided to belong to one of the existing different forms of voluntary penitents. The OFS is a Franciscan Order. Our aim is to try to know how a part of these secular penitents seek the help of Francis and his friars and follow the norm of life given them by Francis of Assisi. So, this penitential secular Order is animated by and immersed in the charism of Francis and forms part of the great Franciscan Family. Francis is the man of penance. He was a penitent in the gospel sense; the first friars were called “penitent friars of Assisi”1; and the Franciscan Third Order was known as the Order of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. 2. Pre-Franciscan Period 2.1. Obligations of the Penitents Today it is difficult to reconstruct the situation of the Order of Penance in the period before Francis of Assisi and his companions. We can say that there were bishops who spoke of the Penitential Movement and other personages who had a great influence on the spirituality of the Penitents. These persons will help, at least in part, to bring about the Gregorian Reform. Through preaching and the practice of poverty after the manner of the Apostles, they will give to the Christian people a form of gospel life. We can summarize the obligations of the penitents in these few lines. - the habit: simple, of wool only, not expensive and dark in colour, characteristic of penance or of a hermit, often with the sign of the TAU on the mantle or hood; a staff, a haversack and sandals; - the profession: made with the clothing of the habit; a written document was requested2; 1 They asked: “Where are you from?” Or: “What order do you belong to?”.