A Message to Secular Franciscans about the HHS Mandate

A Message to Secular Franciscans from Kent Ferris and Bishop Amos about the HHS Mandate

OFS not SFO

Important information regarding the name of our Order

February 6, 2012

As some of you are aware, the Secular Franciscan Order holds its Chapter at the International level every three years (every other time, or every six years, is an elective chapter). The International Chapter in 2011 was at the same time as our National Chapter. One of the items that came out of that chapter is a directive from our Minister General, Encarnación del Pozo, regarding the letters we use after our names to indicate our membership in the Order. That letter from Encarnita is included below.

Following some discussion with the National Executive Council and my fellow Regional Ministers, I can summarize the effect of this letter in one sentence:

Effective immediately, we are to use “OFS” rather than “SFO” after our names.

Please note that the name of the Order does not change — English is one of the four official languages, and “Secular Franciscan Order” continues to be our name in English. This, in turn, means that other places where we use “SFO” as an abbreviation for “Secular Franciscan Order” — where it is not the three letters after our names — can stay the way they are. So, our national website will continue to be nafra-sfo.org, and our regional website will continue to be ilsfo.org, to name two examples.

If we consider the efforts of CIOFS to encourage a common sense of identity within the Secular Franciscan Order (something which is probably very clear to those of you who have been using the ongoing formation dossiers), it makes sense that all Secular Franciscans throughout the world, regardless of language, will henceforth use the same set of letters after our names to indicate our status as professed members of the Order. Yes, it will take some getting used to, but please accept that small sacrifice as part of your Lenten journey this year.

Above all, as our National Minister, Tom Bello, said to us when communicating this change, “… I am absolutely certain that OFS or SFO does not make me or you … any more or less Franciscan. We are still permanently professed. Our Order is still, in English, the Secular Franciscan Order.”

Peace and blessings to you all,

Vickie Klick, OFS
Regional Minister
{Mother Cabrini Region)

- – - – -

Allegato n. 9

ORDO FRANCISCANUS SÆCULARIS
XIII. GENERAL CHAPTER
Saõ Paulo, 2011. October 22-29

THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE ORDER

THE USE AND THE TRANSLATION OF THE NAME OF THE ORDER

1. The official name of the Order is Ordo Franciscanus Sæcularis.

2. Translations of the name of the Order
2. 1 The translation of the name of the Order is already made in the four official languages, and these are the ones to be used in these languages, namely in Italian, in English, in Spanish and in French.
2.2 The name can be translated into local languages only when the literal translation from Latin is easily understandable even by the civil society and does not change its meaning or substance.
2.3 When the translation into the national language distorts the meaning of the name, or is linguistically impossible to transfer the genuine meaning, Ordo Franciscanus Sæcularis must always be used, which can be followed by expressions to clarify and make more understandable the nature of the Secular Franciscan Order to everyone in the local language.

3. The acronym
The acronym which refers to the name Ordo Franciscanus Sæcularis is OFS and is always to be used regardless of the language. For example, when Secular Franciscans use the acronym after their name, they must use “OFS”.

Encarnación del Pozo, OFS
General Minister

R.I.P. Fr. Roch Niemier

Those who had gone on pilgrimage to Assisi will remember Fr. Roch,
please remember him in your prayers.

from the Green Bay Press Gazzette:

Fr. Roch Niemier, O.F.M., a member of the Franciscan Friars of the
Assumption B.V.M. Province, died Friday afternoon, Dec. 31, 2010, at a
Milwaukee hospital.

Fr. Roch served the community in retreat and formation ministry after
ordination. In 1978, he received permission to pursue a pilgrim
lifestyle in Europe. He left in March and in April was in Florence for
studies. In June, he joined Fr. Damien Isabel, O.F.M., of the Sacred
Heart Province. In 1972, Fr. Damien initiated "The Assisi Experience"
for inviting young friars before solemn profession to visit the
Franciscan places of Italy. Fr. Roch joined the group as lecturer and
guide. In 1981, he succeeded Fr. Damien as the Director of the
Franciscan Study Pilgrimage Program.

For the next 30 years he led the Franciscan Pilgrimage Program,
developing it into a program that currently has a staff of 24 and up
to 22 pilgrimages a year, not only to Italy but to the Holy Land and
the California Missions as well. In 2004, Fr. Roch was granted an
honorary doctorate of humane letters from St. Bonaventure University
in Olean, N.Y., in recognition for his contribution to fostering the
Franciscan heritage among so many people. He stepped down as CEO of
the Pilgrimage Program in 2005. At this time he began his ministry as
Provincial Spiritual Assistant to the Secular Franciscan Order.

In addition to being heavily involved with the Pilgrimage Program, Fr.
Roch was also very involved with the friars of the Assumption
Province, serving as Guardian for two terms and Provincial Councilor
for one term. At the time of his death he was a member of the Chapter
Planning Committee.

The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Clare
Parish, Wind Lake, Wis. Burial will take place in the Provincial
Cemetery in Pulaski in the spring. Marnocha Funeral Home, Pulaski, is
assisting the friars with local arrangements.

Secular Franciscan Order - An Introduction

Secular Franciscan Order...come and see..

A good introduction to the Secular Franciscan Order. Come and see...

For more information contact: http://www.nafra-sfo.org/

S.F.O. Life and Apostolic Activity

Browsing the Internet I ran across this article and thought I would share it in its entirely.

LIFE AND APOSTOLIC ACTIVITY
Emerenziana Rossato SFO
Franciscanism qualifies as a way of life,that is as an evangelic and fraternal experience.Starting from the SFO rule and the Constitutions we shall examine two highly existential moments:life and apostolate.

The second chapter of the new Constitutions deals with the "-Form of life and apostolic activity-". Both the Rule and the Constitutions underline the value and importance of the form of life associated with the apostolate for the Secular Franciscan. This is so because at the moment a secular franciscan takes the Rule seriously enough to conform her or his life to it, apostolic activity will become an important and logical consequence.

To give the Rule this power is linked to the certainty that at the bottom of it all there is a vocation, which is the key to everything. We have entered the SFO because of a vocation which is fundamental because it is a part of God's salvific plan for us, for whose fulfillment we should be ready to give our lives.

The initiative was His, not ours. It is God who calls and continues to call and at each call chooses, destines, places and guides a person. God calls for a certain purpose and furnishes the means to reach it. He calls for the benefit of the person but also for the benefit of the community. And it is the answer of the person that fulfills or not fulfills the will of Him who calls. So each fulfillment of a vocation will never be a small matter, but a fullness of grace.

Each vocation echoes and vibrates in the person concerned with particular accents of gifts, illuminations, talents, and sensibilities, different internal and external situations. We are called to deepen the components, the characteristics and the dimensions of our vocation in order to answer it well and not to eliminate it.

We gave our first affirmative reply with our Profession, the public ecclesiastical act that brought us into the Fraternity. We professed in the Church, creating a new bond. We professed the Rule, that is a way of life, and entered the Franciscan family. This personal reply asks for continual fidelity if we want to realize our vocation. We should often remember our given word, our solemn pledge and try to keep our promises.

Living our Profession is part of a personal dedication that precedes that of the community, just as the apostolic action of the Fraternity presupposes that of the single person linked to the conversion of our heart. Because it is not the SFO, but the single member which can be transformed. It is not the SFO as such that makes us what we are, but our own personal virtues. This is so even if it goes without saying that the strength of the Fraternity can stimulate new desires, renew our lives and give us franciscan happiness. It is the personal virtues of each one put together with those of the brothers and sisters that gives light, splendour and life to the Fraternity.

Living our vocation and our Profession presupposes the Rule, a great gift that tells us who we are, how we should live and what we must do.

The first Chapter describes our nature and our identity; the second, the form of life to acquire; the third, life in Fraternity. All three Chapters are essential. By realizing the third chapter, we can more easily live the second and reach the goals described in the first.

God's design for us is fulfilled through the Rule that shows the direction and the form our vocation should take to qualify as secular Franciscans. The Rule gives us a "-Form of Life-" in relationship to God, to human beings and to the whole creation.

It is good to note that the new Constitutions have no other purpose than to help us to understand the Rule, explaining its parts and indicating concrete solutions.

From the Rule's 26 Articles, sixteen regard the "-Form of Life-". It is this form of life we should realize, observing the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the example of St. Francis of Assisi.

Therefore, passing from the Gospel to life and from life to the Gospel; looking for Christ in our brothers and sisters; being witnesses and instruments of the mission of the Church among people; conforming our way of thinking and acting to that of Christ; making prayer and contemplation the soul of our being and working; proclaiming love for the Virgin Mary and following her example; faithfully fulfilling our obligations in our state of life.

Therefore, the right use of possessions; purity of heart; fidelity to our vocation; the acceptance of our brothers; competently carrying out our responsibilities; initiatives in favour of justice; the spirit of peace; respect towards all creatures; faith in the presence of the divine seed in people and the transformative power of love and pardon; serenity in awaiting the final encounter with the Father.

The Constitutions reinforce and explain the Rule. They speak of the "-Form of Life-" in the first part of the Second Chapter, composed of 9 Articles: from 8 to 16.

The Constitutions stress the commitment made by our profession to live the Gospel according to Franciscan spirituality in our secular condition, according to the Rule of the SFO in a journey of conversion; open to the opportunities that come from society and from the Church; in the personal and communal dimensions of this journey (Const. 8).

Franciscan spirituality is called a plan of life centered on the person and on the following of Christ, rather than a detailed program to put into practice. It asks for study and love of the Gospel, to know and understand it as it is proclaimed by the Church (Const.9).

Christ, "-poor and crucified-", the greatest manifestation of the love of God for humanity, is for Secular Franciscans the book wherein we learn the way of living, loving and suffering; in which one discovers the value of contradictions, the meaning of the difficulties and the crosses, the Franciscan spirit of peace (Const. 10).

Mindful that the Holy Spirit is the source of their vocation, Secular Franciscans should desire above all things "-the Spirit of God at work within them-" (Const.11).

We are called by the Constitutions to live with faith the great gift Christ has given the revelation of the Father and to bear witness of it before all: in family life; in work; in joys and sufferings; in associating with all, brothers and sisters of the same Father; in our presence and participation in the life of society; in fraternal relationships with all creatures (Const. 12).
We need a spirit of continual conversion, both individually and in Fraternity that brings with it love for the renewal of the Church; love for the works of charity in the interactions with the brothers and sisters; love for penitential practices (Const. 13).

We are called to a faith-inspired reflection on the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation; on its mission in today's world; on the role of the Franciscan laity within the Church to foster its growth and the spreading of the Kingdom.

We are called to make the Eucharist the center of our lives and of the Fraternity; to give priority to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours; to find times of silence and recollection dedicated exclusively to prayer (Const. 14).

The constitutions urge us to live the spirit of the Beatitudes and, in a special way, the spirit of poverty that demonstrates confidence in the Father, reduces personal needs in favour of those most in need, effects interior freedom and promotes a more just distribution of wealth, attentive to the instructions of the Church and the demands of society (Const. 15).

We are urged to look at Mary as a model of listening to the Word and of faithfulness to one's vocation: we, like Francis, see all the gospel virtues realized in her. To Her then our intense love, imitation, prayer and filial abandonment (Const. 16).

Mary has given the Word flesh and bones, and went to Elizabeth. And as everyone in life has an "-Isaac-" to immolate, a "-leper-" to kiss, a "-wolf-" to tame, everyone has an "-Elizabeth-" to visit. "-Pray to Mary and run-", goes a Spanish saying. A good listener...

Franciscan Charism

Patrick Colbourne OFM Cap. has a good article on SFO Franciscan Charism. It can be found here.

It starts:

When I speak of charism in this paper, I intend to signify a gift of the Holy
Spirit that promotes a response to the Gospel that involves a specific Gospel
insight which is put into practice in a specific environment. We may refer to a
person's response to the Divine as their spirituality. Within this general area,
people are gifted with particular insights, particular vocations, to live within
specific circumstances as they respond to God's presence in their lives.
Although he admired saintly monks, St Francis was not a monk. Although he
supported, challenged and encouraged lay people, he was not a Secular
Franciscan. There is something very specific in every call from God to holiness,
and it is that specific quality we seek to explore as it is described in the
Pauline Rule of the SFO.
When promulgating the SFO Constitutions, Emanuela
De Nunzio mentioned three specific characteristics of the SFO: secularity, unity
and autonomy. These qualities are all set out in the first two paragraphs of the
Pauline Rule. The SFO is secular in so far as its members "strive for perfect
charity in their own secular state" (Rule 2). The Secular Franciscan Order is
one is so far as "it is an organic union of all Catholic fraternities scattered
throughout the world" (Rule 2). It is autonomous in so far as it carries out its
vocation within the Franciscan family, under the common fatherhood of St.
Francis, "in various ways and forms but in life-giving union" with the other
branches of that family (Rule 1).

A highlighted extract follows:

Because Seculars live in the context of "the world", they are in a privileged
position to demonstrate that there is no disjunction between life in the world
and living the Gospel. The Gospel is not an artificial adjunct to human life,
and one does not have to withdraw from human life to live the Gospel.
The
Rule exhorts them "to go forth as witnesses and instruments of her (the
Church's; italics mine) mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by their
life and words" (Rule 6). The Rule suggests that union with Jesus for the
Secular Franciscans consists in their "faithfully fulfilling the duties proper
to their various circumstances of life" (Rule 10).They must necessarily come
into contact with the goods of the world, but they are exhorted in the Rule to
simplify their material needs and to remember that they use material goods as
stewards (Rule 11). In the spirit of the beatitudes, as pilgrims and strangers
on their way home to the Father, they should mortify and tendency to possessions
or power (Rule 11). In their families they are urged to promote peace, fidelity
and respect for life and as husbands and wives they should bear witness to the
world of the love of Christ for his Church (Rule 17).

I would urge a reading of this entire paper.