At 12:15pm today, in the Sala Clementina at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in the General Chapter of the Order of Friars Minor.
Dear Friars Minor,
Welcome! I want to thank your Minister General, Father Michael Perry, for his cordial words and I wish him well for the task in which he has been confirmed. I extend my greetings to the entire Order, especially to the sick and elderly brothers who are the memory of the Order and the presence of the crucified Christ in the Order.
During these days of reflection and prayer, you allow yourselves to be guided in particular by two essential elements of your identity: minority and fraternity.
I asked for the advice of two Franciscan friends from Argentina: I need to say something about this, about minority; give me your advice. One responded: God grants me that gift every day. The other told me: That is what I seek to do every day. This is the definition of minority that these two friends, young Franciscans from my native land have given me.
Minority calls us to be and to feel small before God, confiding ourselves totally to his infinite mercy. The prospect of mercy is incomprehensible to those who do not see themselves as minor or small, needy and sinful before God. The more aware we are of this, the closer we are to salvation; the more we are convinced that we are sinners, the more we are disposed to being saved. This also happens in the gospels: The persons who recognize themselves as poor before Jesus are saved; but those who think they have no need for Jesus do not receive salvation, not because it is not offered to them, but because they have not received it. Minority also means to come out of oneself, of one’s schemes and personal views; it means to go beyond the structures - which are also useful if they are used wisely - to go beyond habits and securities, to witness concrete closeness to the poor, to the needy and to the marginalized in a genuine attitude of sharing and service.
The dimension of fraternity also belongs in an essential way to evangelical witness. In the early Church, Christians lived fraternal communion to such a point as to constitute an eloquent and attractive sign of unity and charity. Other people were astonished to see Christians so united in love, so disposed to the gifts and the forgiveness of one another, so united in mercy, in benevolence, in mutual help, unanimous in sharing the joys, the sufferings and the experiences of life. Your Religious family is called to express this concrete fraternity, through a recovery of mutual trust - and I emphasize this: recovery of mutual trust - in inter-personal relationships, so that the world might see and believe, recognizing that the love of Christ heals wounds and renders only one thing.
In this perspective, it is important to rediscover an awareness of being bearers of mercy, of reconciliation and of peace. You will fulfill this vocation and mission fruitfully if you are ever more an outgoing Congregation. Moreover, this corresponds to your charism, attested to also in the Sacrum Commercium. Narrated in this account on your origins is the fact that it was requested of the first Friars to show which was their cloister. To answer, they went up a hill and pointing out all around the earth where their sight reached, said: ‘This is our cloister’ (63:GG 2022). Dear Brothers, to this cloister, which is the whole world, go also today driven by the love of Christ, as Saint Francis invites you to do and of which, in the sealed Rule, he says: I counsel, admonish and exhort my Friars in the Lord Jesus Christ, that when they go around the world, they not quarrel and avoid disputes of words and not judge others, but that they be meek, peaceful and modest, mild and humble, speaking honestly with everyone. In whatever house they enter, they must say first of all: 'Peace to this house'; and let them eat all the foods that are put before them (III, 10-14: FF 85-86). This last thing is good!
These exhortations are of great topical interest; they are prophecies of fraternity and of minority also for our world of today. How important it is to live a Christian and religious existence without getting lost in disputes and gossip, cultivating a serene dialogue with all people, with meekness, mildness and humility, with poor means, proclaiming peace and living soberly, content with what is offered to us! This also requires a determined commitment to transparency, to the ethical and unified use of goods, to a style of sobriety and spoliation. If, instead, you are attached to the goods and riches of the world, and place your security there, it will be the Lord Himself who will strip you of this spirit of worldliness in order to preserve the precious patrimony of minority and poverty to which He has called you through Saint Francis. Either you are freely poor and minor, or you will end up being stripped.
The Holy Spirit is the animator of religious life. The more room we give Him, the more He is the animator of our relations and of our mission in the Church and in the world. When consecrated persons live allowing themselves to be illumined and guided by the Spirit, they discover in this supernatural vision the secret of their fraternity, the inspiration of their service to brothers, and the strength of their prophetic presence in the Church and in the world. The light and strength of the Spirit will also help you to address the challenges that are set before you, in particular the declining numbers of your Friars, the ageing of your current members and the decrease in the number of new vocations. This is a challenge. Then I say to you: the People of God loves you. Cardinal Quarracino once said to me more or less these words: There are groups or persons in our cities that are somewhat priest-eaters, and when a priests walks by they say certain things: 'Crow' – they say this to them in Argentina -; they insult him, not loudly, but they say something. Never, never, never -- Quarracino said to me -- do they say these things to a Franciscan habit. And why? You inherited an authoritativeness in the People of God with your minority, fraternity, meekness, humility, and poverty. Please, preserve it! Don’t lose it! The people love you; they love you.
May the esteem of these good people be of encouragement along your path, as well as the affection and appreciation of Pastors. I entrust the entire Order to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, venerated by you as special Patroness with the title of Immaculate. My Blessing also accompanies you; I impart it to you with all my heart. And please, do not forget to pray for me, I am in need of it. Thank you!
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to the Order of Friars Minor
meeting in Rome for their General Chapter
Dear Friars Minor,
Welcome! I want to thank your Minister General, Father Michael Perry, for his cordial words and I wish him well for the task in which he has been confirmed. I extend my greetings to the entire Order, especially to the sick and elderly brothers who are the memory of the Order and the presence of the crucified Christ in the Order.
During these days of reflection and prayer, you allow yourselves to be guided in particular by two essential elements of your identity: minority and fraternity.
I asked for the advice of two Franciscan friends from Argentina: I need to say something about this, about minority; give me your advice. One responded: God grants me that gift every day. The other told me: That is what I seek to do every day. This is the definition of minority that these two friends, young Franciscans from my native land have given me.
Minority calls us to be and to feel small before God, confiding ourselves totally to his infinite mercy. The prospect of mercy is incomprehensible to those who do not see themselves as minor or small, needy and sinful before God. The more aware we are of this, the closer we are to salvation; the more we are convinced that we are sinners, the more we are disposed to being saved. This also happens in the gospels: The persons who recognize themselves as poor before Jesus are saved; but those who think they have no need for Jesus do not receive salvation, not because it is not offered to them, but because they have not received it. Minority also means to come out of oneself, of one’s schemes and personal views; it means to go beyond the structures - which are also useful if they are used wisely - to go beyond habits and securities, to witness concrete closeness to the poor, to the needy and to the marginalized in a genuine attitude of sharing and service.
The dimension of fraternity also belongs in an essential way to evangelical witness. In the early Church, Christians lived fraternal communion to such a point as to constitute an eloquent and attractive sign of unity and charity. Other people were astonished to see Christians so united in love, so disposed to the gifts and the forgiveness of one another, so united in mercy, in benevolence, in mutual help, unanimous in sharing the joys, the sufferings and the experiences of life. Your Religious family is called to express this concrete fraternity, through a recovery of mutual trust - and I emphasize this: recovery of mutual trust - in inter-personal relationships, so that the world might see and believe, recognizing that the love of Christ heals wounds and renders only one thing.
In this perspective, it is important to rediscover an awareness of being bearers of mercy, of reconciliation and of peace. You will fulfill this vocation and mission fruitfully if you are ever more an outgoing Congregation. Moreover, this corresponds to your charism, attested to also in the Sacrum Commercium. Narrated in this account on your origins is the fact that it was requested of the first Friars to show which was their cloister. To answer, they went up a hill and pointing out all around the earth where their sight reached, said: ‘This is our cloister’ (63:GG 2022). Dear Brothers, to this cloister, which is the whole world, go also today driven by the love of Christ, as Saint Francis invites you to do and of which, in the sealed Rule, he says: I counsel, admonish and exhort my Friars in the Lord Jesus Christ, that when they go around the world, they not quarrel and avoid disputes of words and not judge others, but that they be meek, peaceful and modest, mild and humble, speaking honestly with everyone. In whatever house they enter, they must say first of all: 'Peace to this house'; and let them eat all the foods that are put before them (III, 10-14: FF 85-86). This last thing is good!
These exhortations are of great topical interest; they are prophecies of fraternity and of minority also for our world of today. How important it is to live a Christian and religious existence without getting lost in disputes and gossip, cultivating a serene dialogue with all people, with meekness, mildness and humility, with poor means, proclaiming peace and living soberly, content with what is offered to us! This also requires a determined commitment to transparency, to the ethical and unified use of goods, to a style of sobriety and spoliation. If, instead, you are attached to the goods and riches of the world, and place your security there, it will be the Lord Himself who will strip you of this spirit of worldliness in order to preserve the precious patrimony of minority and poverty to which He has called you through Saint Francis. Either you are freely poor and minor, or you will end up being stripped.
The Holy Spirit is the animator of religious life. The more room we give Him, the more He is the animator of our relations and of our mission in the Church and in the world. When consecrated persons live allowing themselves to be illumined and guided by the Spirit, they discover in this supernatural vision the secret of their fraternity, the inspiration of their service to brothers, and the strength of their prophetic presence in the Church and in the world. The light and strength of the Spirit will also help you to address the challenges that are set before you, in particular the declining numbers of your Friars, the ageing of your current members and the decrease in the number of new vocations. This is a challenge. Then I say to you: the People of God loves you. Cardinal Quarracino once said to me more or less these words: There are groups or persons in our cities that are somewhat priest-eaters, and when a priests walks by they say certain things: 'Crow' – they say this to them in Argentina -; they insult him, not loudly, but they say something. Never, never, never -- Quarracino said to me -- do they say these things to a Franciscan habit. And why? You inherited an authoritativeness in the People of God with your minority, fraternity, meekness, humility, and poverty. Please, preserve it! Don’t lose it! The people love you; they love you.
May the esteem of these good people be of encouragement along your path, as well as the affection and appreciation of Pastors. I entrust the entire Order to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, venerated by you as special Patroness with the title of Immaculate. My Blessing also accompanies you; I impart it to you with all my heart. And please, do not forget to pray for me, I am in need of it. Thank you!
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