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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace . . .

26 July 2019

Reflections on the Rule - Chapter 2 - Article 11


Chapter Two:

The Way of Life


11. Trusting the Father, Christ chose for Himself and His mother a poor and humble life, even though He valued created things attentively and lovingly. Let the Secular Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by simplifying their own material needs. Let them be mindful that according to the gospel they are stewards of the goods received for the benefit of God’s children.


Now let us turn our attention to the Gospel (Evangelical) Counsel of poverty.  We are all aware that St. Francis has been called il Poverello and is reputed to have considered Lady Poverty his “fair maiden” in his quest as a Troubadour of the Great King.   But the important thing to remember is that even with his common reputation of extreme poverty,

Saint Francis of Assisi's concern with poverty was secondary in his life and stemmed from his utter reliance on and love for God. In the encounter with the leper, we can see right away that for St. Francis his reason for embracing poverty was not poverty itself, but that with no resources of your own, you are “totally dependent on God.” (Augustine Thompson, O.P.; CNA, 21 MAR 2013)

“So, for Francis poverty was also about going to the place of social poverty and serving, accepting that one might himself be rendered unfit to rejoin respectable society…In this way it was also for him a following of the poor and humble Christ...the poverty of Christ is a footstep to follow.” (Charles Sammons, OFM Cap; CNA 21 MAR 2013.) 

As with much of St. Francis’ example, poverty is a means to an end—the complete and total trust in and subservience to God and, through that humbling nature, a service to others who are less fortunate whether economically or spiritually.

Naturally, in today’s consumerist society, our approach to life is just as radical as it was in St. Francis’ time.  Once again, we see the message of our Catholic Christian faith as counter-cultural—diametrically opposed to the accepted patterns of today’s world.  To be faithful Franciscans, we are radically changed by our Profession and find ways to do things “differently” from everyone else.  The question always arises, “How do we do that?”  Let’s examine how our Franciscan documents and our Catechism help inform our approach to this idea of radical poverty and how it is to be lived out today.

Article 15 of our Constitutions amplifies the concepts found in article 11 of our Rule of Life:

1. Rule 11 Secular Franciscans should pledge themselves to live the spirit of the Beatitudes and, in a special way, the spirit of poverty.  Evangelical poverty demonstrates confidence in the Father, creates interior freedom, and disposes them to promote a more just distribution of wealth.

 2. Secular Franciscans, who must provide for their own families and serve society by means of their work and material goods, have a particular manner of living evangelical poverty.  To understand and achieve it requires a strong personal commitment and the stimulation of the fraternity in prayer and dialogue, communal review of life, and attentiveness to the instructions of the Church, and the demands of society.

 3. Secular Franciscans should pledge themselves to reduce their own personal needs so as to be better able to share spiritual and material goods with their brothers and sisters, especially those most in need.  They should give thanks to God for the goods they have received, using them as good stewards and not as owners.  They should take a firm position against consumerism and against ideologies and practices which prefer riches over human and religious values, and which permit the exploitation of the human person.

 4. They should love and practice purity of heart, the source of true fraternity.
(EMPHASIS IS THE AUTHOR’S)

Some of what we have learned about St. Francis’ approach to poverty—completely trusting God and service to others—is clearly contained within our Constitution.  The phrases that have been highlighted in the passages above point to this direction and provide for us a clearer understanding of what our Gospel Poverty is all about.  In his Encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis spends much time on these ideas of right relationship with the temporal order and material goods.  Even the Pope’s personal example comes right from St. Francis: “if there's anything about Pope Francis' entire life, it's his attempt to put himself at the service of others, and that expresses itself in his simplicity of life too.” (Augustine Thompson, O.P.; CNA, 21 MAR 2013).

So, with this understanding of what Franciscan Gospel poverty is all about, let’s examine the separate elements of Article 11 and delve into a little more detail for each of the major points.

Trusting the Father, Christ chose for Himself and His mother a poor and humble life, even though He valued created things attentively and lovingly.

The very first element of this Article are those three words—trusting the Father.  With this very recognition at the beginning, we clearly understand, as did Francis, that for this way of living to work, we must fully place ourselves into the complete care of our Father in heaven.  We must give over every single facet of our lives to Him and to His service.  Remember, “living evangelical poverty…demonstrates confidence in the Father.” (GC 15.1).  Without this level of trust, we will find it difficult, if not impossible to achieve the standard set by Christ’s and St. Francis’ example.

In humbling himself, [Jesus] has given us an example to imitate, through his prayer he draws us to pray, and by his poverty he calls us to accept freely the privation and persecutions that may come our way. (CCC 520)

St. Francis and Pope Francis both understand this important point.   Prayer is the basis for our being able to give our lives fully to God and from that relationship, we can embrace the poverty that follows.  Once again, this poverty is one in which we recognize the overall importance of God in our lives and fully understand how much we rely on His gifts for our sustenance—both physical and spiritual—how everything is to be used for the common good.

The seventh commandment…requires respect for the universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian life strives to order this world's goods to God and to fraternal charity.  (CCC 2401)

As Secular Franciscans, this doesn’t mean that we are required to divest ourselves of all our possessions, “[we] who must provide for [our] own families and serve society by means of their work and material goods, have a particular manner of living evangelical poverty.” (GC 15.2.)  Fr. Benet A. Fonck, OFM, calls this living out our Rule a “…detachment and simple living for the sake of the kingdom of God…”   (Called to Proclaim Christ, Franciscan Press; 1998)

Achievement of this level of living “...requires a strong personal commitment and the stimulation of the fraternity in prayer and dialogue, communal review of life, and attentiveness to the instructions of the Church, and the demands of society.”  (GC 15.2) How else can one muster the required level of personal commitment without recourse to prayer and the support of the rest of the Fraternity.  It is only through our collaboration and dialogue with like-minded persons that we can fully understand what this commitment means and how to live it in our own lives.

Acceptance of this idea leads to the second part of Article 11:

Secular Franciscans should pledge themselves to reduce their own personal needs so as to be better able to share spiritual and material goods with their brothers and sisters, especially those most in need. 

In living this way, we recognize the importance of WHO owns all the material and spiritual goods of the universe; and, we accept that our blessings are indeed gifts from God aimed at helping us to serve others, especially the most needy and marginalized people in our society.  Both Jesus and St. Francis (following in his master’s footsteps) set this example for us:

Jesus shares the life of the poor, from the cradle to the cross; he experiences hunger, thirst and privation. Jesus identifies himself with the poor of every kind and makes active love toward them the condition for entering his kingdom. (CCC 544).

As we understand more about the Franciscan poverty, we learn to accept that we don’t need as many material goods to accomplish our mission.  We understand and recognize that we are merely “stewards of the goods received for the benefit of God’s children.” 

Fr. James Meyer, O.F.M. outlined this detachment in his “Program of Tertiary Economics.”  It’s still valid today:  use gifts leased to us by God in a spirit of justice, moderation, and generosity.  Practically speaking, this three-fold principle can take on [this not exhaustive list of] modern-day applications:

1)      Making one’s life-style more uncluttered by listing possessions under three categories:  needs, conveniences, luxuries; begin to eliminate luxuries, then work on non-vital conveniences.

2)      Clean out closets and knick-knacks regularly and give unused or unneeded items to needy people and institutions.

3)      Change eating habits to decrease amounts of high-cholesterol, high-triglyceride and high-fat foods which contribute to ill health, and to eliminate foodstuffs whose consumption perpetuates hunger in other parts of the world.

4)      Use more fresh foods and less processed foods in order to decrease the consumption of unnecessary additives, to reduce the grip of over-pricing, and to provide a balanced program of profit-sharing for producer and farmer.

5)      Reduce consumption of energy (especially gasoline and electricity).

6)      Boycott products produced by, or resulting in, injustice.

7)      Buy products that aid human dignity and a just environment (both products made in the U.S.A. and in foreign countries).

8)      Remove investments from financial institutions that support oppressive or discriminatory governments or institutions.

9)      Place investments in institutions that build up minority situations and work toward just and humane causes.

(Benet A. Fonck, O.F.M.; Called to Proclaim Christ, Franciscan Press; 1998)

In the end, what really matters is how we use the goods and spiritual life that we have been given in service to others.

In economic matters, respect for human dignity requires the practice of the virtue of temperance, so as to moderate attachment to this world's goods; the practice of the virtue of justice, to preserve our neighbor's rights and render him what is his due; and the practice of solidarity, in accordance with the golden rule and in keeping with the generosity of the Lord, who "though he was rich, yet for your sake . . . became poor so that by his poverty, you might become rich."  (CCC 2407).

We, Franciscans, recognize that our “richness” is exemplified through our service to the less fortunate.  We understand that these unfortunate people are not only to those who are materially poor and without resources, but also to those who are spiritually poor and without belief—that our love “…extends not only to material poverty but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty. (CCC 2444.) Through our witness we reach out to “all who labor and are burdened” and “give [them] rest.”  (NAB Matt. 11: 28--30)

Thus, in the spirit of the Beatitudes, and as pilgrims and strangers on their way to the home of the Father, they should strive to purify their hearts from every tendency and yearning for possession and power.

Yes, we are on a journey—a journey back home!  The quality of that journey is dependent upon how we relate to others—how we place ourselves secondary to the needs of others.  We improve our chances for a good journey as we recognize and understand that our hearts need to be purified from the yearning for possession of goods and amassing great power.  

The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints.  (CCC 1717)

Our Gospel poverty is inherently found in our living the Beatitudes, following the examples of Jesus and St. Francis, and in the pureness of our heart in rejecting the glories and possessions of this world for those of the next.  How do we humble ourselves?  How do we treat others?  How do we strive to express our poverty and love through the service of all others—many of who are less fortunate in so many ways?  The answer to these questions lies in the longstanding tradition of the Church:

The Church's love for the poor . . . is a part of her constant tradition." This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of the poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor.  Love for the poor is even one of the motives for the duty of working so as to "be able to give to those in need."   (CCC 2444)

And so, we who profess to be Franciscan understand that our obligation to accept Gospel poverty places upon us a burden of serving others through a right recognition of how goods are gifts from God and, thus, belong to all.  Therefore, we must share our blessings with those who are less fortunate in both material and spiritual ways.  We go forth with joy and spread the peace of God to all whom we meet through our service to them.

Pace e bene.

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