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DAILY BRIEFING
ENGLISH SPEAKING CONFERENCE O.F.M. |
June 16-17, 2009 |
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"Listening to the Word of God and discerning the specific locations to which we are invited to go as beloved and reconciled children - brothers and sisters of penance - requires that we recognize the voice of God ringing out from within the world."
- Vicar General Michael Perry, OFM |
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Chapter delegates pray with Poor Clares |
ASSISI - Tuesday was another day full of discussion and votation on the various proposals under consideration by the Chapter. But, the day had a beautiful and deeply spiritual ending as delegates made their way from Domus Pacis up into the city of Assisi to enjoy a moment of prayer with the Poor Clares of the Proto-monastery at the Church of St. Clare.
The service was presided over by Vicar General Michael Perry, OFM.
Friars gathered just before 6 p.m. in the San Damiano Chapel housing the original San Damiano crucifix that spoke to St. Francis so long ago.
VICAR GENERAL MICHAEL PERRY, OFM, PRESIDING AT THE PRAYER SERVICE
As the service began, Chapter delegates were greeted by the Abbess of the Protomonastery Sr. Chiara Damiano, and the community of poor Clares. Sr. Chiara said, "It seems to me very significant that this prayerful meeting between the sons of Francis and the Poor Sisters of St. Clare, between the complementary charismatic riches of the I and II Orders, should take place at the foot of the San Damiano Crucifix. We well know what this crucifix meant, at a spiritual and existential level, for our Saints: it is the limpid, inspiring source of their walking along the ways of the Lord, of their radicalism in incarnating the form of the Holy Gospel, of their re-motivating themselves to choose Highest Poverty."
ABBESS OF THE PROTO-MONASTERY SR. CHIARA DAMIANO WELCOMES THE CHAPTER
She continued, "Before the Crucified and Risen San Damiano Christ, our saints send us to the beating heart of our Franciscan-Clarian vocation, to that mystery of conformity which the Spirit worked in them, sculpting the signs of the living gospel in their bodies, so as to make Francis an 'alter Christus' and Clare an 'altera Maria'."
JEFFREY SCHEELER, OFM (ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST) PROCLAIMS ONE OF THE READINGS
One of those came from Sr. Maria Daniela Rolleri who presented a reflection on discernment. She said, "In bringing together this evening the great cloister of the world and the cloister of our interiority as Poor Sisters, you have chosen a text that narrates a significant episode of communion, of help and mutual respect between Francis and Clare. It is a story that narrates the truth and beauty of both. A text from the Magistral Teaching of John Paul II can help illuminate the mystery of the relationship of our saints and their first companions, just as it can inform our life today: '... we can also see that the struggle with evil and the Evil One marks the biblical exemplar of the 'woman' from the beginning to the end of history. It is also a struggle for man, for his true good, for his salvation. Is not the Bible trying to tell us that it is precisely in the 'woman'--Eve-Mary--that history witnesses a dramatic struggle for every human being, the struggle for his or her fundamental 'yes' or 'no' to God and God's eternal plan for humanity? ... The moral and spiritual strength of a woman is joined to her awareness that God entrusts the human being to her in a special way. Of course, God entrusts every human being to each and every other human being. But this entrusting concerns women in a special way--precisely by reason of their femininity--and this in a particular way determines their vocation.'"
FRIARS GATHERED IN THE SAN DAMIANO CHAPEL AT THE BASILICA OF ST. CLARE
During the second part of the celebration, Br. Michael, commented the XVI chapter of the Rule speaking especially about the Gospel of Encounter. He said, "Listening to the Word of God and discerning the specific locations to which we are invited to go as beloved and reconciled children - brothers and sisters of penance - requires that we recognize the voice of God ringing out from within the world: the cries of millions of mothers whose children die from the injustice of hunger and preventable deaths; the tears of children left to bury their mothers and fathers who have died of AIDS; the blood of those wounded through political and ethnic conflicts and the uncontrolled sale of arms; the storms, fires, earthquakes (Aquila) and flooding that give voice to a deeply wounded and threatened environment. The Second Vatican Council document on the Church in the World, Gaudium et Spes, affirms this same movement where it states: 'The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.' In this our Chapter of 2009, we as 'brothers of penance' must ask ourselves how far from our vocation to the world we have strayed. If we have the ears to hear and hearts to feel and understand the Gospel of Spirit in the world, we also will be led to an encounter with brothers and sisters numbering in the billions who seek the face and heart of God and humanity through authentic forms of spiritual and religious experience."
Wednesday was also given to the continued discussion of the proposals, both those regarding the General Statutes and those prepared by the thematic Commissions. Delegates are also continuing to work on the official document of the Chapter and hope to have a final document approved by Friday.
POOR CLARE SISTERS INSIDE THE CLOISTER |
| PROVINCIAL NOTEBOOK: Leslie Hoppe, OFM |
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DOMUS PACIS - Br. Leslie Hoppe, OFM, (Assumption BVM) offered this reflection on the Chapter document:
Early in the Chapter some delegates spoke in opposition to the plan of the Chapter that included the issuance of a "final document." They argued that in recent years we have many documents-perhaps too many-for the brothers to read and assimilate. They called for a moratorium on new documents.
Still, the President of the Chapter (the Minister General) and the Coetus Moderans (the Steering Committee) decided that the Chapter needed to publish at least a listing of the proposals that it approved. A short document will introduce the approved proposals.
Yesterday afternoon, the committee of experts (Marcel Kangwej Tshikez [Congo], Cesare Vaiani [Italy], and Manuel Espinosa Anaut [Mexico]) appointed to prepare the final document presented a preliminary draft during the afternoon plenary session. Those who have read any of the documents of the Order will notice a style that characterizes most: a deductive style of presentation that is heavy on references to the Bible and documents of the Order. (There are 46 footnotes to a text of only six pages!)
The document discusses mission ad gentes and inter gentes. It locates the evangelizer as one who dwells "on the border" and describes the Franciscan approach to mission as fraternal. It devotes a sizeable section to collaboration with the laity.
The tentative title is "Restoring the Gift of the Gospel." Both Jeff Scheeler and I pointed out that the concept of "restoring the Gospel" is not known in the English-speaking world. In fact, the title and indeed the development of the document's presentation is based on an Italian idiomatic expression that has no exact English equivalent.
The idea of "restoring the Gospel" means something like this: we have received the Gospel as a gift from God so we are bound to give that gift to others and thereby "restore" the gift of the Gospel to God. The document speaks of mission and evangelization as "pathways of restoration"-an expression that simply does not work in English.
The problem raised by the notion of "mission as restoration" illustrates the difficulty of communicating across cultures. What makes perfect sense to an Italian-speaker does not make much sense to an English-speaker. I wonder how the committee of experts will resolve this problem?
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| PROVINCIAL NOTEBOOK: Jeffrey Scheeler, OFM |
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DOMUS PACIS - Br. Jeffrey Scheeler, OFM (St. John the Baptist) offered a few random reflections on his Chapter experience:
The Friars:
- After spending this much time with the ESC, I know the friars pretty well.
- I have made connections with friars from all over the world and especially those who have connection with SJB friars.
- I feel I have a different relationship with the Curia, since I now know each General Defintor. It is not as much a mystery.
Assisi/Italy:
- It is a powerful experience to pray in the places where Francis lived and prayed.
- The bells of St. Mary of the Angels are magnificent, and the song of the birds is beautiful.
- We were able to see the actual rule of 1223 and be blessed by the authentic blessing of Leo by Francis.
- Each place is striking, full of history, and beautiful in its own way. The panoramas and majestic views would certainly work on one's spirit.
- In Cortona I saw where Elias was buried. I saw Margaret (of Cortona's) body there as well.
- In Bagnoreggio I saw where Bonaventure lived.
- In Orvieto there is an incredible cathedral and I saw a celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi where the town folk wore medieval dress.
Culture:
- My shower is so small and the curtain sticks to my body while showering. (But I am grateful to have a shower, even if the bathroom floor gets all wet!)
- I have eaten things fairly regularly that I don't eat a lot of: lamb, rabbit, artichokes, lentils, fresh mozzarella, onions served as a vegetable, jam on cheese, and a lot more pasta than usual, but I am not complaining.
- Sometimes I read things that have been translated into English from another language and I understand the words, but have no idea what is trying to be communicated.
- I have sung refrains in French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Urdu and Swahili during our prayer.
- I don't know Italian, but with a little Spanish, I am amazed at how much I can pick up.
|  This DAILY NEWS BRIEF is produced by and for the friars of the English Speaking Conference of the Order of Friars Minor. Executive Secretary: Thomas Washburn, OFM.
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