Reflections on the Rule--Chapter 2---Article 13

Chapter Two:

The Way of Life

13. As the Father sees in every person the features of his Son, the firstborn of many brothers and sisters, so the Secular Franciscans with a gentle and courteous spirit accept all people as a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ.

A sense of community will make them joyful and ready to place themselves on an equal basis with all people, especially with the lowly for whom they shall strive to create conditions of life worthy of people redeemed by Christ.

Whoa! You mean that we must treat ALL people the same—as equal to me—with love, respect, and grace—no matter who they are?

In our modern day, our culture is centered around boundaries, fences, and exclusion--but that is not the way of Gospel living.  As our prime example, St. Francis shows us how to live a fully Gospel life by including everyone and everything in his circle of grace.  Oftentimes, we hear or see the word solidarity in the speeches and writings of our Pope and Bishops.  What they mean with this word is a unity or agreement of feeling or action with all people.   The Merriam-Webster.com definition limits this trait to those individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group, but the gospel does not limit us in this way.  Article 18 of our General Constitutions explains our Franciscan take on this idea:

2. Rule 13 They should deepen the true foundations of universal kinship and create a spirit of welcome and an atmosphere of fraternity everywhere. They should firmly commit themselves to oppose every form of exploitation, discrimination, and exclusion and against every attitude of indifference in relation to others.

 3. Rule 13 They should work together with movements which promote the building of fraternity among peoples: they should be committed to "create worthy conditions of life" for all and to work for the freedom of all people.

As you can readily see, our action under Gospel to Life—Life to Gospel is inclusive of all people.  We are challenged to exclude no one from our circle of influence.  In fact, we oppose all discrimination & exclusion and work to incorporate all peoples into the fraternity and freedom of our human family.  

So, we must lay aside our narrow thinking promoted by our politics that encourages us to exclude those who are not like us.  What we must remember is that the hierarchy of belief is Gospel first, followed by political activity that is for the common good, not limited to any particular group or faction.  The self-centered ways of modern society have no room in Gospel living. 

In one of Richard Rohr, OFM’s daily meditations, he quotes Peter Block, John McKnight, and Walter Brueggemann in their book “An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture” (John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: 2016), xiv, xviii-xix).:

We invite you to a journey of departure from this consumer culture. We ask you to imagine an alternative set of economic beliefs that have the capacity to evoke a culture where poverty, violence, and shrinking well-being are not inevitable—a culture in which the social order produces enough for all. . . .

This departure into another kingdom might be closer to the reality of our nature and what works best for our humanity. . . .

Neighborliness means that our well-being and what really matters is close at hand and can be locally constructed or produced. 

Their contention is that our consumer culture is one of limiting and exclusion.  They are proposing a different approach that will lead to a post-consumer culture of neighborliness and inclusion.  As Father Rohr says, “It sounds a lot like the Gospel to me.”

As we delve deeper into the implications of living in solidarity with all people, we will find that the church has a lot to say in guiding us into a different, more inclusive lifestyle.  In so doing, we follow in the footsteps of St. Francis and, as faithful followers, become a counter-cultural force in modern society.  This is how we rebuild the Church and modern society.

And so, we return to a deeper consideration of Article 13 of our Rule.

¹In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth^a—

^24k Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened:²⁵God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good.

^26l Then God said: Let us make* human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.

²⁷God created mankind in his image;

in the image of God he created them;

male and female* he created them.

We are all familiar with the story of creation, summarized in the preceding quotation from Genesis 1.  Often, we emphasize the words which follow this text, “…fill the earth and subdue it…”  We believe that this gives us license to do what ever we want to “be in control” of the earth, its resources, and other people.  Because of our cultural bias, we believe that the first man and woman were white and, consequently, it follows that we are just better that everyone and everything else.  That is not what it says!  The creation of man was the last thing in this creation story.  Even the implication of Chapter 2 of Genesis is that everything else is created and THEN, AND ONLY THEN, is a human placed in the Garden of Eden.  Yes, we are special because we have been created in the “image and likeness of God;” but that doesn’t give us an special status.  In fact, if we truly believe that we are following St. Francis, it requires us to become and remain “minore” (smaller, lesser, shorter, lower).  We are not the Big Man On Campus that we would like to be.  Yes, Gospel living requires us to be the servant of all—equal in every way to all others on the earth, no matter their status.

The Church reminds us,

²²⁵ It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men: everyone is made in the image and likeness of God. ⁵⁰

³⁵⁸ God created everything for man, ²²² but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him:

What is it that is about to be created, that enjoys such honour? It is man that great and wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all other creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest of creation exist. God attached so much importance to his salvation that he did not spare his own Son for the sake of man. Nor does he ever cease to work, trying every possible means, until he has raised man up to himself and made him sit at his right hand. ²²³

³⁶⁰ Because of its common origin the human race forms a unity, for "from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth": ²²⁶

O wondrous vision, which makes us contemplate the human race in the unity of its origin in God. . . in the unity of its nature, composed equally in all men of a material body and a spiritual soul; in the unity of its immediate end and its mission in the world; in the unity of its dwelling, the earth, whose benefits all men, by right of nature, may use to sustain and develop life; in the unity of its supernatural end: God himself, to whom all ought to tend; in the unity of the means for attaining this end;. . . in the unity of the redemption wrought by Christ for all. ²²⁷

³⁶¹ "This law of human solidarity and charity", ²²⁸ without excluding the rich variety of persons, cultures and peoples, assures us that all men are truly brethren.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Unity, true dignity, everyone, serve, love, offer back, raised man up, common origin, unity, composed equally, human solidarity, and “…assures us that all men are truly brethren.”  What these words tell us is that each of is not individually special or raised up, but we are all made from the same stock and are equal in the sight of God.  Understanding this concept carries with it the obligation to treat “…others as we ourselves would like to be treated.” ^{(Matt. 22:39)}

As Franciscans, our “…gentle and courteous spirit accept all people as a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ.”  As much as one tries you cannot find any words in any of this that create an exceptionalism for any individual or group of people—not even apart from the entire created universe.  That’s what St. Francis shows us with his example: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brothers wind & air, Sister Water, Brother Fire, Sister Mother Earth, those who grant pardon, those who endure sickness & trial, and those who endure in peace.  His whole life was centered upon loving God and all of God’s creation with his whole spirit. 

Consequently, the Church instructs us in our obligation and duty to live the Gospel with that solidarity in mind:

²²¹² The fourth commandment illuminates other relationships in society. In our brothers and sisters we see the children of our parents; in our cousins, the descendants of our ancestors; in our fellow citizens, the children of our country; in the baptized, the children of our mother the Church; in every human person, a son or daughter of the One who wants to be called "our Father." In this way our relationships with our neighbors are recognized as personal in character. The neighbor is not a "unit" in the human collective; he is "someone" who by his known origins deserves particular attention and respect.

¹⁷⁰² The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons among themselves (cf. chapter two).

¹⁹³⁵ The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it:

Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design. ⁴⁰

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Our Rule says,

A sense of community will make them joyful and ready to place themselves on an equal basis with all people, especially with the lowly for whom they shall strive to create conditions of life worthy of people redeemed by Christ.

These words are the crux of the matter.  No matter who the person is we willingly treat all people the same way—with love, grace, and mercy.  We even have an obligation to care more especially for “…the lowly.”  In other words, we bend over backwards to ensure that those without the gifts of others receive our special care and devotion to help them understand that they too are worthy people included in this great enterprise that we call life.

The Church has a lot to say about this aspect of this aspect of our Gospel living:

¹⁹³⁴ Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.

¹⁹³¹ Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that "everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as 'another self,' above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity." ³⁷ No legislation could by itself do away with the fears, prejudices, and attitudes of pride and selfishness which obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a "neighbor," a brother.

¹⁹³⁶ On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Differences appear tied to age, physical abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes, the benefits derived from social commerce, and the distribution of wealth. ⁴¹ The "talents" are not distributed equally. ⁴²

¹⁹³⁷ These differences belong to God's plan, who wills that each receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular "talents" share the benefits with those who need them. These differences encourage and often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness, and sharing of goods; they foster the mutual enrichment of cultures:

I distribute the virtues quite diversely; I do not give all of them to each person, but some to one, some to others.... I shall give principally charity to one; justice to another; humility to this one, a living faith to that one.... And so I have given many gifts and graces, both spiritual and temporal, with such diversity that I have not given everything to one single person, so that you may be constrained to practice charity towards one another.... I have willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in distributing the graces and gifts they have received from me. ⁴³

¹⁹³⁸ There exist also sinful inequalities that affect millions of men and women. These are in open contradiction of the Gospel:

Their equal dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international peace. ⁴⁴

¹⁹³⁹ The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of "friendship" or "social charity," is a direct demand of human and Christian brotherhood. ⁴⁵

An error, "today abundantly widespread, is disregard for the law of human solidarity and charity, dictated and imposed both by our common origin and by the equality in rational nature of all men, whatever nation they belong to. This law is sealed by the sacrifice of redemption offered by Jesus Christ on the altar of the Cross to his heavenly Father, on behalf of sinful humanity." ⁴⁶

¹⁹⁴⁰ Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for work. It also presupposes the effort for a more just social order where tensions are better able to be reduced and conflicts more readily settled by negotiation.

¹⁹⁴¹ Socio-economic problems can be resolved only with the help of all the forms of solidarity: solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples. International solidarity is a requirement of the moral order; world peace depends in part upon this.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Recognizing that this citation is voluminous, it must be recognized that the lack of equality and solidarity is, perhaps, the greatest issue of our modern time.   Our cultural bias is in favor of the long-held view of “the survival of the fittest.” I don’t believe that our Gospel values allow us to think that way.  The capitalist shouts, “Mine, mine, mine.”  The Franciscan quietly says, “We are all in this together. How may I help you?”  Perhaps, this is the singularly most important distinction between modern life and Gospel living—a counter-cultural way of living that places others needs before our own; being lower, lesser, and smaller than everyone else; placing our lives in service to others----following in the footsteps of St. Francis who mirrored Christ Jesus in every way possible.  Our challenge is to do the same.

 Pace e bene

Reflections on the Rule - Chapter 2 - Article 12

12. Witnessing to the good yet to come and obligated to acquire purity of heart because of the vocation they have embraced, they should set themselves free to love God and their brothers and sisters.

The third evangelical counsel to which we are devoted is that of purity of heart.  Throughout our journey of reflecting upon our Rule of Life, we have already encountered both obedience (¶ 10) and poverty (¶ 11).  We recognize that these three ideals form us into the faithful followers of St. Francis that we truly wish to become.  As we continue our journey, perhaps this counsel is the least understood of the three.  So often, we believe that it is related solely to our chastity in sexual matters alone.  But as we reflect more deeply, we find that it has much broader meaning.  Let’s begin this step of our journey with a phrase from our Constitutions:

4. They should love and practice purity of heart, the source of true fraternity. [General Constitutions; article 15]

The first thing we notice is that this paragraph speaks of purity of heart, not just conjugal purity.  As we come to understand what this means, we are directed back to the two great commandments that are Jesus’ response to the question of a Pharisee [scholar of the law]:

 ³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, ³⁶“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the greatest and the first commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”  [ Matthew 22; New American Bible]

How does this relate to the concept of purity you may ask?  As we look at the definition of purity, we see

1--the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc. [Dictionary.com]

“…freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes…”  In other words, any thing that diverts our attention from the utmost principles of our faith are counter to the idea of purity.  We must give our full attention to the love of God and the love of others.  We can’t be distracted by social standing, material desires, positions of power, temptations of the flesh or spirit—a full and complete voluntarily giving over our lives to the sole purpose of loving God through our love of others in order to bring the Kingdom of God to this present world.  Benet Fonck, OFM puts it another way:

It is placing limits on our attitudes and actions so that we can work toward true liberty: that moral stance that give our inner and outer self complete reign to achieve a Christ-centered life and to give witness to the person and message of Jesus in our everyday dealings.  [Called to Follow Christ; Franciscan Press; 1997]

We put everything that detracts from this purpose aside and intransigently focus our lives on this concept of love—love of God with everything that we have and love of our neighbors (without exception).

The Catechism sheds a little more light upon this ideal:

2055 …The Decalogue must be interpreted in light of this twofold [love of God & love of others] yet single commandment of love, the fullness of the Law:

The commandments: "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. ¹⁰

2067 The Ten Commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor. The first three concern love of God, and the other seven love of neighbor.

…charity comprises the two commandments to which the Lord related the whole Law and the prophets . . .

2072 Since they express man's fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbor, the Ten Commandments reveal, in their primordial content, grave obligations. They are fundamentally immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere. No one can dispense from them. The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart.

Thus, the Church clearly states that we have no option but to live by these commandments.  In so doing, we develop a purity of heart and brings us closer to following our Lord through following the steps of our Seraphic Father.

2519 Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty. [Catechism of the Catholic Church]

In living this way, we gain a freedom that those who live for possessions and power do not.

1738 Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person… [Catechism of the Catholic Church]

Typically, we have less issue with loving God, although often we restrict our love of God to Sunday mornings.  What we begin to understand is that this love of God is without limit nor restriction.  It is a total, complete love that engulfs our entire life.  We give, unreservedly, our love, attention, and obedience to God’s Will.  This effort is very great and causes us to reflect upon our actions prayerfully each day:  How have I been selfish today?  How have I not listened to God in my prayers?  Do my possessions rule me, or do I rule my possessions? As we attempt to see with the eyes of Francis, whom do we perceive to be the “blessed” ones? [Benet Fonck, Called to Follow Christ; Franciscan Press; 1997]

Often, our understanding of loving others, although it may intellectually spread to all peoples, is, rather, restricted to our personal political beliefs.  In other words, we limit ourselves to whomever we believe are deserving of our love: our friends, neighbors, and certain other people for whom we have a political affinity.  As always, Francis shows us the way.  If we are to follow in his footsteps, we must significantly broaden our understanding of “others.”  If he lived his life in the restrictive definition of others that we frequently use, we wouldn’t have the Franciscan order.  It is because of his expansive definition of others, that we exist at all.  Francis’ first recorded step of love of others was the embracing of the leper.  In his time, lepers were the scourge of humanity—to be avoided at all cost.  Francis turned that belief upon it head and reached out in love to another person who was in great distress and need.  This embrace led to his developing belief that all of God’s creation is our brother and sister and deserving of our love. 

So, then, we ask ourselves, “What does this mean for my own life?” If we truly are to call ourselves Franciscan, we must ask ourselves, “Who is my leper? Who is so very repugnant to me that it turns my stomach?  Who is so undeserving of love?” The answer to these questions and joyful embrace of the people identified will guide us in our adherence to the command to “love our neighbor as ourselves.”  Does this mean that we can pick and choose between the various groups who are the needy of society? Can we emphasize one group over another in our response to God’s great gift of grace to us?  Can we say, “I don’t care about them.  This other group is more important to me.”  NO!  The one thing that we mustn’t do is to restrict our love of others to only those whom our own political group says are worthy of care.  In fact, to be a true follower of Francis, we must set aside all political inclinations in favor of the expansive love of God and Others enumerated in Jesus’ explanation of the Ten Commandments.  Who are your lepers?  Who are your blessed ones?  How you answer these questions determine how fully you have decided to follow Francis and our own Rule of Life and thus define your purity of heart.

Just a final comment from the Catechism:

2013 "All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity." All are called to holiness: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In order to reach this perfection, the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift, so that . . . doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus, the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints.

And, a final meditation on the three evangelical counsels from Philip Marquard, O.F.M.:

A practical manner of helping ourselves to live in the spirit of the three counsels is to pray the Angelus each day.

 In the first invocation and response,

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

    Hail Mary, full of grace,
    The Lord is with Thee;
    Blessed art thou among women,
    And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
    Holy Mary, Mother of God,
    Pray for us sinners,
    Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

We think of Mary’s and our own openness to God and detachment from things [spirit of poverty].

In the second invocation and response,

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.

    Hail Mary, full of grace,
    The Lord is with Thee;
    Blessed art thou among women,
    And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
    Holy Mary, Mother of God,
    Pray for us sinners,
    Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

We consider Mary’s [and our own] dedication to doing God’ will [spirit of obedience).

In the third invocation and response,

V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.

    Hail Mary, full of grace,
    The Lord is with Thee;
    Blessed art thou among women,
    And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
    Holy Mary, Mother of God,
    Pray for us sinners,
    Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

We reflect on Mary’s purity of mind and heart and our own [spirit of chastity].

Then, in the prayer that follows, we pray for God’s help:

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

[P. 47; Called to Live the Dynamic Power of the Gospel; Franciscan Press; 1998]

Pace e bene

Justice, Peace, & Integrity of Creation - PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR

The preferential option for the poor is a principle that we read about early in the Scriptures.  Right away in Genesis 18: 1—15 we read of Abraham & Sarah’s hospitality to the three visitors.  In the chapters & books that follow the Ten Commandments, we see a clear mandate presented:

You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. --Exodus 22: 22 

He executes justice for the orphan and the widow and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.  —Deuteronomy 10:18;

You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you:  Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.   --Micah 6:8).

Our Bishops (USCCB) have a good listing of applicable scriptures for this topic on their website.

Our own Franciscan tradition begins with our Father St. Francis spending time in the local leper colony in Assisi.  Our brothers in the First Order and Third Order Regular focus much of their ministry on the poor areas of our cities, towns, and villages.  Many of the Third Order religious communities are devoted to serving the poor, homeless, marginalized, hungry, and destitute.

Our Rule states:

15. Let them individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of their human lives and their courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, they should make definite choices in harmony with their faith.

Our General Constitutions further clarify this responsibility:

Article 22

 1. Rule 15 Secular Franciscans should "be in the forefront ... in the field of public life." They should collaborate as much as possible for the passage of just laws and ordinances.

 2. The fraternities should engage themselves through courageous initiatives, consistent with their Franciscan vocation and with the directives of the Church, in the field of human development and justice.  They should take clear positions whenever human dignity is attacked by any form of oppression or indifference.  They should offer their fraternal service to the victims of injustice.

3. The renunciation of the use of violence, characteristic of the followers of Francis, does not mean the renunciation of action.  However, the brothers and sisters should take care that their interventions are always inspired by Christian love.

Our Bishops (USCCB) in their 1986 Letter “Economic Justice for all” remind us of our responsibilities to care for the poor with clear statements on the issue:

8. …As a community of believers, we know that our faith is tested by the quality of justice among us, that we can best measure our life together by how the poor and the vulnerable are treated. This is not a new concern for us. It is as old as the Hebrew prophets, as compelling as the Sermon on the Mount, and as current as the powerful voice of Pope John Paul II defending the dignity of the human person.  –Economic Justice for All; 1986

10. As bishops, in proclaiming the Gospel for these times we also manage institutions, balance budgets, and meet payrolls. In this we see the human face of our economy. We feel the hurts and hopes of our people. We feel the pain of our sisters and brothers who are poor, unemployed, homeless, living on the edge. The poor and vulnerable are on our doorsteps, in our parishes, in our service agencies, and in our shelters. We see too much hunger and injustice, too much suffering and despair, both in our own country and around the world.  –Economic Justice for All; 1986

16. All members of society have a special obligation to the poor and vulnerable. From the Scriptures and church teaching we learn that the justice of a society is tested by the treatment of the poor. The justice that was the sign of God's covenant with Israel was measured by how the poor and unprotected—the widow, the orphan, and the stranger—were treated. The kingdom that Jesus proclaimed in his word and ministry excludes no one. Throughout Israel's history and in early Christianity, the poor are agents of God's transforming power. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me--therefore he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor" (Lk 4:18). This was Jesus' first public utterance. Jesus takes the side of those most in need. In the Last Judgment, so dramatically described in St. Matthew's Gospel, we are told that we will be judged according to how we respond to the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger. As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a fundamental "option for the poor"—to speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess lifestyles, policies, and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. This "option for the poor" does not mean pitting one group against another, but rather, strengthening the whole community by assisting those who are most vulnerable. As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our brothers and sisters, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response.  –Economic Justice for All; 1986

27…. No one may claim the name Christian and be comfortable in the face of the hunger, homelessness, insecurity, and injustice found in this country and the world.  –Economic Justice for All; 1986

So, the question becomes, “How are we Secular Franciscans in Central Illinois reaching out to the poor in our communities, both individually and as fraternities?”  What are we doing to help the hungry, homeless, destitute, widows, unborn, elderly, disabled and any other marginalized person in our communities?  We may not have a ready-made situation like our brothers & sisters in Los Tres Compañeros Region, but most of our town, cities, and counties have folks, our brothers & sisters in Christ, who need our help.  So, what are we doing?

Pace e bene 

Justice, Peace, & Integrity of Creation - PATRIOTISM

July 4, 2019 is the 243^rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the beginning of the United States of America.  Following that eventful day, were seven more years of war with Great Britain as our forefathers struggled for our independence from autocratic rule.  It was not until 11 years later, on September 17, 1787, that the new Constitution was signed, thus beginning this experiment of a democratic republic that we call the United States of America.

After completing the work on the Constitution, Benjamin Franklin stepped outside and was asked, “Well, Dr. Franklin, what kind of government do we have?”  His succinct answer is shown in the meme.

In today’s world, we continue to strive to keep our Republic and despite all the rancor, we continue to have a system of government that works fairly well. 

Mr. Churchill’s comments 160 years later help bring perspective to our concerns about the direction of today’s government.

‘Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’

Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947

Many folks get all uptight about today’s government and what happens or doesn’t happen.  We hear claims and counterclaims about who is the most patriotic group in our country. 

Patrick Henry brings focus to much of our current considerations, as well.    We are

reminded of the true nature of our governmental system as Mr. Lincoln so eloquently said at the battlefield in Gettysburg,

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

We who claim to be Franciscan, take a higher view of all this falderol in today’s atmosphere.   Articles 13-15 of our Rule explains where our focus should lie.  Articles 18-20, and Article 22 of our Constitutions further clarify where our efforts should be concentrated.  Simply put, even though we participate in our democratic processes, we must keep in the forefront of our mind that “…[we] should collaborate as much as possible for the passage of just laws and ordinances.”  So, we have an obligation to participate in our governmental systems, but our focus is outward to those who are less fortunate, both materially as well as spiritually.  Nearly a year ago, we wrote of our responsibility as Catholic Christians for participating in our governmental processes. 

Although we are in this world, our motto remains “Gospel to Life—Life to Gospel.”  When we do this, we don’t allow ourselves to get caught up in the trivial disagreements that prevail in our current day.  We focus on the “Common Good”—what is right for all people—ALL people—not just those who happen to agree with us.  We  set aside the contrary differences of political acrimony and work for the good of all—our citizens, the immigrants, the poor, the homeless, the ill, the unborn, the refugees, the imprisoned, the marginalized, and so on.   So, our patriotic duty lies in how we work for the common good.  We don’t allow ourselves to become bound by partisan differences or ideologies.  Our focus remains helping and comforting all those who come to us with their needs.  And, we do it with Franciscan Joy.  We can do no less to fulfill our profession as Franciscans. 

Pace e bene