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26 February 2018

Reflections of the Rule - Chapter 2 - Article 6


6. They have been made living members of the Church by being buried and raised with Christ in baptism; they have been united more intimately with the Church by profession.  Therefore, they should go forth as witnesses and instruments of her mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by their life and words.  Called like Saint Francis to rebuild the Church and inspired by his example, let them devote themselves energetically to living in full communion with the pope, bishops, and priests, fostering an open and trusting dialog of apostolic effectiveness and creativity.

As we continue to consider our Way of Life, we recognize that we are part of the Church because of our Baptism.  When we Professed to live as Franciscans, we accepted a “more intimate” relationship with the Church, that is, we committed to be more faithful to the Church and its teachings.  Part of our responsibility, then, is to more fully understand what the Church says and what it teaches about the conditions of life and what our response as faithful Christians is supposed to be.

How are we to reach this understanding?  It’s simply called ongoing formation.  Ongoing formation is not just about the old stories of St. Francis and St. Clare and adoring their wonderful examples.  Ongoing formation includes further study of the Holy Scriptures, the documents of the Church (most especially the Vatican Documents & all of the Encyclicals written since then), the teachings of our Pope, the Bishops, and our Pastors, and delving more deeply into the Franciscan Rule, General Constitutions, and various Statutes.  With our serious study and understanding of these teachings (the Magisterium), we become more knowledgeable about what the Church teaches and more capable of explaining the teachings and the reasons for them to all of those outside the Church who may be more inclined to accept the secular view of today’s world. 

As we gain knowledge, we can begin to “…go forth as witnesses and instruments of [the Church’s] mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by [our] life and words.

Article 17 of the OFS Constitutions reminds us,

1.  Rule 6 Called to work together in building up the Church as the sacrament of salvation for all and, through their baptism and profession, made "witnesses and instruments of her mission," Secular Franciscans proclaim Christ by their life and words. 

We are not just a prayer group!  We study the Magisterium of the Church and we live what we have learned so that we can bring a strong, positive witness of the true mission of Christ to the world.  We are instruments of the mission when we accept the challenge to not only live a good life, but to help the poor, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome strangers, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, visit the imprisoned & sick and effectively care for “…one of these least brothers of mine.”  (Matt 25:  40)   We study, and then we act!  In so doing, we provide a living witness of the mission of the Church, which is Christ’s mission.   The Church reminds us of this obligation when it states:

For lay people, "this evangelization . . . acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world." (CCC 905). 

Well, that is why we are called Secular Franciscans after all.  We live and work in the world—today’s secular world.  We live out the OFS Motto, “From Gospel to Life and Life to Gospel.”

Now, before you get all flustered and shout, “Well, I can’t do it all by myself!”, let’s take a quick look at the last sentence of 17.1 in the Constitutions:

Their preferred apostolate is personal witness[1] in the environment in which they live and service for building up the Kingdom of God within the situations of this world.

It becomes quite clear that each of us selects the areas of our own strength to perform these apostolates.  In other words, we simply ask the question, “What am I good at?”, and then develop ourselves in that strength and offer it up to the Church as a service and witness.  Maybe you really enjoy cooking—so, go volunteer at a soup kitchen.  Maybe you’re an expert carpenter—volunteer with the Habitat for Humanity.  Maybe you’re retired, but enjoy reading—volunteer as one of the reading helpers at the public library or schools.  This list is only exhausted by your own imagination and abilities.  The point is that we find something that we’re good at, learn about it, and then do it. 

Importantly, you are not alone in this effort.  Look at 17.2 of the General Constitutions:

2.  The preparation of the brothers and sisters for spreading the Gospel message "in the ordinary circumstances of the world"[2] and for collaborating in the catechesis within the ecclesial communities should be promoted in the fraternities.

The fraternity should be encouraging and helping you, not only determine what to do, but how to find the opportunities to accomplish your goals. 

In addition to these apostolate activities, we are always aware of opportunities to reach out to the unchurched and the “left the church” populations to explain and witness to them of the wonderful life that we can live when we follow Christ. 

Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, "that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life

This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful.  (CCC 905)

When we encounter a situation with others like this, we share directly with them of the great goodness of Christ and to demonstrate the joy of living that we have as a professed Secular Franciscan.  So, our role of evangelizing is twofold: witness through service and witness through dialogue and example.

"The witness of a Christian life and good works done in a supernatural spirit have great power to draw men to the faith and to God."  (CCC 2044)

The last part of Article 6 explains,

Called like Saint Francis to rebuild the Church and inspired by his example, let them devote themselves energetically to living in full communion with the pope, bishops, and priests, fostering an open and trusting dialog of apostolic effectiveness and creativity.

Our Perpetual Profession links us even closer to the Church and its structure.

[We] are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but 'in body' not 'in heart.'" (CCC 837)

Because of our study, we understand what the Church believes and teaches about all the great and important issues of our times.  Because of our faithfulness, we offer our loyalty to the Church, its Pope and Bishops, and have the courage to defend it against those who would tear it down.  We do not do this blindly, but with the knowledge of the Magisterium and how it relates to modern life.  We understand what Jesus taught and how St. Francis modeled that teaching.  So, we follow in Francis’ footsteps to follow more closely the Risen Lord!

The Church is essentially both human and divine, visible but endowed with invisible realities, zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the world, but as a pilgrim, so constituted that in her the human is directed toward and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of our quest.  (CCC 771)

Our Perpetual Profession allows us, instructs us, and invites us to serve the Church in a more meaningful way beyond our Baptism.  We live out this lofty goal through our continued faithfulness to our Profession and in light of the simple phrase mentioned earlier, “From Gospel to Life; From Life to Gospel.”  In this way, we more fully become the follower of St. Francis that we want to be and that he wants us to be. 



[1]     See Rule 1221, 17,3; Legend of the Three Companions 36; Second Letter to All the Faithful 53.
[2]     Lumen Gentium 35.

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