THE FRATERNITY Emerenziana Rossato
SFO The SFO fraternity, says the Rule, is a group of brothers and sisters that are led by the Holy Spirit to strive for perfect charity in their own secular state. By their Profession they pledge themselves to live the Gospel in the manner of St. Francis. We know that the Fraternity is founded on the fatherhood of God and the fellowship in Jesus Christ witnessed within ourselves by the Holy Spirit, guided and guaranteed by the teachings of the Church. All this is lived by means of the example of St. Francis and through his gift of Fraternity. The CIOFS some years ago recommended explicitly that Fraternity should be given preferential attention on part of the leaders so that it could become as the Rule and the Constitutions define it. In this way it would really be also "-the center of life and apostolic activity-". We learn from the Rule that the Fraternity is "-the basic unit of the whole order-" meaning that there are other units too, forming together the whole body. Therefore an exchange of vitality, relationships and experiences among the various units is necessary to grow together and to avoid isolation in a closed circuit that makes it wither and die. The Fraternity is "-a visible sign of the Church, the community of love-". From here comes the duty to show the characteristics of the Church by a marked way of life and building up each other. The Fraternity "-should be the privileged place for developing a sense of Church and the Franciscan vocation and for enlivening the apostolic life of its members-". That means that the Fraternity has to learn over and over again to be able to develop those values and to make authentic Franciscans out of those whom it has generated into Franciscanism. Only thus will it become that right and privileged place, not only by a sense of duty towards its own vocation, but even more so by its authenticity and the human wealth it offers. In the Constitutions we read that "-the Fraternity of the SFO finds its origin in the inspiration of Francis of Assisi to whom the Most High revealed the essential gospel quality of life in fraternal communion-" (Testament 14) and that it should promote the "-collaboration among the brothers and sisters and their active and communal presence both in the local and in the universal Church-" (Const. 28). The members of the Fraternity, "-the brothers and sisters are co-responsible for the life of the Fraternity to which they belong and for the SFO... throughout the world. This requires personal presence, witness, prayer and active collaboration,in accordance with each one's means and possible obligations for the animation of the Fraternity-" (Const. 30). The leaders of the
Fraternity "-should be convinced of the validity of the Franciscan
evangelical way of life, attentive to a broad and encompassing vision of the
life of the Church and of society, open to dialogue and ready to give and
receive help and collaboration. They should see to the spiritual and
technical preparation and animation of the meetings. They should seek to
inspire life and soul into the Fraternities by their own witness, suggesting
appropriate means for the development of the life of the Fraternity and of
apostolic activities in the light of the fundamental Franciscan options.
They should promote collaboration among the brothers and sisters.-" (Const.
31). "-In the guidance and coordination of the Fraternities and of the Order, the personality and capacity of the individual brothers and sisters and of the individual Fraternities should be promoted. The plurality of expressions of the Franciscan ideal and cultural variety must be respected-" (Const. 33). These are only some of the values emerging from the Rule and from the Constitutions on the Fraternity and its role. From other sources too come indications that push us to go onward in this direction: The Holy Spirit gives to the Church religious families with a particular charism to help the Church in its mission (P.C. 1). The Council wished that the faithful who follow a spirituality would deepen and live it (A.A. 4 end). The SFO, being a
bearer of a particular charism, must take the responsibility towards this
particular commitment. A bishop told us some time ago: first you belong to
God, then to the Church, then to a spiritual family. A Rule should only be
pushing in this direction. They continued, saying: be careful about leaders, don't choose them unwittingly because it would be a disaster; choose them on the basis of the possibilities they have and they can offer; invest in people rather than in structures; shun ignorance because it won't be pardoned; prepare your members with good basic training and be responsible for their maturity as laity which is a real gift to the Church. Listening to all this I could not help to wonder whether our commitment corresponds to what people expect from the Church and to what the Church expects from us... I thought of the vocation of Francis, of that "-Go Francis, repair my house that as you can see is going to ruin-" and how this for him was not a choice but a mandate that followed the call. And perhaps also we, like him, should go and repair, as far as possible, each thing that has lost its original beauty... the family menaced and wounded by abortion and divorce; the school, many times a school of errors shaping life; the laws, favouring structures of sin and perverse mechanisms. This is our apostolic activity, dutiful, unescapable, a great grace of God. To be made witnesses and instruments of the mission of the Church among people and of the message of Francis: ready for any request, capable of finding space for any need, ready for dialogue with everyone, continually sharing with those who are alone, isolated, far away, weak, sick, foreigners and above all with the last of the last, those who do not believe in the love of the Father because nobody is witnessing this love to them. All must be carried out with a great heart and without a shadow of interior murmuring, accepting all the departures, the flights, the sufferings, the injustices and violations as a participation in the feelings of Christ. I think that this is asked of us more than of others, which is none other than the search for the Kingdom of God, and I believe that only in fulfilling it we shall see fall away our worries, that unfortunately still torment and block us. We should do it as secular lay men and women: fathers, mothers, sons, brothers; professionals, workers, housewives, farmers; healthy, sick, old and young, just as we are, where we are, where the Lord has placed us, where He wants us, where He sees us, where He follows us and lends us a hand. In our families, at our places of work, in the neighborhood, in the parish and in society, in every reality, always giving and serving so as not to desert our brothers. Personal involvement is indispensable but also that of the whole Fraternity because the new needs exceed by far the individual capacities. We need a common effort in the community to bring the message to the heart of civilization. We have to illuminate the Fraternities in understanding the richness that they represent in the Church a prophetic and charismatic presence, gift of the Holy Spirit to its Church and how we should work and animate the Fraternities to make them more efficient and productive. Nowadays there are more possibilities than there used to be; we face reality better than before; there is more openness of mind, more solidarity towards the others and a greater participation in the historical and cultural moment we live in. It is said that a long history needs to show progress. Ours is not only a long history but also a beautiful and illuminating one, full of meaning for the Church and the world. We are challenged to show it is progressing. Certainly this is not easy but possible. We have a precious patrimony of witnessing, prayer, sacrifice, and fidelity; we have values, capital and energy to move and to manage so that we do not work in vain, but channel it all into a decisive effort for the Kingdom of God. It is a program for life, an ideal to strive for, a road to run on together "-willingly-" with all the gifts of nature and grace that God has given us, so that the world is renewed also because of our presence, that the Lord is more present among us and the Gospel is better known and loved. |