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Greetings to the Poor Clares of the Protomonastery
Br. José R. Carballo, ofm
Minister General
Dear Sisters,
May the Lord give you peace!
I am pleased to be able to salute you in the name of all the participants of the General Chapter and also in the name of all the Friars of the Order, who are here represented by their Ministers. This meeting, which we wished to insert into the work programme of the Chapter Members, is not only a gesture of courtesy or a purely formal act: we wished to come here to express to you, and through you to all the contemplative Sisters of the Franciscan Family, our thanks for what you are, what you do and represent for us.
We well know that our vocation is connected in one root and that the different modalities of its historical practice are a testimony to the extraordinary richness and enormous potentialities that the Franciscan charism contains within itself. The Lord has called us to embody this vocation in the world of today and to give witness to the Franciscan-Clarean form of life among the men and women of our times: it is a stupendous gift, but it also a great responsibility. We will never be able to respond fully to this call if we do not help each other, recognising with humility, joy and openness of heart that we need to be supported. As our Brother Giacomo wrote in his Letter addressed to you for the 750th anniversary of the death of St. Clare: «The experience of communion obliges us to go well beyond all affectionate compensation... We come to you to communicate something new with regard to the Lord, to speed up the passage towards Him».
This is the help that all the Friars, and I among them, expect from you, my dear Sisters: help them “to speak of God”, and to be persons disposed to let God speak in their life, to be men capable of communicating the wonders that God continues to operate in history because they have experienced in their own flesh the transforming power of His love.
We began this meeting by celebrating Vespers together: let us help each other to act so that all our meetings, here and in all the Monasteries spread throughout the whole world, become a celebration, an attentive listening to God who speaks to us always, a thanksgiving for all He gives us for life, a request for pardon and support for our fragility.
I also commend to your prayers the service that was entrusted to me and to the Friars of the new General Definitory. You know that the tasks are many and are not always pleasant; but it will be a great comfort to us knowing that we can count on your friendship and on the sharing of so many Sisters who have the life and fidelity of the Order at heart.
With this confidence we begin our journey: continue to walk with us and, together, let us be guided by Him who “has become our way”.
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