CCFMC News March 2009

God and the people

Vatican Council II has reminded us again that central theme of the Church as the people of God is God Himself. He convenes the people, he leads them, he sends them out; he wants them to be his people, those people that behave towards their next ones as he behaves towards them. It is a people of anticipation, the anticipation of a new heaven and a new earth, thus being the nucleus of a new human kind.

In a Church comprehended as such, politics and humanity (i.e. justice, peace, integrity of creation, human rights, humanity etc.) are central subjects. They are the basic questions of the Church and the essential foundation when speaking of the biblical God. For He convenes His people to convert from the catches of power and from desire, and He frees them from slavery existence of oppression and distress. Therefore, the people of God are made up of people who are prepared and have the courage to testify this dream of God in the world: namely the fact that God is a God and not an idol, that He is a social being wanting the life of all; that He claims justice among them; that He feeds the starving with good things and sends the rich away empty, “He casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly“ (Luke 1.46f).

The people of God are inevitably a prophetic people, a holy people, and a royal people. It is these three qualities that the Council particularly emphasises in Lumen Gentium: the messianic order, the special dignity of its members as well as the new quality of life in which they participate and to which they are convened: namely the nucleus of unity, hope and welfare of mankind. For God saves them not merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased Him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness (LG 9). And this means of course that the People of God, thus all members of the Church have their messianic mission by their own calling and not by a mandate through the governing body of the Church.

The Exodus from dehumanisation, slavery and exploitation will only succeed if God still leads the way of the „enslaved people“ today, and if the „People of God“ do not cry over the loss of the „meat pots of Egypt" and swear off the old idols to become the People of God where God's love and charity also become the columns of political society.

Francis was the living example of this vision of the Council in the early beginnings of his Fraternity. He feels called by God. He repeatedly reminds of his inner certainty that God is leading him: „ the Lord Himself revealed to me, the Lord has given me; the Lord has shown me“ (Test). Francis calls this signal a revelation. At a time when the feudal society was understood as a God-given system by nobility and common people, he made use of a completely new perception. If God descends and lives with the least, the human family may not have any separative differences. We are all sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore, he also wanted no superiors in his fraternity, but rather ministers, servants, as nobody should hold a predominant position, least of all among the friars. He sends his friars all over the world to tell about peace, pace e bene (Peace and all Good), we can understand as a short wording of the Kingdom of God. He does so, because Jesus has done so.

Francis has thus given an infectious example of how a „People of God“ can come into being: Advocating with passion the visions of the Kingdom of God just as Jesus has done; always trusting that God awakens the necessary offices of service to free His People from the “House of slavery”; and not to lose sight of the poor, as they are the main members of His People. Thus the vision of the Council could regain intensity.

Andreas Müller OFM

 

Latin America

Brazil

In 2000 the first World Social Forum took place in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. It was intended to be an alternative event to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. This is where the rich and mighty meet, the movements of the civil society in the World Social Forum, who want to lend a voice to the poor and the losers within the great pubic dialogue about the future of the world. A different world is possible - that is the message of hope, which has been formulated and proclaimed to all every year since then. On the initiative of the MZF, the Mission Centre of the Franciscans in Bonn, Germany, the Franciscan family was involved from the very beginning. Its concern was to embed the Franciscan option for the poor as a spiritual impulse and to team up with the social and ecological movements. Just as Francis discovered his calling during his encounter with a leper, we, the successors of the Poverello, are able to find our identity close to the poor of today. That is definitely the concern of the CCFMC: to put the problems of our time into a Franciscan perspective.

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Message of the Fifth Franciscan Solidarity Seminar

January 2009, Belém, Pará, Brazilian Amazon.

What is the motivation that drives our life?

We are writing from Belém, Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon, where we have come to participate in the Fifth Franciscan Solidarity Seminar and the World Social Forum. We come from four continents and 15 countries, and have met from January 17th to February 1st. We have come to pray together, to share our countries’ experiences and to reflect on our Franciscan way of life. Belém is the host city for this year’s World Social Forum. We would like to share some of our thoughts with you on this process.

What is the motivation that drives our gospel life in the face of the enormous problems of the world? We have come to understand that the network that has made this Seminar possible is a basic and powerful relational tool for us. It will allow us to move beyond isolation and paralysis and become active agents of the profound changes that are demanded by the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

The current prevailing economic system (neoliberal capitalism) is facing a profound structural crisis. We are experiencing a crisis of civilization which is expressing itself in the economic and financial crisis, in the environmental crisis, in the food crisis and in the energy crisis. These crises can lead to the disappearance of the human species.

We are strengthened by the new paradigms that are appearing in the world, especially in Latin America. They are signs of hope which nourish our presence and commitment in favor of the poor, in defense of life, of peace, and of environmental justice.

This moment of crisis is also a moment of grace:

·    Popular governments have been elected in various countries of Latin America.

·    New forms of economic integration are being developed based on solidarity and equity.

·    Ancestral peoples, both indigenous and African, are strongly organizing themselves and offer a cosmovision that provides civilizing alternatives for understanding the world; they teach that we are not the center of the universe but part of it.

·    There is a growing global movement that advocates that another world is possible.

These moments of grace assure us that alternatives are being developed, that they are viable and sustainable, and that many of them count on the presence of Franciscans.

We are celebrating the living memory of the 50^th anniversary of the convocation of the Second Vatican Council by John XXIII, with his proposal for a church of the poor and for a project of solidarity. We recall this convocation in the context of the Eighth Centenary of the Francisclarian movement. We commit ourselves with greater strength and conviction to its spirit of change and renewal.

We are convinced more than ever that the Francisclarian charisma, lived in a prophetic manner, is a special gift of God for this moment in time. We see that in many places of the world, this spirituality is joining with other forces of life as a clear sign that something new is being born. This sign of the times convokes us to a stronger; more creative and more tenacious way of networking that will bring us together and be translated into common action, based on the needs and challenges manifested on the local, regional, national and global levels.

We are neither saviors nor the sole protagonists of these changes. We are rather called to promote alliances other with movements, organizations, churches, religions and social sectors to place our strength at the service of God’s plan which is already at work among us. (Lc. 11:20)

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Is. 43:19)

“Let everyone rise up, let no one stay behind” (Popol Vuh, sacred book of the Maya people)

Peace and all good!

 

Cono Sur

Regional CCFMC-Seminar in Paraguay

From 5 to 9 February 2009, true to the motto „Together we will face the challenges of the Francisclarian Mission“ the regional CCFMC Seminar for southern Latin America (Cono Sur) took place in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción. The 16 participants came from Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. The venue was the House of „Santa Inés“ of the Franciscan School Sisters.

The main program topics of the four days were organised and carried out by the teams of the four participating countries: Dr. Margarita Durán gave a lecture on the subject „The first steps of Franciscan Spirituality at the Rio de la Plata“. On the second day, the seminar participants got acquainted with the local living conditions – under special consideration of environmental protection - when visiting the hydropower station of Itaipú on the Brazilian border as well as the community of Ciudad del Este, only six kilometres away. On the third day of the seminar, the team from Uruguay organised a. o. a presentation by Dr. Laura Benítez on the topic „Education on the basis of values towards the truth is a joint task. „The spirituality of the incarnation of Francis of Assisi“ was the topic of the fourth and last day of this seminar. It was organised by Sr. Antonia Montiel from Chile and her team.

In her presentation on the history of the Franciscans in the area of the Rio de la Plata, Margarita Durán emphasised that there had already been first Franciscan missionaries in this area, who learned the language of the local population, even before the arrival of Alonso Cabreras, with whom the written documentation began. For the Guaraní, who did not know any scripture, the spoken, and not the written word, was important. Unlike the Dominicans, the Franciscans did not leave behind any books, but a lay movement, the Tertiaries, however, originated in their environment, which the Dominicans do not have.

Francis recognised God as the God of the poor. This statement belongs to the results of the team work on the paper about the spirituality of the incarnation with Francis of Assisi. The incarna-tion of God is based on love and unconditional mer-cy; it is not the result of our sins. Francis was the first to recognise the mysti-cal value of the birth of Christ, of Christ-mas, as an ideal. Today’s consumer frenzy obscures the meaning of Christmas over here, but our spirituality helps us to return to our roots. A religion of incarnation also means working for justice and peace. The CCFMC must help us to look for our place in society again. We ought to pay attention not to overfeed ourselves with books, courses, with the pride in the activities of our institutions and religious orders, or to approach others in a paternalistic manner.

Decisions of the plenary assembly:

·     For the duration of one year, the coordination will change to Paraguayan hands. Persons mainly responsible are Gustavo Benítez, Roberto Arévalo and Irma Britez.

·     The next seminar will take place in Uruguay from 3 to 7 February 2010.

·     In 2009 ecology will be the central theme.

·     Memory of the continent: the CCFMC history of the Continent is being prepared in the different countries.

·     Website: each country will send its reports and comments to the main office in Wuerzburg, where they will be revised and be put on the internet.

Evaluation:

·     The CCFMC coordinators noticed that the basic course on Franciscan missionary charisma is nowadays mainly offered for laypeople who are concerned with the realities of the continent.

·     Unlike before, the main focus of the course is on initiative; the course should target at individual change and renewal.

·     It cannot be about just „learning“ the lesson units just for ourselves.

·     Today the CCFMC is „embedded“ in the southern parts of South America; it is at the grassroot level, it is a movement.

·     Acting in contemplation and working with laypeople gives us strength. Freedom, assigns us a place amidst society, and turns us into dreamers, into respectful, loving human beings, into companions of Francis and Clare.

Peru

Powerful new start

Report by P. Guido Zegarra, National Coordinator of Peru and Regional Coordinator of the Andina Region

For the CCFMC in Peru, the year 2006 was the starting point for a new and powerful development. At that time, the annual meeting of the four Continental Coordinators for Latin America took place in Lima together with the team of the International Centre in Wuerzburg and gave new impetus to the new basic course on Franciscan missionary charisma that had not been present in Peru for several years. At request of the Franciscan Family of Peru the „Franciscan Institute for Higher Studies of Philosophy and Theology Cardenal Juan Landázuri“ accepted the responsibility. There is a specific date for this first new stage: On 30 August 2006 the course was organised, programmatically designed, and implemented in its new phase.

The appeal to the Franciscan Family met with a very positive response, 150 Brothers and Sisters from the three congregation sectors attended the course.

The work in the basic course on Franciscan missionary charisma deals with three thematic axes: Study of the lesson units; themes of methodology; development of new topics, which are of interest in view of our Peruvian reality; e.g., the Franciscan interpretation of topics covering the document of Aparecida.

Since the restart of the course, the meetings take place every fourth Saturday of the month. Especially delightful, most of all among the participants of the SFO – is the growing amicable cooperation and the great eagerness to experience and to live our Franciscan spirituality. Many Friars and Sisters, Brothers and Sisters of the SFO as well as young people made valuable suggestions regarding the development of topics. In addition to the seminarians and young people of the YouFra, Poor Clares as well as female conceptionists also participated in the course, who reported about their contemplative lives.

The newly developed topics, a. o. were „Praying with Francis“; challenges that have to be met by the Franciscan movement; Franciscan education; Franciscan laity, feminist dimension of the Franciscan Charisma, the Franciscan Family of Peru.

The Franciscan interpretation of the document of Aparecida: the permanent mission of the Franciscans within the Church; new initiatives within our evangelic option for the poor; peace and justice; Ecclesiastical base communities.

The CFF has decided, together with the Institute „Cardenal Juan Landázuri“ to permanently offer the basic course on Franciscan-missionary Charisma to various communities countrywide. For this purpose, a team of animators is to be formed, who are to run the course in the different parts of the country.

 

Franciscan Centre puts young people at the centre of attention

Sr .Victoria Naupari Osorio, Head of the Peruvian Franciscan Centre, reports about the activities of this facility in the past year. Based on the programme of September 2008, she demonstrates that young people and their spiritual needs are at the centre of attention.

The Peruvian Franciscan Centre wants to publicize and intensify Franciscan spirituality. Within the Franciscan basic education the centre offers workshops on Saturday mornings where three lecturers of this institution are working with the course of the Franciscan missionary charism. The participants of these workshops are young teachers as well as Franciscan religious. The topics of these workshops are jointly selected by the lecturers and the Head of the Centre and correspond to the needs of the youth, especially when it comes to a decision of leading a Franciscan way of life. In September, the main focus was on three topics.

Regarding the topic „Initial and Further Training“ Father Juan Meza OFM emphasized the importance of personality development so that we, just as Francis, live by word, deed and service to the Gospel, proclaim the Kingdom of God and can be witness to reality. It was an especially interesting experience for the young people to receive education and, at the same time, to have the chance to be able to change the world as a teacher as well as a student using their quite personal curriculum vitae. One of the tasks of the participants was to discover the most important and most frequent needs in their confraternity. Francis’ encounter with the leper as well as his way through the town when he preached the Gospel - without saying a word - should be a criterion. One of the positive results of the workshop was that the young people realised they often did not feel accepted wholeheartedly in their education and that they did not feel responsible for it. Therefore, they want to get more engaged in their order, for the Church, and the world.

„Origin of mission in the Mystery of the Trinity“, was the headline of the second seminar. Sr. Doris de Montoya OFS, who led this workshop, pointed out the importance of the threefold mission in God’s acting for the welfare of the world. However, she said, that it is just as important to honour the role of Maria, the mother of Jesus, within the history of salvation. The young participants realized that the Holy Spirit is at work untiringly in every person’s acting. Francis regards the Holy Spirit as a strengthening power, a vital principle – nothing can exist without it. It became clear to the young participants that one cannot change the world if one is not a brother / sister to one’s neighbour.

Father Jorge Horna OFM moderated the workshop headlined “Franciscan Dream of an Amerindian Church”. This subject that arises from the Franciscan dream to bring God to all places in the world, and especially to America, turned the focus to the reality in some religious orders. There is often lack of new approaches when meeting with others, when discovering the merits of others. The living conditions of many young people, who come from rural, but not indigenous areas, still make these truths of the evangelisation difficult for them. They experience that some people do not want to accept their own culture and roots and that they deny themselves. The discussion on this topic was very lively, especially regarding the fact that cultural differences can still be clearly experienced.

 

 

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