St. Francis of Assisi - October 4th, 2003

Letter of the Minister General and TOR General Council to all the Franciscan Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular for the Solemnity of the Feast of St. Francis 2003   "THE SPIRIT WHO GIVES LIFE"

Prot. N� 85-2003

THE SPIRIT WHO GIVES LIFE

The members of this Order strive to realize their vocation to holiness, initiated at Baptism, which they have in common with all Christians. Their example is Saint Francis of Assisi who chose to follow the Lord Jesus Christ by living the Gospel Way in continual conversion. (TOR Constitutions, art. 2)

Introduction

Last December, as we began the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Rule, we invited the members of the Order to reflect on the four main charisms of this essential document: poverty, minority, conversion, and contemplation. At Christmas we reflected on the tremendous event of the Incarnation and pointed out that our life of poverty is modeled on Christ’s willingness to empty Himself for our sakes. During the Easter season we turned to minority and the challenge each of us has to be real before God and in our relationships with one another. As the wonderful feast of St. Francis approaches, we would like to reflect on the necessity to be constantly involved in a life of conversion.

St. Francis and Conversion

The life of St. Francis presents us with wonderful example of how a person can change in response to an awareness of the actions of God. Even a cursory reading of his life reveals how much this affected him as he grew in knowledge of God and in his own self knowledge.

Much of what is known about the life of St. Francis comes from the legends written in the 13^th century. Unfortunately, these works tended to portray his holiness and sanctity than in providing factual information about the Saint. Even Francis does not spend much time discussing his conversion experience. However, he does leave some tantalizing hints in the few writings he left for his followers.

The clearest mention of the catalyst for his embrace of a life of penance or conversion is found in the text of the Testament, a document Francis dictated to one of the friars in 1226, just months before his death.

The Lord gave me, brother Francis, thus to begin doing penance in this way: for when I was in sin, it seemed bitter for me to see lepers. And the Lord Himself led me among them and I showed mercy to them. And when I left them, what had seemed bitter to me was turned into sweetness of soul and body. And afterwards I delayed a little and left the world. (Test 1-3)

It is significant that Francis states that the key moment in his turning to the Lord was in the act of showing mercy to one who was in need. This was, according to the Saint, the catalyst for him to "leave the world," to definitively leave the lay state and embrace life of prayer and service as a religious.

Another event that had a significant impact on the young man was his encounter with the crucified Christ. Worn out by his painful quest for direction in life Francis entered a small chapel dedicated to Sts. Cosmas and Damian, known by the local population as San Damiano, not too distant from the city wall. Troubled to the core of his being, Francis approached an old painted cross that hung above the altar and poured out his heart to God:

Most High, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out Your holy and true command. (PrCr)

As is related in the legends about the Saint, Francis heard the cross speak to him, "Francis, go rebuild My house; as you see, it is all being destroyed" (2C 10). The God of love had touched his life and left an indelible mark. Francis was left amazed and overcome with a sense of awe and wonder. He finally found meaning and direction that would consume the whole of his life. To live for and put himself at the service of God’s love became his paramount goal. Overjoyed that God had spoken to him, he put all his energy into obeying the command that he had received.

The whole of Francis’ life can be summed up in his profound quest for his place before God. The theological virtues that are mentioned in the prayer (faith, hope, and charity) along with the sense and knowledge to know what to do are necessary before God’s Will can be embraced and lived.

Francis’ concern to know and follow the Will of God is also found in his prayer for his brothers in his Letter to the Entire Order. Even though the letter was written for our brothers in the first Order, it is not hard to imagine that the prayer includes our own Order:

Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God, give us miserable ones the grace to do for You alone what we know you want us to do and always to desire what pleases you. Inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to follow in the footprints of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and, by Your grace alone may we make our way to You, Most High, Who live and rule in perfect Trinity and simple Unity, and are glorified God almighty, forever and ever. Amen. (LtOrd 50-51)

Once again, Francis asks God for the grace to know His will and, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to have the ability to follow it according to the example of Christ.

The prayer that Francis dictated after the reception of the stigmata, entitled The Praises of God, is perhaps the most heartfelt and moving of any of his writings. For his whole life he had been restlessly searching for meaning, for some kind of insight to what God wanted of him. Now he finally found it.

You are the holy Lord God. Who does wonderful things.
You are strong. You are great. You are the most high.
You are the mighty King. You holy Father,
King of heaven and earth.
You are three and one, the Lord God of gods;
You are the good, all good, the highest good,
Lord God living and true.
You are love, charity; You are wisdom, You are humility,
You are patience, You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are security, You are rest,
You are gladness and joy, You are our hope, You are justice,
You are moderation, You are all our riches to sufficiency.
You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are the protector, You are our custodian and defender,
You are strength, You are refreshment, You are our hope,
You are our faith, You are our charity,
You are all our sweetness, You are our eternal life:
Great and wonderful Lord, Almighty God, Merciful Savior.

All the things that Francis yearned and prayed for (faith, hope, charity, wisdom) he found in his relationship to God. Now he was finally able to let go of his concerns for the Order and relax in Divine love.

These three prayers reveal a little of Francis’ own spiritual journey and conversion. In the Prayer Before the Crucifix, as beautiful as it is, he is focused on himself: give me these things, Lord, so that I may carry out your will. His self absorption dissipates when the Lord gave him brothers. When Francis enters into a life of fraternity he is taken beyond the boundaries of his own concerns and is invited to share life with those on the journey with him. This can be seen in the prayer in the Letter to the Entire Order. He now prays: give us the grace, Lord, to know what you want us to do so that we may be able to follow in the footprints of Christ and make our way to You. Finally, in the Praises of God, all concerns are gone - Francis focuses neither on himself nor the fraternity. His whole focus is on God who is charity, wisdom, hope, and faith. Francis’ spiritual journey, his life of conversion, reaches its goal when he is able to turn everything over to God. He truly does find himself when he loses himself in the One who is all good.

Conversion in the TOR Rule and Constitutions

It is interesting to note that the Rule only uses the word "conversion" in two articles. Article 2 states that the brothers and sisters who embrace this way of life do so because they "wish to live this evangelical conversion of life in a spirit of prayer, of poverty, and of humility." Therefore they are to "abstain from all evil and persevere to the end in doing good." Article 6 echoes this sentiment and states that since the brothers and sisters are:

Led by the Lord, let them begin a life of penance, conscious that all of us must be continuously and totally converted to the Lord. As a sign of their conversion and consecration to gospel life, they are to clothe themselves plainly and to live in simplicity.

These two articles are rich in that they contain the essence of what our religious life is about. We are Franciscans because, as article 2 states, we "wish to serve the Lord" along with others in the Church. We are therefore challenged to live lives guided by faith, penance, prayer, poverty, humility, and perseverance. This is a Gospel centered way of life in which we are "called to make greater efforts in [our] observance of the precepts and counsels of Our Lord Jesus Christ." What a wonderful way to describe an "evangelical conversion of life"!

Article 6 echoes this theme. Since we are "led by the Lord" we are to embrace a "life of penance, conscious that all of us must be continuously and totally converted to the Lord." The life of turning to God, of allowing God’s spirit to change and mold us, is a process that never ends. Thus, we are to live as if this makes a difference in our lives - consecrated to gospel life and in simplicity.

Even though "conversion" is found only in articles 2 and 6 of the Rule, many of the other articles highlight what a challenge this is for us. We are to "follow Jesus Christ after the example of St. Francis" and to "make greater efforts in their observance of the precepts and counsels of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (art. 1). After we are received into religious life we are to "put aside all attachment as well as every care and worry. Let them only be concerned to serve, love, adore, and honor the Lord God, as best they can, with single-heartedness and purity of intention" (art. 7). This should be done in a way in which we "always make a dwelling place and home for the Lord God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so that, with undivided hearts, they [we] may increase in universal love by continually turning to God and to neighbor" (art. 8). In this way, we will "desire nothing else but our Savior, who offered Himself in His own Blood as a sacrifice on the altar of the Cross for our sins, giving us example so that we might follow in His footsteps" (art. 13). Therefore,

The brothers and sisters are to love the Lord "with their whole heart, with their whole soul and mind, and with all their strength," and to love their neighbor as themselves. Let them glorify the Lord in all they do. For He has sent them into the world so that they might give witness by word and work to His voice and to make known to all that the Lord alone is God. (art. 29)

If these articles are read with a serious intention of being followed and embraced, it is the challenge of a life time.

The Constitutions of the Order mentions "conversion" 15 times. The clearest expression this way of life is found in articles 76 through 78 in Chapter 4, "The Life of Penance." Article 76 states that St. Francis "aware that sin is part of the human condition, became convinced that the call to conversion was a grace from God." His response to this gift was to embrace a way of life in which "doing penance" became the guiding force. This is important for us in that our "example is Saint Francis of Assisi who chose to follow the Lord Jesus Christ by living the Gospel Way in continual conversion" (art. 2). Thus,

the Gospel call to conversion motivates the friars of this fraternity to constantly reform their own lives, to turn from self-centeredness and to celebrate with joy God's saving action in them. It also motivates the friars of this fraternity to become involved in the world by responding to the human and spiritual needs of the times. (art. 76)

The Constitutions point out that the action of conversion in our lives affects us in two main ways. First, conversion is an inner call which enables "the friars to be transformed from self-love to an intimate love of and union with God" (art. 82). It forces us to deal with the sin and weakness in our lives and, through the vows we profess, challenges us "to go beyond external observance of the precepts and laws in order to achieve an inner harmony with the law of charity and peace" (art. 9). Second, it makes us sensitive to the needs of our brothers and sisters and motivates us to respond "to the human and spiritual needs of the times" (art. 76). It moves us "from self-service to unselfish service of the Lord and His people" (art. 82). As we do this, we are challenged to live simple lives (arts. 57 and 78), be constantly aware that everything ultimately comes from the Lord (art. 93), and be committed daily to this way of life until we are "fully united to Christ in charity" (art. 8).

Practical Implications

The example of St. Francis and the challenges present in the Rule and Constitutions of the Order highlight that one of the most important aspects of our Franciscan life is ongoing conversion. There is a danger, however, if we see Francis and the foundational documents of our religious life as being out of touch with the reality of today’s world and with our daily lives. If that happens, we can easily convince ourselves that the call to conversion is only a pious hope and not something that should be or can be at the center of our lives.

Many of the ascetical practices in religious life (chapter of faults, examination of conscience, fasting, and a host of devotional exercises) have traditionally been embraced by friars and sisters as a way to become aware of their own weakness and sin and intensify their need for the love and mercy of God. For many of us these practices have fallen into disuse and we have not replaced them with other disciplines. In order for us to recognize and celebrate the need for ongoing conversion in our lives, it is necessary to cultivate those dispositions which will encourage us to be in close and intimate relationship with God.

One practical way this can be done is with a daily reading and meditation on the Rule and Constitutions of the Order. The challenges we receive in these documents to grow in a life of prayer, purity of heart, social justice, and fraternity provide rich spiritual nourishment for our lives as Franciscans. Let us recapture the beauty of the spiritual disciplines that have proven themselves over and over again through the centuries. And, let us, like Francis before us, recognize the important place of the daily life in fraternity as an important place for us to live out our lives of conversion. As the Constitutions put it, the

call to penance can be found in all the circumstances of daily life. It is the challenge of a friar's vocation to recognize these calls whether they be in the shared hardships of daily work for the Kingdom, the difficulties which are part of the common life, the duties with which he has been entrusted, sickness, infirmities and even the final experience of death. (art. 77)

As we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis let us joyfully embrace the process of conversion in our lives and help each other on the journey. In this way, we can all move towards the One who is "all good, the highest good, Lord God living and true" and together find faith, hope, and love in Him!

We wish you all a most blessed feast!

 Fr. Ilija Zivkovic, TOR
Ministro generale

Fr. Michael Higgins, TOR
Vicario generale

Fr. Corpus Izquierdo Barrero, TOR
1� General Councilor and General Secretary 

Fr. Matthew Puthenparambil, TOR
General Councilor

Fr. Fernando Scocca, TOR
General Councilor

Fr. Mark Fernando, TOR
General Councilor

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