Parrhesia

The word "parrhesia" (pron. par-rhay-see'-ah) is a very old word from the time before Christ. It is used a lot in the writings of St. John Chrisostom [345-407 A.D.]. It means to speak candidly or to ask forgiveness for so speaking, meaning literally "to speak everything" and by extension "to speak freely," "to speak boldly," or "boldness." It implies not only freedom of speech, but the obligation to speak the truth for the common good, even at personal risk. In his commentary on Cardinal Franc Rodé's letter to the Secular Franciscan Order Minister General, by our brother Benedetto Lino, SFO, you will find the word Parrhesia used a number of times, and Benedetto explains that it means "speaking clearly, without fear and hesitation, giving uncompromising witness to the Truth of the Gospel, explaining the hope that lives in us, sowing with humble courage the seed of the Word. [...]And, today, more than ever, we should ask the Lord for the grace of parrhesia, for each one of us, for the whole SFO and for our churches." "I exhort you so that the time lived together may bring more abundant fruit, by way of a strong and continuous commitment by each member of the Order. I encourage you, in particular, to the evangelical parresìa in the “city of men”, where the seed of the Divine Word will bring fruit if sowed with humble courage and by giving explanation of the hope which dwells in us (cf. 1Pt 3, 15). I invite you, therefore, to receive the Gospel as a specific commitment of the entire International Fraternity: it introduces to the true, outgoing, far-reaching, missionary intensity directed to the whole world. The Fraternity, as a result, will feel as generated by the word-sign of Jesus and solicited in the very places were mankind actually and concretely lives." (Franc Card. Rodé, C.M. in Letter to SFO Min. General, Vatican City, May 6th, 2009., Ref. n. T 144-1 /2007) Reference to "the city of men" in the above passage means "among the laity" or "in the public square."  Secular Franciscans bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone, and as our founder and mentor, St. Francis of Assisi did, we only use words if necessary. In other words, we hope our "witness" - our behavior - will suffice but we must do it with boldness and openness (parrhesia). The Cardinal's reference to Scripture (1Pt 3:15) is a short sentence in a longer paragraph, which explains it better: "Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame." (1 Pt 3:13-16) Noted in Benedetto's commentary (published Oct. 28, 2009), "The Cardinal’s letter underlines some key points and expresses a strong exhortation, centred on the evangelical word parrhesia in combination with the missionary mandate, to all Secular Franciscans, singularly and collectively as an Order in all its forms: local, regional, national and worldwide." A missionary mandate - we are sent out on a mission by the Church, to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone, with an even greater intensity and love than we have done before. There is no question that the Holy Spirit, the wisdom and love of God, has been working on us for a long time. This is no casually made decision by the Church. The Holy Father (Benedict XVI) takes a personal interest in the SFO, as was evident in a more recent communication to our Minister General where he  states, "The Secular Franciscan Order is one and only (John Paul II, 22 November 2002). It exists in an uninterrupted continuity with the Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance instituted by the Blessed Francis of Assisi (Nicholas IV, Rule Supra Montem, 1289). That's a very profound statement that brings to us more solidarity and unity of purpose and, it is clear to see why Pope Paul VI in the issuance of the 1978 Rule makes the SFO a self-governing Order, rather than an Order solely under the auspices of  our brothers in the Friars Minor. It is no coincidence that this website you are reading from, contains a wealth of papers, articles, teachings and reflections dealing with God's love, with Franciscan Spirituality and many related things. I seem to have a vocation to write and reflect on Our Lord, and St. Francis, to bring the Good News out there, "via electronic means" (the Internet), and I spend a lot of time and thought on this, knowing that this is what Jesus wishes me to do. I'm not saying that I am patting myself on the back. I am sitting in an overstuffed room, with lots of paper, reference books, recordings of music (Classical and Chant) and data, a room that is not particularly clean (hard to clean because it is too full and I'm too busy, lazy or both), in a 2-room mobile home in Florida, where I sometimes get the feeling I'm in a big publishing house with great responsibility and that I need Holy Boldness (Parrhesia!!!?) to carry on. Yet I am strangely happy and content, knowing that I am doing God's Will in being in the forefront, which is very uncharacteristic of me as I am basically a shy person. There were many years in my life when I did not particularly bond with people. Thank God, I'm over that! I take no money for most of this work, and as a result I am so financially poor that it is scary sometimes, and so spiritually rich that I'm rearing to write more.  But I know this is all a Gift from God, and that I have very little to do with it. God, I am so happy to be a Franciscan. I wrote all that for a reason - to show you that in order to have this boldness and parrhesia it is better to have confidence in the message and love Jesus very much. It is not for nothing that we (the Ministers and formators in SFO) put strong emphasis on fraternity, on study and on maintaining a solid prayer life. The SFO Fraternity is a Sacred place - it is a life's commitment, and it takes priority over almost everything in your life, and we have to study, discuss, contemplate the Scriptures, Catholic Catechism, various Franciscan texts, etc., and know these well enough to be able to go out there in the "city of men" with confidence, trust in God, knowledge of the Faith, with kindness to people, with humility and meekness, representing Jesus Christ as his ambassadors, and with Franciscan love. None of this will be succesful unless we maintain a solid life of prayer. It is my hope that these writings will bring renewed enthusiams to all Franciscans, and in particular to Secular Franciscans. In Our Eucharistic Lord, Fred Schaeffer, SFO October 28, 2009