THE CONVENTUAL FRANCISCANISM’S FUTURE
AS ROOTED IN THE PRESENT

The above title follows the Italian translation of a book (The roots of the future) in which a U.S. journalist tries to show how the future is indeed rooted in the present.[1] Hence, I shall use prevalently the future tenses to stress that the time in which we are living, is actually the future already come to challenge us.

The content of my paper consists of two main parts – each distinct and yet linked together: a) The future as rooted in the present. b) Conventual Franciscans, called to live and witness their charism in the “future rooted in the present”. However, since in doing so the Order is called to integrate and operate within the Church and the world of the future, my conference will be subdivided in three sub-parts:

1. - Some of the elements characterising the world and the Church of the “future rooted in the present”; 2. - The constitutive dimensions of the Franciscan Conventual charism as a unitarily structured reality; 3. – Suggestions for the inculturation of the constitutive dimensions of the Franciscan Conventual charism within the Church and the world of the “future as rooted in the present”.

1.  Some elements which characterise the world and the Church of the future rooted in the present

1.1 - Radical, whirling changes threatening to obliterate the past

Never before, Heraclitus’ saying “panta rei” sounds so true. It will be more true in the future. Everything surrounding us – in fact – seems extremely fluid, so quickly and deeply changing: ideas, means of work and communication, culture, customs and life-conditions. Aspects of life which used to be part and parcel of venerable traditions are suddenly wiped out in the twinkling of an eye: this will become more and more true in the future.

The current acceleration of time makes it impossible for us to live in depth the intensity of the present, and more so, that of the past. In particular, historical events, with their connected traditions and values, get definitively lost: projected as we are towards the future, as well as to the virtual world created by information technology (telematics), the past loses its capacity to orient the culture, or even to look at it with a  sound critical sense.[2] 

To such amnesia are particularly exposed the Christian community - which has its foundation in the historical event “Jesus Christ” - and all the ecclesiastical realities (among which Franciscanism) which draw their life from their own specific “memory”. From various sources today people are recalling the importance of the “historical memory”, in order to wisely plan and orient the future.

The hectic pace of contemporary life (so anxiously projected towards the future) however, is bound to make people belittle or even overlook the importance of the past, including those historical events which ought to help us mould our future.

If we consider further that this rush towards the future is often marked by the widespread and deep acceptance of the “mutability of whatever exists with all their circumstances”, taking place in a situation of “void of content”[3], then it will not be hard to understand how inevitably reduced will be the space given to and the impact exercised by the historical events and institutions in the moulding of the future. This calls for extra care and efforts in safeguarding the “memory”, lest it be totally obliterated.

1.2 - A globalised future in the making: risks and opportunities

The word “globalisation” is today on everybody’s lips. It is not a univocal term, though, and it can mean – at times – rather different and complex realities.  It is also a word loaded with contrasting emotions: joy and approval on one hand, fear and disapproval on the other. I shall only refer to the themes which are relevant to the topic we are dealing with.

Life today – and tomorrow even more so – has a global dimension at all levels and in all fields: be it communication and information, the movement of people and merchandise, finance and economy, culture and ideas. The information technology development has reduced the “space-time” distances to such an extent, that we are already living elbow to elbow, like in a village: indeed, the “global village”. 

How are we to evaluate this phenomenon, which will more and more condition the future life of mankind? I’ll quote a very stimulating thought expressed by the Pope.

Speaking about globalisation, he says that it is “a new phenomenon which we ought to study and evaluate after careful and intelligent research and analysis, since it presents itself clearly marked by a character of ambivalence. It could be something good for man and society, but it could also turn out to be a damaging factor, with quite heavy consequences.

It will all depend on certain fundamental choices: that is, on whether globalisation will be put at the service of man – every man - or whether it will exclusively serve a given developmental plan, totally neglecting the principles of solidarity and responsible sharing”[4]

The Pope goes on outlining briefly the reality of the phenomenon, urging us to evaluate it with a truly human and Christian discernment. He is not alone, though, in calling for such discernment of the ambivalence of the phenomenon.[5]

      1.2.1 The Risks

We ought to beware of the fact – and the signs are already in view – that globalisation could well be directed and managed by occult oligarchic powers, which might be able to hold and control the mass media and the electronic means to pursue their economical, political and cultural interests. Should this happen, then mankind’s future will be inspired by the liberal or neo-liberal ideology,[6] which under the name of free initiative will impose the logic of profit to the advantage of the few, increasing the gap between the rich “elite” and the impoverished masses. This will in its turn endanger peace and security at the world level, while undermining the sense of justice as well as that of human and Christian solidarity and fraternity. Inevitably, the future will then see the huge manipulation of the masses and of the social consensus, aiming at a kind of general “homogenisation” and leading to the “levelling” of thought, customs and culture; this would reduce people’s ability to look critically at the issues at stake, but it would also lead to the impoverishment of the various rich national (or local) cultural identities and traditions.[7]

Furthermore, the whole process is usually accompanied by a brainwashing, almost narcotic insistence on what is superficial and trivial;[8] a bombardment of input and information merely seen as “news”, disregarding their truth and quality. Should humanity be globalised in such a spirit and with such dubious aims, we would certainly incur an eco-system’s manipulation even more myopic than there is already in the present, with no regard whatsoever to its conservation, so essential to the survival and the quality of human life.

 A further result of this globalisation effected with no attention whatsoever to the integrity of the human dimension – something bound to get worse and worse with the passing of time – is the tendency of individuals to connect far and wide in all directions, while remaining lonely navigators, extremely poor in human relationships and communion. That’s why many sociologists foresee in tomorrow’s world, a great deal of planetary connections via Internet and interactive TV, yet very little conversation at home, at the working places, in offices and – we may add – in our friaries.

      1.2.2. - Opportunities

But let us now have a look also at the opportunities made available by globalisation. The largely globalised world of the future will have a chance to become more humane and more unified than it is today, thus constituting a step forward, towards the re-unification of the human family.[9]

Global communication will make it possible for individual persons, associations, various entities – among which religious Orders – to make themselves present and heard, spreading their ideas and life projects. Local entities, cultural identities as well as the various world and life visions will not be per se condemned to disappear; on the contrary, like never before, they will have a chance to be alive, present and active on the world scene.

What is “local” will not necessarily be bound to vanish; rather, it will be given a chance to have a greater audience and influence on the globalised arena. Thus we shall witness the birth of the “local-global” (the so called “glo-cal”). In a word, globalisation will not per se wipe away the various cultures or the need for inculturation. However, only when capable of making themselves present by an effective use of the rich potential available through globalisation, will the various cultures have a chance to survive, thus preventing mankind’s impoverishment.[10]

Here we should not overlook the fact that the global set up will also grant to the eventual victims of “wild” globalisation an opportunity to communicate, organise themselves and get wide support from the global community for the defence of their infringed and stepped upon rights.

Even solidarity and fraternity will be – so to say – globalised, making it possible to organise a “global resistance and struggle”[11] and a worldwide challenge, capable to enhance the democratisation of the economical and political structures, towards global solidarity; something absolutely unthinkable of, even in the very recent past.[12]  Through globalisation we shall also be able to tackle at world level the ecological problem - that is the future of the earth vis à vis the issue of a sustainable development, which will not overlook the needs of the eco-system’s survival.

The globalised world, characterised by huge migrations of the work-force and great movements of people for all kinds of reasons, is more and more going to be the public arena for the encounter, the exchange of opinions, but also the conflicts between diverse world visions, cultures, religions and life projects. That’s where the cards will be totally reshuffled – a process partially begun already.

Totally new “life-visions” and utterly diverse cultural universes, will be offered (right at home!) to people who used to live, think and act within the frame of venerable religious and cultural “local” patterns. They won’t be able to avoid making comparisons with their own life-vision and, perhaps, they will feel fascinated by the new ones, thus abandoning their own faith and repudiating their own culture; or else, they will deepen and strengthen their convictions, feeling the urge to “enter the net-work” in order to publicise them, “evangelising” the outer world.

We already hear talks of looming “civilisation clashes” which will re-shape the world’s destinies,[13] to the point that only the “strongest” cultural and religious identities - those endowed with very high persuasion and diffusion capacity - will succeed to survive.

Speaking about this issue the Pope, in his 2001 Peace-Day message, proposed to all Christians and indeed to all men and women of good will, a picture of the future far less conflictual but rather characterised by dialogue and open acceptance of cultural diversity, though remaining faithful to one’s roots; a third millennium world, truly reconciled and fraternal, animated by the fundamental human values common to all in spite of the cultural and religious differences.[14] Dialogue, however, will not prevent people endowed with stronger motivations and greater capacity to draw strength from their “memory” for the shaping of their future, from having greater significance and greater chance to influence the destinies of mankind.

The globalised world of the future - once full planetary communication be achieved – will also be characterised by cultural fragmentation, exasperated individualism[15] and the syncretism of various cultural and religious elements; a kind of a “do it yourself” attitude in the cultural and religious fields, resulting in great difficulty for the religious communities to regulate institutionalised religions.

This brings us to some considerations on the Church of the present (and within her on our Order) as already projected into the future.

     1.3. - The Church in the “already begun” religious and cultural future

The Church of the (already begun) globalised future will find herself in situations extremely different from those of the past.[16] In the globalised world of the cultural and religious reshuffling, she will need to take note of society’s growing detachment from the Christian culture and heritage; she will increasingly feel “a foreigner” in such world, and – especially within the secularised Western context, where whatever reference to transcendence is strikingly absent – she will be called to make what can be called the “desert” experience[17] … something which, by the way, will do her no harm at all.

Despite the large diffusion of the electronic (telematic) connections, the Church will certainly meet serious difficulties when trying to save the institutionalised faith, together with the sense of belonging to the Community. This is due to the individualistic and privatistic orientation of life brought about by globalisation.

The Church too will see the “do it yourself” attitude spreading in her midst, in the way her members will try to live the religious dimension. Furthermore, due to the syncretistic attitude we mentioned above, she will find it extremely difficult to preserve the Christian truth in its purity and integrity.

On the other hand – as we said – the huge migration and medley of peoples from diverse cultures and religions and the whirling movement of ideas will increasingly lead to situations of “encounters and clashes” (incontro-scontro) and competition.

In such an environment, the Christian Community will face the challenge of having to justify and maintain firm the fundamental truth of the uniqueness and the universality of Jesus Christ’s saving mediation and mission.

In her commitment to the growth of the kingdom of God and of Jesus Christ’s – which at the same time is a commitment to man’s integral promotion and liberation –the Church will be called to strive to make globalisation more humane.

In her capacity, as a transnational reality, she will endeavour to foster the creation of the global human family, where the right to freedom, the values of fraternity and solidarity, true concern for the vulnerable and voiceless people will enhance a sustainable development in full respect of the environment and of people.

In this age of radical changes – or better still, in this changing age – she will be called to contact all the peoples, not only “via internet”, yet at the deeper level of human values and problems, thus affirming a culture of life, a civilisation of mutual understanding and acceptance of diversity, in solidarity and peace.[18]

Apart from these pressing external problems, the Christian community will also have to tackle from the inside the need to harmonise her unity with her universality – that is, the duty to inculturate her “one and the same” faith in the various cultural situations in which she will live and operate; she will have to maintain her truly Catholic dimension in her pluralistic universality.

In an age of global cultural levelling and yet of re-discovery and great appreciation of the local cultural identities, she must be able to combine the specific values both of the universal and of the local dimensions;[19] finally, at a time of social pluralism, which threatens unity, she must live and witness communion in diversity.

     1.4 – The Order’s presence and role in the future of the world and of the Church.

To find its place in the present, while preparing to answer the demands of the future, our Order needs to pay attention to the above outlined elements, which will ever more mark the journey of human society as well as that of the Church in the days to come. In order to be truly present and adequately operate in the new situations, it will have to open up to the future’s novelty without bypassing, however, the fundamental moment of its “memory”, so essential to keep its sense of identity and its orientation.

Hence, the need to always consider and reflect on its specific charism, its constitutive and structural dimensions, as witnessed at its time of origin (the originating charism) and developed throughout its history (the charism’s historical dynamics): a twofold aspect which will greatly help to enhance the awareness of one’s “identity” and “mission”, seen both at its beginning and in its historical unfolding in the various situations and environments during the course of eight centuries.[20]

To this end, I shall briefly outline the structural dimensions of the Franciscan Conventual charism and identity, found right from the origins and developed through history: they will serve as guidelines and propelling ideas of the Order’s presence and mission in the Church and in the world of tomorrow.

The cultural horizons of the charism’s incarnation and inculturation in the world of the future will vary in proportion to cultural fragmentation. Under the following headline, I’ll mainly consider three of them, that is, those orienting the cultures of the geographical areas where our Order is most present: the Northern hemisphere, largely secularised and highly developed in terms of technology and economy; the Southern hemisphere, that is, the developing world of the imposed extreme poverty with the impelling need for justice and liberation; thirdly, the world of the deeply rooted religious and cultural tradition (though so different from each other) which comprise Asia and Africa. Obviously, we are dealing here with generalisations, which still have their value.

2. Structural dimensions and components of the Franciscan Conventual charism

“Charism” is here seen as a unitary, yet composite and organically structured reality; as for “Franciscan charism”, I shall assume it as a reality that – right from its origins – developed into a “Conventual” configuration as a valid and dynamic Franciscan actualisation, with which our Order did and still does identify itself.[21]

     2.1. – Following Jesus Christ, poor, humble and crucified; being true to the Gospel

The constant reference to Jesus Christ as the centre, the model, and the way for the Franciscan witnessing - be it in the practice of discipleship and in theological reflection -constitutes the fundamental dimension of our charism. This is the mystery of Jesus Christ in its wholeness, taken in Francis’ perspective.

It is Jesus Christ, Son of the most High God, who humbled himself to the level of our fragile and poor humanity, which he received from Mary, Virgin and “poverella” (see 2Lf I,4-5; Rnb IX, 6) from the cradle to the cross and through the sequence of all centuries, where – though already in God’s glory – he continues to humble himself day after day in the Eucharist, revealing and offering us the divine love in humble form, devoid of power and glory (see Adm. I, 16-26) so that we might freely welcome him, responding on our turn with the total, “naked” gift of ourselves. Jesus Christ deeply experienced as alive and active in us, became Francis’ key to an understanding of all reality. Jesus is the horizon in which Francis – and the Franciscans after him, though in various degrees and often with different stress - have enlightened the reality of God, the Church, Mary … as well as the reality of man (in particular of the Franciscan person), but also of the entire creation.

     2.2. – The Most High God, humble love, a “minor” God

To Francis and his Friars throughout the centuries, Jesus Christ is the way to God, Father and Trinity, Supreme Being and Supreme Good, the Everything to man (see Rnb 23; Adm. 1). It is a matter of experiencing and bearing witness to God and his mystery as Love who loves us first, giving himself to us with such gratuity and generosity as to arouse astonishment and wonder; Love stooping down to us with untold humility and kindness, determined to live and walk with us. It’s the face of a God who, though being the Most High, the “God of majesty”, has chosen to become “minor”, a patient and suffering God out of love and for the sake of mankind; the face of a God who deserves that we gratefully and totally surrender the whole of ourselves, in a radical answer of faith and love made visible in a life of spiritual poverty and “minority”.

     2.3. – A Fraternity of men brought together (convened) in the Spirit, to carry out a project of evangelical life.

The Franciscan Order is a group of Brothers gathered by the Spirit within the Church and around Jesus Christ, their elder Brother, by the will of God the Father. It is a Fraternity of equal Brothers basically motivated and supported by faith In Jesus Christ and in God. Its soul and life-norms are the gift of self and mutual service.[22]

Almost from the very beginning it developed a “conventual” configuration, not merely out of historical contingency, but mainly because - answering a shared divine call - it felt the need to give life to an evangelical fraternity by “coming” together as brothers (“convening”), in a spirit of openness to others, and of concrete commitment to community life, expressed by common prayer and the sharing of hardships and joys, of work and responsibility, of means of subsistence, of meals and dialogue.

     2.4. - A Fraternity of Minors

The life and teaching of Francis the Founder on one hand, and the tormented history of the Family of “Minors” on the other, eloquently tell us that “minority” is indeed a constitutive and qualifying element of Conventual Franciscanism. The holy Founder made a life-choice which led him to break away from the social context in which he was born and educated, to undertake an evangelical, prophetic journey, which led him among the true “minors” of his times. He then decided that his own too, had to be a Fraternity of “minors”.

The sources clearly show how he could later give an ever deeper Christological and theological motivation to his choice of “minority”. That is why the Franciscan Fraternity’s minority, in the end, can be rightly attributed and referred to Francis’ deep insight and his personal experience of the mystery of Jesus Christ, poor and humble and to that of God as “humble Charity”.

Precisely because of such motivation and foundation rooted in faith, in whatever context the “minors” will be called to live (even the rich and comfortable ones) their “minority” - though viewed in its dynamic perspective - can and must be both “interior” (spiritual) and “exterior” (social and economic).

     2.5. – A Fraternity sent out to the world, sharing in the Church’s mission

The Franciscan Conventual Fraternity is sent out to the world and must go (itinerant) everywhere to accomplish its mission which participates in the very mission of the Church, the poor Spouse of Christ the poor. It is a task received from the Founder (see Rnb 16; Rb 3; 12; Lcap, v.8), which  through history directed it into all the parts of the world, both within and without Christianity’s borders.[23]

In its missionary task, however, the Fraternity received from the Founder a specific, particular task: to proclaim God’s love by word and deed, to the Church and the whole world; the Love of a God made humble and poor for Love’s sake, who in Jesus Christ gratuitously gave and gives the whole of Himself, inviting the Church (and mankind as a whole) to conversion and penance, so that all men and women, in humility of heart and life, may gratefully give themselves to the One who infinitely loved and loves them still (see Rnb 23; Lcap).

     2.6. – An experience and a witnessing to man and the world in fraternity, simplicity of spirit and joy

One of the components of the Franciscan charism is an original experience and view of man and of the world. Man is seen and witnessed as a creature loved over and above all other creatures by God in Christ; a creature redeemed and called to live in God’s all embracing love, in fraternity, reconciled harmony and in solidarity with the whole creation, in humility and simplicity of spirit and in a joy which never subsides nor vanishes, not even when facing sufferings and death, since it is enlivened by the certainty that the grain of wheat dies only to blossom into eternal life (see Perl.).

The Franciscan Conventual man is poor and humble, yet serene and happy because he feels rich with God, his Supreme and Unique Good, his Everything, who gave himself in Christ as Father in Spirit .

3. Suggestions for the inculturation of the structural elements of the  Franciscan Conventual charism in the Church and the “world of the future rooted in the present”

As part of the Church’s mission within tomorrow’s globalised world (yet inhabited by local cultural identities):

     3.1. –  The Order will have to feel and act as an ecclesial charismatic realitycommitted to live its evangelical values, in communion with all other ecclesial charisms, in various and complex local and cultural contexts, both ancient and new.[24]

The need to inculturate the faith and the ecclesial charisms, liberating them from an excessive Western tone, is today highly felt in the Church; this will certainly be a problem which the Christian Community will need to tackle in the next future.[25] It is a topic for this year General Chapter too. We should not forget, however, that the Order is one and universal. When welcoming the Brothers the Lord sent him, our holy Founder intentionally opted for a trans-diocesan, trans-national Family: one and catholic: that is why he decided to go to Rome, directly to the Pope, bypassing the diocese. When inculturating or fitting into various contexts, one should never forget the value and the consciousness of its unity and “meta-culturality”.

     3.2.–  The Order is called to be a sign and witness to Jesus Christ as the Way, the universal Mediator leading mankind to the mystery of God. It will be the duty and the task of all Christians,[26] but of the Franciscans in a very particular way. Drawing from its “memory”, our Fraternity will remember how Francis and his confreres through the centuries have always placed Jesus Christ right at the centre of God’s design, as the universal Mediator of divine salvation for all of mankind.

The centrality of Jesus Christ in Francis’ life and teaching and his absolute primacy and universal kingship clearly proclaimed by Franciscan theology and spirituality throughout the centuries, will enable our Family to rekindle the awareness of its duty to proclaim and bear witness, in the multi-cultural and multi-religious humanity of the future, to Jesus Christ’s unique and universal saving mission.[27]

At the same time, it will be called to retain as its specific charism, the humble, poor, “deaconal” witnessing of the historical Jesus, who - day after day - keeps offering himself to mankind in the humility of the Eucharist, as the privileged way to God’s mystery.[28]

It will be our Family’s duty to ensure by all means that this Christological and Eucharistic Franciscan peculiarity never sink into oblivion, both within the Church and in the multi-religious and secularised cultural contexts in which it will live and operate.

    3.3. – It is a fact that in the globalised world all reference to God will most likely be largely reduced, particularly in those sceptical and agnostic sectors which are marked by a highly secularised culture. In other sectors, inspired by different images of “the divine”, proposed by other religions, it will acquire different forms and varieties. In all such contexts, the Conventual Franciscans are called to bear witness to it with Francis’ total commitment  (see especially Rnb 23) and in the same line of experience and thinking of the Franciscan tradition.

Again, in today’s – and more so in tomorrow’s – globalisation, the world will be greatly imbued with utilitarian, pragmatic outlook which will bring about a kind of “value nihilism” (the “weak” thinking).

The Friars Minor Conventual must counteract by offering the witnessing of their lives and the “strong” propositions of their faith in God, after the pattern of Francis.

Through their prayer and life they will have to direct their Christian brothers to the mystery of God revealed in Jesus Christ, a God essentially seen as “gift” and “communion”; a God who lowered himself for man’s sake, thus becoming a “minor” God, humble and fragile, sympathetic and compassionate; a God who showed himself to be the gratuitous source of whatever is good, to fortify man’s existence in hope; finally, a God never envious of, in competition with, or oppressor of man, but his kind and faithful friend, walking with him through joys and sufferings, darkness and light (see LodV and Rnb 23).

Does the witnessing to such an image of the mysterious God have a chance to be meaningful in the various contexts in which our Order will find itself? Positively, even though it will need to be expressed in different and appropriate modalities and forms.

For example:

Within the context marked by secularisation and the levelling of life’s horizon (Northern hemisphere), it will need to assume a highly prophetic function, by strongly re-asserting the one “Reality” which alone is truly necessary, and by reminding society of the deepest aspirations of the human heart.

In the poorest contexts, marked by socio-economic and cultural exploitation (Southern hemisphere) the above image of God will urge the Friars to side with the poor and the oppressed, stimulating them to foster their human development, with the clear awareness, though, of the absolute priority of what is truly essential to people’s real liberation and growth, that is: God’s paternal nearness, faith in God, the Unique and Supreme Good, the true richness and hope of man’s life.

In contexts of great contemplative and ascetic tension (Asia) or of deeply felt and joyfully experienced ritual religiosity (Africa), the Franciscan Conventuals, will have the task of offering the witness of their total commitment to God – Unique and Supreme Good – showing that the awareness of God’s absolute primacy can be beautifully harmonised with their peoples’ mystic, ascetic and ritual traditions.

They will endeavour to show that the God towards whom the whole of their lives is oriented, is neither a faceless and distant God, nor the “deep Self” of man, nor an idol in whose presence we ought to sing and dance, but the paternal God revealed in Jesus Christ, the Most High, ineffable God who stooped down to man to gain his love, his contemplation, his joy expressed through ritual celebration and dance. And here, the charism of the Founder offers some truly stimulating points.

     3.4. – In the globalised world of the already begun future, the Order will be strongly stimulated to bear witness in various ways to fraternity as one of its constitutive dimensions. As I said, a global society is arising, in which people will have ample opportunities of communication and yet with strong conditioning towards individualism and to a widespread confinement to loneliness; the success of the few and the frustrating exclusion of the majority; the marginalisation of the new “illiterate” people, discarded by globalisation: a painful erosion of justice and fraternity.

Against such a background one can understand the gravity of the future challenge to our Order too, as a group aiming to give flesh to fraternity in the concrete form of communion; that is, as people who convene together determined to live and share life together, capable to see in their inter-personal relationship a truly evangelical and prophetic life-proposal.

Our Conventual fraternity – or better, our fraternal conventuality – both in its internal relationships and in its outer projection, will be called to answer the worldwide need and demand for communion and fraternity. To this regard, we could apply to the Order what the Pope proposed to the whole Church of the third millennium: “To make of the Church the home and the school of communion: this is the great challenge we face in the incipient millennium, if only we wish to be faithful to God’s design, answering the world’s deepest expectations”.[29]

Talking of the fraternal relationship within the community, I once again refer to another enlightening teaching by the Pope: we shall have to “commit ourselves to valuing and developing those environments and means which … will ensure and guarantee communion” … “Community dimensions ought to be daily cultivated and enhanced at all levels, within the texture of life”.[30] “Even before planning concrete initiatives, it will be necessary to promote a spirituality of communion (fraternity), enhancing it as an educative principle everywhere”.[31]

From this spirituality, based on God the Trinity who is communion, springs a light, which makes us recognise our brother as “someone who belongs to us”, “in order to share with him his joys and pains, realise his desires and care for his needs, so that we might present him with our true and sincere friendship”. From it will also spring the “capacity to see, first and foremost, whatever positive can be found in our brother, to welcome and value it as a God given gift: a gift meant for me” … and the “capacity to make room for our brother, carrying each other’s burdens (Gal. 6,2) and rejecting the temptations to give in to our selfishness, which always tends to unleash competition, “career-mindedness, suspicion, jealousy”.[32]

The Pope concludes: “Let us not deceive ourselves: without this spiritual journey, the external means to communion (fraternity) will not help much. They would just become soulless external tools, fake masks of communion, rather than true means for its expression and growth”.[33]

Fraternity within the Order will also need to become factual in terms of communion and solidarity between friaries and provinces, far beyond cultural and social diversities. Of late, we have witnessed within the Order the growth of the sense of belonging to one and the same Fraternity, as well as of communication, communion and solidarity. In this, however, the motto “never enough” (numquam satis) is most befitting … obviously, in terms of “doing”, not just of “talking” about the topic.

Once fraternity is lived “within”, it also acquires great power to radiate “outside”. Our Order is called to find its place within the social texture, hence its responsibility to live and witness to evangelical fraternity. Being a trans-national and trans-cultural Fraternity, it will need to be a universal Family in tomorrow’s world; in so doing, however it will be requested to devise and incarnate new forms of fraternity, which may suit the cultural values and the social demands within the various contexts in which it will be present. Keeping in mind the variety of such contexts, we think that:

In the Northern hemisphere, where the phenomenon of individualism and the frustrating sense of loneliness and marginalisation are already evident, yet still increasing, also due to the wounds brought about by globalisation, our Fraternities will be called to offer community-life forms and styles, which will show to outsiders the positive, liberating and gratifying human dimension of a life lived in common brotherhood.

In contexts of oppression, where so many of our brothers are denied their dignity, our Fraternities will feel stimulated to live and share in solidarity with people who are oppressed and discriminated against, employing their energies to enhance their rights to live in true freedom and dignity.

In contexts of meditative cultural and religious traditions, our Fraternities will be moved to present themselves as communities of contemplative people in search of God, committed to the God revealed in Jesus Christ and witnessed by Francis as the treasure, the definitive and ultimate meaning of man. (See LodAl).

Finally, our future Conventual Fraternities, in whatever context they might find themselves, will need to be far more open to lay people, though with prudence, in the light of the Gospel’s words: “come and see” (Jn. 1,46). Of late, someone has proposed the idea of a “global friary”, that is of a friary never withdrawn into itself, but open to the outside world, ready to share its goods – most especially that of its fraternity – while welcoming whatever stimulus it gives, to live its charism with greater responsibility and greater social and ecclesial commitment.

Another field in which the Order, for fraternity’s sake, will be called to commit itself in the multi-cultural and multi-religious world of the future, is that of encounter and dialogue with those who do not share our culture and faith. It will be a totally new situation, hardly experienced, to such an extent, in past history; it will also need great openness and true receptivity, together with firmness and boldness in order to remain faithful to one’s faith and moral values and tenets.

Universal brotherhood and the spirit of Christian and Franciscan fraternity will be severely put to the test in the future, globalised world. The example of Francis, universal brother, open to everyone, whether Christian or not, and yet true missionary of Christ in whatever environment, will shed light on how to tackle such a difficult task. It will orient the Order’s attitude and direct its settling in the diversified society of the future, so that it may become an instrument of peaceful co-existence for all.

The Order’s commitment to peace and reconciliation among all people, springing from its sense of universal fraternity, will be put to the test more in the field of religious and cultural co-existence, than in that – as it was the case in the past - of social and political conflicts.[34]

Furthermore, the Franciscan praxis and witnessing to universal and cosmic fraternity always included the fraternal relationship with all creatures. Not without reason, people fear that in the highly technological society of the future, the manipulation of nature, with its devastating effects, might constitute a much greater danger than there is at present.

The counter-cultural movement aiming at limiting the damage and fostering a deeper awareness of the need to respect the eco-system’s balance for a better quality of life is getting stronger by the day. Because of the cultural reasons it provides for the tackling of the ecological problem and because of its concrete commitment to its solution, the Franciscan tradition has become one of the most influential and significant voices, even in the eyes of non-Catholics and non-Christian people. Francis’ universal and cosmic brotherhood, so well reflected in the Sources, can and must constitute the strongest reason for the Order’s commitment to offering its best and most significant contribution to the diffusion of a culture which safeguards the environment. This, the Order must do, without falling into a romantic and anti-technological fanaticism on one hand, or into a non-prophetic silence in the face of creation’s wreckage on the other.

A witnessing by means of a fraternal and friendly attitude, in the name of “being”, rather than of “having” or “manipulating”, will manifest the quality of the Franciscan presence and action in every part of the world, according to the varying urgencies and priorities.

     3.5. – “Minority” will certainly be one of the most pressing and meaningful aspects of the Order’s witnessing also in the future, though in situations rather different from those of the past. It will need to include – just as it did at the beginning – the interior and “spiritual” aspect of poverty “in spirit” before God and men, and the external one, as “factual” poverty and simplicity of life, within the socio-cultural context.

The witnessing to minority will be a demanding and courageous “upstream” choice, in a world more and more projected towards the pursuit of comfort and obsessed by the logic of profit and success. The freedom of minority, at the level both of “having” and “being”, will indeed become prophetic, in that same world which so sadly neglects the rights and needs of others, and the demands for respecting and safeguarding creation.

Obviously, this minority will have its highest significance only when motivated – as it was in the case of Francis – by the firm acceptance of the primacy of God, the Unique and Supreme Good, the most lovable Love, and by the faithful following of Jesus, the poor and humble pilgrim in the world, who came from the Father and is the way back to him.

This dimension of the Franciscan Conventual life ought to characterise the presence and the activity of the entire Order, even before any talk of inculturation. Without doubt, in the future as in the present, our Fraternity will live in different cultural and economic situations, which will condition the style of its presence. However, the friar who – freely and by faith - truly chooses to be “minor” and “poor”, will feel bound to give flesh to minority even when living in rich and wealthy contexts: first of all, by earning his living.[35]

Having said so, we might ask ourselves how to give life to minority (today and in the future) in all the various socio-economic contexts in which the Order will bear witness to his charism. Here too, I believe we can only offer some indications.[36]

Within the rich and comfortable socio-economic contexts, the Friars will need to be careful not to let the dominant mentality influence and subjugate them to the logic of the pursuit of comfort and profit, or to the mania of amassing wealth; they will need to abstain from social climbing and excessive activism for the sake of achieving enviable social positions (even by indulging in extra-conventual activities, which might hinder or disrupt fraternal life).

They will instead have the responsibility of letting simplicity and frugality shine in their personal and community life, even accepting to experience at times the pangs of precariousness, in order to give an example to their brothers, but also to be able to give their solidarity to the less privileged.

Within social contexts marked by poverty and oppression, or by the struggle for survival and for man’s liberation, the Friars will be called to side with the poor, the “minors”, not only living among them, but also “like” them, thus showing them that God, as the Seraphic Father taught us, is and must be our “Everything”, the real treasure we ought never to lose sight of, and that it is illusory to run after the dreams of power, prestige and wealth of the elite (the “majors”) in society.

In the cultural contexts of well-rooted mystic and ascetic religiosity, the Friars will have to bear witness to “minority” by showing, with the simplicity of their life-style, their detachment from what is superfluous and their vital search for God, the only treasure which truly fascinates and fills their hearts, thus liberating them from the burdens of the temporal. Their witnessing will be more credible and significant if they will have a deep prayer-life and give ample room to contemplation.

It is easy to see that the diversity of the above-mentioned contexts will demand that the organisation of fraternal life be able to assume – case by case - suitable modalities and rhythms, at times totally new to our Conventual tradition.

Within the value of “minority and poverty” to be witnessed in the future, we ought to insert also the attitude of dis-appropriation of creation, God’s world donated to us, both as a means to life and an object of contemplation. The Friar Minor Conventual ought to live and inculcate this new culture which looks at creation, not as man’s property, but as the marvellous work of God’s power, wisdom and  love, so that we may rise to him, thanking him with gratitude and humility of heart.

     3.6. – The Mission

“Mission” is in the Order’s DNA. Also in the (already born) globalised world of the future, the Order will be called to project itself towards mission.

The ways of “doing mission”, though, will be different from those of the past. “Christianity” and “the pagan world” will not be there any more. In tomorrow’s multi-cultural and multi-religious society, the “mission” will be everywhere, in ways made possible by the new situations, using means and opportunities made available by the new communication technologies.

Itinerant and missionary evangelisation to announce Christ to the future globalised world will have to assume new forms, still to be invented. St. Maximilian Kolbe’s example will then be more enlightening than ever.

By all means, the “missionary spirit” which all along, right from the start of its history, has animated our Order, will always be one of its essential features. Should it fade away, the very mission of the Order will languish. It is a gift of the Spirit to be received and nurtured in faith.

However, for it to become the soul of the future missionary endeavour and strategy, it will need to be nourished by an up-to-date theological formation – specifically missionary – and by an adequate knowledge of our Family’s history. I’ll point out three elements which, to my understanding, should constitute the components or the dimensions of our future mission: its motivation, content and style.

Its motivation will have to be one of faith, more specifically, Christian faith: all other motivations (humanitarian, charitable, cultural, etc.) ought to be mere corollaries of the faith motivation, not additional ones - and much less its surrogates or substitutes.

Its contents too, will fundamentally have to be those of Christian faith: God, Jesus Christ, the Church, Mary, man-image of God, human and Christian fraternity, the world as God’s creation . . . They will have to be lived and witnessed to the multi-religious and multi-cultural “world of the future rooted in the present” with the typically Franciscan sensitivity we outlined in the previous pages, that is:

Christ, the poor and humble servant; God, the Most High, infinite Charity humble and courteous; spiritual fraternity, in our living together in minority; the Church, poor and for the poor; Mary, God’s Mother, Virgin “poverella”, the Advocate of the poor; man, God’s sublime creature who owes everything to Him and who finds his Everything in Him; the world and its creatures, the gift of the munificent Creator, the object of joyful contemplation and source of thanksgiving to the divine Bounty.

Only when assimilating and internalising these theological and spiritual contents shall we be able to express a Christian mission and evangelisation enriched by the specific Franciscan originality.

Finally, the style. The Order’s mission to the globalised world of tomorrow will need to be characterised in its style too, finding its roots in the Franciscan theological and spiritual contents. It will have to be accomplished in the spirit of “humility”, “poverty” and “minority, in “simplicity and ”joy”.

Again, the different cultural contexts will no doubt give different shape to our Fraternity’s missionary commitment: they will make it possible for our Friars to highlight certain theological and spiritual aspects instead of others; to organise their missionary “itinerancy” in the ways that are most suitable to the particular situations.

The style of our presence, however, will have to show “everywhere” the typical characteristics described above and clearly documented from the Order’s origins (see Rnb 16; Rb 3; 12), to which we shall need to draw life, with intelligent faithfulness, if we want to be the salt and the yeast of the already present humanity of the future

Conclusion

Precisely in order to carry out such a mission in accord to the cultural, theological and spiritual demands of the future, while keeping alive its charism’s specificity and originality and feeding itself with the spiritual and doctrinal richness which the Founder and the great tradition of the Order are able to offer, our Fraternity must take particular care

-    for the theological – particularly Christological – formation of his Friars

-    for cultivating its theological and spiritual  “historical memory”,

-    for orienting and wisely directing the Friars’ studies and formation courses, while keeping in mind that if a great hope keeps “memory” alive, only “memory” can fill with contents a great hope: the future.

To this purpose, I like to conclude by quoting Gramsci, the Italian thinker so sensitive to the importance of “memory” for any social body’s commitment in the present and the future; he was referring to the Socialist movement; we shall apply it to our Order: “Let us remember (our) “events”. Let us strengthen our conscience with “memory”, by immersing our spirit in the river of our tradition, of our history”.

Tradition and history ought to be studied: it is a “must”. Throughout the Order we must create and take care of places and institutions that will make these studies possible: not merely to cherish fond hopes, or to sit back and boast of our past glories, but to equip ourselves as best we can, in view of the future already born among us, which urges and challenges us.

Fr. Giovanni Iammarrone

Rome, 26. 01. 2001