To Whom do I belong?

To whom do I belong? Ultimately, we belong to God. We came from God and will return to God. We belong to the Catholic Church, which we promised to serve. We belong to the Franciscan Family as a vital and indispensable branch of the family tree. And we belong to those we love; our family and friends and those we serve as secular persons. 
 

The Franciscan dimension of the equation unites the family as sisters and brothers. When we know who we are called to be, what our purpose is, and to whom we belong, we are able to go forth as witnesses and instruments of [the Church’s] mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by [our] life and words and [building] a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively. Obviously these are not the only answers to the question of Franciscan spiritual identity. You might wish to consider the four questions—Who am I? —Who are we? — What is my purpose? —To whom do I belong? Allow your personal memories and experiences reveal your unique identity.

As Scripture says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it”. One day the world will be restored to its original purity. Until then, the weeds may grow with the wheat, but only the wheat fulfills its purpose and provides nourishment for the hungry. Scripture says we provide light, salt and leaven for the world to which I add we also provide wheat.

Secularity is Necessary.

One area of our secular identity that is crucial to the continuance of humanity is family life. Without procreation, human beings simply would cease to exist. Our roles in the family constitute a huge portion of our identity. We are mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, husbands, wives, etc. How often is our conversations peppered with statements such as, “I am the youngest of seven,” or “My family has farmed this area for a hundred years,” or “we’ve been married for 35 years.” If we agree that the world is good, then it follows that we need committed people in the world to maintain it. Further as Secular Franciscans, we add a vital spiritual dimension to family life.

The Franciscan Dimension

Before we examine the particular spiritual emphasis of the Secular Franciscan, we must remember that we are one branch of a single family. We are united with our brothers and sisters who profess a religious life. Without our brothers and sisters of the First Order, Second Order, and Third Order Regular, our family would be incomplete. We are a single family united by our founder and our history.

In the Prologue to the Rule of 1978, we read in the Exhortation of St. Francis to the Brothers and Sisters in Penance:

All who love the Lord with their whole heart, with their whole soul and mind, with all their strength (cf. Mk 12:30), and love their neighbors as themselves (cf. Mt 22:39) and hate their bodies with their vices and sins, and receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and produce worthy fruits of penance:

Oh, how happy and blessed are these men and women when they do these things and persevere in doing them, because ―the spirit of the Lord will rest upon them (cf. Is 11:2) and he will make ―his home and dwelling among them‖ (cf. Jn 14:23), and they are the sons of the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:45), whose works they do, and they are the spouses, brothers, and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Mt 12:50).

It is obvious from the first two paragraphs of the Earlier Exhortation, St. Francis does not begin by urging us to do external penances—no strict fasts, no hair shirts, no flagellation. What he asks us to do is positive: (1) love God totally, (2) love our neighbor as ourselves, (3) hate our sinful tendencies, (4) receive the body and blood of Christ in a worthy manner, and (5) produce good fruits of penance.

I have given considerable attention to conversion because it is the spiritual emphasis and origin of the OFS. Yet to be a fully individuated Secular Franciscan, we must not ignore the other aspects of our identity that we hold in common with the entire Franciscan family.

The year 1965 was the beginning of a process to bring the Secular Franciscan Rule into harmony with the changed conditions of the modern world. The previous rule was approved in 1883. This Rule was to be more positive, more evangelical and thoroughly Franciscan. In 1969 the Assisi Congress gathered to focus on the revision of the Secular Franciscan Rule. The work of the committees was presented as motions. Motion 9 essentially guided the process for Chapter II of the Rule of 1978. Motion 9 lists seventeen essential elements of Secular Franciscan Spirituality.

1. To live the gospel according to the spirit of St. Francis

2. To be converted continually (metanoia)

3. To live as sisters and brothers of all people and of all creation

4. To live in communion with Christ

5. To follow the poor and crucified Christ

6. To share in the life and mission of the Church

7. To share in the love of the Father

8. To be instruments of peace

9. To have a life of prayer that is personal, communal and liturgical

10. To live in joy

11. To have a spirituality of a secular nature

12. To be pilgrims on the way toward the Father

13. To participate in the apostolate of the laity

14. To be at the service of the less fortunate

15. To be loyal to the church in an attitude of dialogue and collaboration with her ministers

16. To be open to the action of the Holy Spirit

17. To live in simplicity, humility and minority

It would take a lifetime to understand all the implications and layers of meaning contained in these essential elements and another lifetime to incorporate them into the core of our being. We must be content to continue in the process of ongoing conversion until the day when we see the Lord face to face.

Excerpts from: “Identity of a Secular Franciscan” by Anne Mulqueen, OFS (“Fun” Formation Manual, 2011)