Second Letter of the
Conference of the Franciscan Family
on the occasion of the Jubilee 2000,
in the year of the Holy Spirit
|
"ABOVE ALL, SEEK THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD
AND HIS HOLY OPERATION" |
Brothers and Sisters,
1. "The year 1998, the second of the preparatory phase of the Jubilee, will be
dedicated in a particular way to the Holy Spirit and to His sanctifying
presence within the Church". So wrote Pope John Paul II in his Tertio
millennio adveniente (n. 44). Following on the letter "Reconciled in Jesus
Christ" which we sent you last year, we would like to take the opportunity
offered to us Franciscans this year by this circumstance to become more
conscious of the place taken by the Holy Spirit in the experience of Francis
and Clare and of the place which He ought to take today in the lives of their
followers. May it at the same time stimulate us to discover what is the
original contribution which the great Franciscan Family can bring to the
movement of re-discovery of the Spirit taking place throughout the Church.
2. The Holy Spirit is the real secret which explains the life of Francis, the
hidden spring from which flowed every intuition and initiative of his.
Re-reading the first biographies of the Saint in this light, one remains
impressed by a singular fact: every chapter of these, it can be said, begins
with a formula of the type "moved by the Spirit", or "full of the grace of the
Spirit", or "by divine inspiration" Francis said, went, did ... All the great
turning-points of his life are attributed to the specific action of the Spirit.
It was "under the impulse of the Spirit" that Francis entered San Damiano and
received the command "Go, Francis, repair my house", and it was the same Spirit
that gradually revealed to him its meaning and significance[1]. It was again "by the grace of the Holy Spirit" that he
later discovered that the Lord had not called him and his companions "only for
their salvation, but also for that of many others". He discovered, in other
words, also the apostolic and missionary dimension of his Order[2].
In his work of "formation" of the other friars, too, he let himself be guided
by the Spirit: "The blessed father Francis was being daily filled with the
consolation and the grace of the Holy Spirit; and with all vigilance and
solicitude he was forming his new sons ..."[3].
3. As has been said by eminent scholars, the movement set in motion by Francis
was "the greatest charismatic movement in the history of the Church". The
"charismatic" traits were the novelty, the spontaneity, the immediacy of his
action. His discourses were "full of the power of the Holy Spirit"; he invoked
the Spirit before he began to preach, and his words poured out in such a way as
to make it evident to all that "it was not he who spoke, but the Spirit of the
Lord"[4]. Some of his typical gestures are of a
clearly charismatic kind. Every time that "he was full of the ardour of the
Holy Spirit, to express the exuberant warmth of his heart" he began to speak
in French[5]. This was obviously his way of
speaking "in tongues". He did not even shrink at times from asking God to
reveal His will to him "at the first opening of the Bible"[6].
All this brings us to understand where is to be found the ultimate explanation
of Francis's "conformity" with Christ: not in a self-imposed programme of
methodical imitation of Christ in this or that virtue, but in having in himself
the Spirit of Christ and the same sentiments which were in Him. His was an
imitation of Christ which was "pneumatic" before it was ascetic.
4. The Holy Spirit which is the secret of the life of Christ, his "inseparable
companion" as St. Basil describes him, who inspires his every action and guides
his every step, is also the intimate secret of the life of Francis ... And what
is said of Francis, must likewise be said of his "little plant" Clare, on whom
one day the Holy Spirit was seen to descend under the form of two wings[7]. In fact it is "one and the same Spirit" which
has called the brothers and sisters[8]. These
have been "espoused with the Holy Spirit" in imitation of Mary, "Spouse of the
Holy Spirit" (a title which Francis himself helped to introduce into the
language of theology[9]).
5. Francis was not content with himself living the whole of his life "in the
Spirit", but through his Rule and Admonitions tried to stamp upon the life of
all his followers also this great opening to the Spirit. He once proclaimed
the Holy Spirit to be "the Minister General of the Order", regretting the fact
that he could not insert this idea into his Rule, because this had already been
approved by papal bull[10]. What the friars
should desire above all things is to have "the Spirit of God at work within
them"[11]. Both those who work with their
hands and those who, like Antony, dedicate themselves to study and teaching,
should strive "not to extinguish the spirit of holy prayer and devotion"[12].
6. The Seraphic Father has also left us very valuable criteria, biblical in
tone, for discerning on the one hand when a religious lives according to the
Spirit and on the other when he follows the letter and the flesh: "A religious
has been killed by the letter when he has no desire to follow the spirit of
Sacred Scripture, but wants to know what it says only so that he can explain it
to others. On the other hand, those have received life from the spirit of
Sacred Scripture who, by their words and example, refer to the most high God,
to whom belongs all good, all that they know or wish to know, and do not allow
their knowledge to become a source of self-complacency"[13].
St. Bonaventure, faithful interpreter in this, too, of the thought of the
Founder, has made of the anointing by the Spirit ("spiritual unction") the
characteristic of the Franciscan Order. He distinguishes among the various
religious Orders of his time, "those who pay attention primarily to speculation
and secondarily to unction and those who pay attention primarily to unction and
secondarily to speculation", placing the Seraphic Order among the latter[14].
7. In our life as followers of Francis and Clare how are we to rediscover this
powerful spiritual lymph which was there at our origin? Today's Church is
aware of many and widely varying needs, but none of them is more urgent than
this: to offer a genuine response to the world's thirst for spirituality.
Well-known is the statement made by Paul VI: "Many times We have asked
ourselves what is the first and last need that we see in this blessed and
beloved Church of ours ... And you know what it is: the Holy Spirit! The
Church has need of a perennial Pentecost; has need of fire in her heart, the
word on her lips, prophecy in her glance"[15].
The world, if it does not find in Christian communities a spiritual alternative
to the materialism and arid technologism which characterizes today's society
especially in rich countries, will look elsewhere, at times in extremely
doubtful places and forms. The attraction exercised especially on the young by
such centres of spirituality as Taizé, for example, demonstrates the
positive aspect of the same tendency. But where have the Christian faithful
more right to find "dwellings of the Spirit" than in our Franciscan communities
or fraternities? Many bishops want us in their local Churches expressly in
order to respond to this need.
8. Saint Francis has indicated to us the guiding principle for carrying out
this task: preserving the spirit of holy prayer and devotion. In other words,
prayer. It is above all in prayer that the Holy Spirit creates "intimacy with
God". We may note a constant fact in Scripture: the Holy Spirit comes to those
whom he finds in prayer. He came to Jesus after he had received baptism when
"he was in prayer" (cf. Lk 3:21); he came upon the apostles while they were "of
one mind and persevering in prayer, with Mary, the mother of Jesus" (cf. Acts
1:14). And Jesus himself has said that the heavenly Father gives the Holy
Spirit to "those who ask him" (Lk 11:13). St. Bonaventure says that the Holy
Spirit comes "where he is loved, where he is invited, where he is expected"[16].
9. Alongside this principal duty attention may certainly also be given to other
interests and other types of "service of the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:8). The Holy
Spirit - as the Second Vatican Council affirmed - is at work also outside the
visible boundaries of the Church, to guide the development of the social order
and give everyone "the possibility of coming into contact with the paschal
mystery of Christ"[17]. It is up to us
Franciscan men and women to play our part in maintaining in life and developing
"the spirit of Assisi" which has been given its highest expression in the
meeting of the heads of all the religions promoted by John Paul II around the
tomb of Saint Francis in 1986. A spirit of dialogue, of peace-making, of
respect for creation.
We should not forget, either, that the first visible effect of the coming of
the Spirit at Pentecost was that of uniting in the one faith many different
peoples. He is the Spirit of unity and he is present wherever unity is created
or reinforced: between the partners of a marriage, in the community, in the
whole world. To be noted also is that one of the most precious "fruits of the
Spirit" is peace (cf. Gal 5:19).
10. In our own days the Holy Spirit has raised in the Church a great variety of
ecclesial movements which are one of the more visible signs of the "new
Pentecost" hoped for by Pope John XXIII on the occasion of the Council. We
must learn to appreciate this "grace of the Spirit" which is diffused in the
Church today, seeing in it an effective invitation for our life and presence in
the Church.
Let us also keep in mind that some components of the great Franciscan Family
have in recent years received special impulses towards renewing their lives by
force of the Spirit, thanks to the formulation of their Rule. On 8 December
1997, in fact, occurred the 15th anniversary of the approval of the "Rule of
the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis", and on
26 June 1998 there will be commemorated the 20th anniversary of the approval of
the renewed Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order. It is worth while giving due
attention to these anniversaries in order to build a greater understanding and
a determination to render an authentic service to the Spirit in the Church.
11. On the basis of what we have just indicated as a possible "service to the
Spirit" in today's Church we would like to offer some simple suggestions of a
practical and operational kind.
The primacy of the Spirit
12. For the Franciscan Family the most precious fruit of this year dedicated to
the Holy Spirit should be a renewed effort to restore primacy to the
spirit. Not only in a quantitative sense, by giving more time to prayer,
but also in a qualitative sense, by bringing it about that every activity -
manual, academic, pastoral - is imbued with that "spirit of prayer and devotion
to which all other things are meant to contribute", as our Seraphic Father
exhorts us. To the renewal of the Franciscan charism may equally be applied
what Pope John Paul II had to say of the renewal of the Church in general after
the Council: it "cannot become a reality in any other way than in the Holy
Spirit, that is to say with the help of his light and his power"[18]. This is the opportune moment to commit ourselves to
making our Franciscan churches and houses and, as far as possible, our SFO
Fraternities, into authentic "centres of spirituality". Let us, for example,
examine ways of making available "schools of prayer", "times of the Spirit", a
well-qualified "spiritual direction", the practice and the spread of the
"lectio divina" or a meditative and shared reading of spiritual texts
(especially Franciscan ones).
The spirit of unity
13. The children of Francis and Clare are called to live the spirit of unity
especially among themselves, developing constantly closer bonds of esteem,
of concord and of collaboration between the different Franciscan Families,
recalling in the words of Dante that the first companions of Francis edified
the world most of all by "their concord and their joyful semblance"[19]. We want to insist, as we did in last
year's pre-Jubilee letter, in inviting to an ever closer communion and
collaboration within the great Franciscan Family. We ask that as far as
possible our forces be united in various fields: for example in formation, in
particular as regards properly Franciscan formation, in spiritual animation, in
cultural, apostolic and charitable fields. Within the three Franciscan Orders
(with all due respect to the specific vocation of the Sisters of the Second
Order) encouragement should be given to meetings even of an informal kind, to
exchanges, common moments of prayer and reflection, concrete initiatives of
communion and fraternity. Ecumenical engagement should find in the Franciscan Family a particular
willingness: the "spirit of Assisi" should make us particularly attentive and
solicitous promoters of ecumenical initiatives.
Peace
14. We have recalled that one of the most precious "fruits of the Spirit" is
peace, and we know how much our Seraphic Father himself desired to be an
instrument of peace and have his Brothers spread it throughout the world, even
through the manner in which they greeted the people[20]. The Franciscan Family ought to be in the "front
line" wherever there is work for peace. Where ethnic conflicts of all
kinds tear nations apart and create situations of high tension, we ought to be
promoters of peaceful concord, even if this means accepting initiatives which
require grat courage and upholding positions which are openly inspired by the
Gospel and the "new commandment" of mutual love. This presupposes that in our
own midst above all we take the greatest care to eliminate the remotest trace
of antagonism, hegemony, or division.
The richness of the ecclesial movements
15. Different movements throw light upon the need for a more living faith, a
more concrete charity, a more heart-felt and spontaneous prayer: all these are
values which Franciscan spirituality puts at our disposal abundantly in our
choice of life. They stimulate our Fraternities to be more alive, more
amenable to renewal, more open to welcoming the new things of the Spirit, more
capable of letting the demands of obedience and fraternity prevail over our
personal choices and experiences. We should be ready to welcome and make use
of these stimulating reminders, recognizing them as incentives to letting
the rich spirituality proper to our charism grow young again and wisely
drawing from them pointers for the way in which we incarnate in our lives the
spirituality proper to our charism. If we do not renew ourselves we run the
risk of no longer saying anything or giving anything to the Church and to the
world.
16. We recognize that throughout the Franciscan Family the values which we have
underlined in this letter already find positive and encouraging implementation.
But we would invite you not to be content with what has already been done and
is now being done, but to strive for new goals, always mindful of the
exhortation of our Father Saint Francis: "My Brothers, we must begin to serve
our Lord and God. Until now we have done very little"[21].
At the moment of writing this letter we have before our eyes the sad state of
the earthquake-damaged Franciscan sanctuaries of Assisi: places which are
"indispensable" to our spirituality and our living contact with Francis. While
we hope for their rapid restoration so that they may remain the longed-for goal
of pilgrimages, in the light of the Great Jubilee to come we pray that together
with the material work there may also take place a "reconstruction" of our ever
more authentic fidelity to Francis and Clare and, through them, to Christ and
the Gospel.
We ask our Poor Clare Sisters for a special prayer of intercession that with
the help of our Father Saint Francis and our Mother Saint Clare we may let
ourselves be moulded by the Spirit as "new creatures" (cf. 1 Cor 11:7), docile
to the Spirit which "renews all things" (Ap 21:5).
Rome, 1 January 1998
Fr. Giacomo Bini - Minister General OFM
Fr. John Corriveau - Minister General OFM.Cap
Sr. Carola Thomann - President FIC-TOR
Fr. Agostino Gardin - Minister General OFM.Conv
Fr. Bonaventure Midili - Minister General TOR
Emanuela De Nunzio - General Minister SFO
Sr. M. Giacinta Ibba - Secretary of the CFF
[1] S. Bonaventure, Major Life, II, 1
(Omnibus p. 640)
[2] Cf. Legend of the Three Companions,
X, 36 (Omnibus p. 925)
[3] Celano, First Life I, XI, 26
(Omnibus p. 249)
[4] St. Bonaventure, Major Life, II, 2;
XII, 7 (Omnibus pp. 647, 725)
[5] Celano, First Life, VII, 16
(Omnibus p. 242); Second Life, VIII, 13 (Omnibus
p.373).
[6] Cf. Celano, First Life, II, 92
(Omnibus p. 307).
[7] Cf. the Acts of the process of canonization
(FF 3062).
[8] Celano, Second Life, CXLV, 193
(Omnibus p. 517)
[9] Office of the Passion, Compline
Antiphon (Omnibus p. 142).
[10] Celano, Second Life, CXLV, 193
(Omnibus p. 517).
[11] Regula bullata, ch. X
(Omnibus p. 63)
[12] Regula bullata, ch. V
(Omnibus p. 61).
[13] Admonitions VII (Omnibus
p. 81) and XII (Omnibus p. 83).
[14] St. Bonaventure, Collationes in
Hexaemeron, XXII, 21 (ed. Quaracchi, IX, p. 269).
[15] Discourse on 29 November 1972
(Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, X, p. 1210 s.).
[16] St. Bonaventure, Sermons, Fourth
Sunday after Easter, 2 (ed. Quaracchi, IX, p. 311).
[17] Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22 and
26.
[18] AAS, 73 (1981), p. 521.
[19] "la loro concordia e i lor lieti
sembianti" - Dante, Paradiso, XI, 76 s.
[20] Cf. The Legend of Perugia,
67 (Omnibus p. 1043).
[21] St. Bonaventure, Major Life, XIV,
1 (Omnibus p. 736)
Conference of the Franciscan Family
fr. Giacomo Bini -
Curia Generalizia OFM
Via S. Maria Mediatrice, 25 -
00165 Roma -
tel.: 68.49.19 -
Fax: 63.80.292
fr. Agostino Gardin -
Curia Generalizia OFM Conv.
Piazza Ss. Apostoli, 51 -
00187 Roma -
tel.: 699.571 -
fax: 699.57321
fr. John Corriveau -
Curia Generalizia OFM Cap.
Via Piemonte, 70 - 00187 Roma -
tel.: 4620.121 -
fax: 4620.1210
fr. Bonaventure Midili -
Curia Generalizia TOR
Via dei Fori Imperiali, 1 -
00186 Roma -
tel.: 699.1540 -
fax: 678.4970
sr. Carola Thomann, FCJM -
Figlie dei Ss. Cuori di Gesù e Maria
Via di S. Alessio, 22-24 -
00153 Roma -
tel.: 574.6643 -
fax: 574.6651
Emanuela De Nunzio -
Ministra Generale, OFS
Segretariato CIOFS -
Via Pomponia Grecina, 31 -
00145 Roma -
tel: 512.39.64 -
fax: 540.16.01 |
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