Thursday, March 30, 2017

General Council attends a Symposium at University of Antonianum

Returning to Alma Mater was a great experience after 23 years.....the same environment....very much Franciscan....simplicity in the campus....the edifice has undergone some changes....but not big ones....Today the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality organised a symposium on the theme: The Research of Truth in openness at communion.......
 The four Franciscan generals have decided to have one unique Franciscan University....since two years the process is on.....many friars are working towards its realisation.....very soon it is going to be materialised.....
 The General Council attended the symposium in order to encourage the friars working towards unification.....God has a plan for the Franciscan Order......The General Minister was in full attendance

 It was great to meet some of the professors who are still teaching....Prof. Cacciotti......great teacher....recognised me.....
 Prof. Theo Jansen....one of our Capuchins from Holland.....teacher of Franciscan spirituality.....Pio seems to be taking some classes from him....
 The speakers for the day.....Lluis Clavell, professor at the university of Holy Cross and Marco Bartoli, professor at Libera University Maria Ss. Assunta
 Rector of the college is explaining some aspects of spirituality....
 Not serious discussion but admiring the ambience of Antonianum......their appreciation has grown now.....
 What a great feeling of being a student......

 Time to introduce and welcome each other

 The Rector of the University is Sr. Melone SFA welcoming the participants....


 President of the Franciscan Institute Br. Luca Bianchi.....Capuchin....doing a great job....walking in the footsteps of Bishop Paulo Martinelli....


Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Third Day of the General Council and Birthday of Br. Thomas Francis - Vice General Economo

 Br. Thomas Francis celebrated his birthday.....morning during the Mass we prayed for him....He is the latest entry into General curia.....he is appointed as the vice general economo. He is doing his Italian language course.....he already speaks and has started working in his office.....
 It is the custom in the Curia to give a small gift to those who are celebrating birthdays and feast days....today it was the honour of Br. Sergio to hand over the gift to Thomas...
 Our cooks bake always good cakes and other sweets.....Thomas cuts the Birthday cake.....
 We are ready to participate in the sweet and not sweet moments of your life.....I am Marching.....on ...


Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Second Day of the Council Meeting....


Morning began early ......with Prayer and Eucharist......followed by breakfast....then began our work...with a beautiful prayer on the Passion of the Lord......prepared by Br. Pio Murat.....

Then we began presenting our reports of various visits and chapter celebration....assemblies...after the presentation time for clarifications, suggestions and advises.....

Vicar General presenting his report....all in attention.....

Monday, March 27, 2017

General Council 26th Meeting ........

The General Council meeting began this morning. After our January meeting, all the Councillors and General Minister were in various parts of the Order for visitation and celebration of the Provincial Chapters. Some of the councillors were attending the conference meetings in various parts of the Order. We also had a common meeting with the provinces of South Asia in Indonesia....some of us were out for more than two months.....I was out for two months in India, Srilanka and Indonesia....hectic visitation of North India....enormous distances.....but it was a joy to be with the friars in different parts of North India.....


This morning we began our council meeting with a beautiful prayer conducted by the Vicar General....it was followed by going through the minutes of the last council meeting.....it was passed and approved with some few corrections by the councillors.....

Then we took up the agenda......a long one as usual....the first part of the agenda we deal with canonical and constitutional cases.....which takes time....but the office of procura does a wonderful work....by going through each case minutely and then giving their opinion.......they make our work a little more light.......and easy......

Then we had two mid-term reports to be discussed.......the area councillor presented the report and then one more councillor is assigned to give his comments.....then it is open for discussion.....we get a good picture and idea of the Province, its administration and pastoral activities......a good way and medium to know the Province and custody........

I presented a report of the pastoral visitation which i conducted in India of St. Fidelis Province.....
We still have two weeks to go.......the secretaries are on their toes.....they do a lot of work.....

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Two Faces of the Same Charism


Circular Letter of the General Minister To the Capuchin Poor Clares
Rome, March 25, 2017
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Dear Sisters,
May the Lord give you his peace!
This letter is addressed first of all to you, Sisters, because it concerns your life. I would like to begin by giving thanks to God for your presence and contemplative witness, which speaks to us of a seeking of the Lord’s face that is total and profound. By your life you are a gift for the whole Church and especially for our Capuchin family. What would our mission be without the constant help of your faithful prayer, without your discreet and priceless presence at our side?
I wish, then, to offer for your reflection some thoughts, aware that this is a particular moment of grace for you following the Apostolic Constitution
Vultum Dei quaerere and the beginning of the demanding work on your basic legislation that you have now been able to begin.
1. Two faces of the same charism
“The Son of God has become for us the Way that our blessed father Francis, His true lover and imitator, has shown and taught us by word and example.” (St. Clare, Testament, 2)
1.1 St. Clare gave particular emphasis to considering St. Francis as the founder and because of this ensured that the Church would recognize the Poor Ladies as part of the same family as the Friars Minor. Certainly St. Francis was a rather peculiar founder. He did not leave precise norms, but only opened a space for fraternity and pointed out a spiritual path (cf. St. Francis, The Form of Life given to St. Clare; The Form of Life of St. Clare, VI, 3-4). St. Francis did not act like a patriarch who draws up rules for his spiritual daughters, but acted only as a brother who accompanies, leaving his sisters free and autonomous, trusting in their maturity and in their ability to be open to the Holy Spirit.
1.2 The relationship between Francis and Clare is fundamentally one of communion, aware that it expresses two faces of the same charism. This original relationship sets up the relationship between our Orders. The promise of the founder to have care and fraternal solicitude, as for his brothers, remains today the motivation for our closeness. What really matters is not our juridical association, nor even pastoral care nor the priestly service of chaplains and confessors. What matters the most between us is the relationship of fraternity.
1.3 Our Capuchin reform had the strong intention of returning to the original intentions of St. Francis. In its first moments, the reform did not want to take on the care of monasteries of nuns, for such was believed to be a stable, fixed, and delicate work and thus contrary to poverty and itinerancy. Thus this was forbidden absolutely in our first Constitutions (cf. Capuchin Constitutions of 1536, cap. XI). Venerable Lorenza Longo worked a true ‘miracle’ in obtaining in 1538 the recognition of her monastery in Naples – already approved in 1535 – in its living under the first rule of St. Clare and being aggregated to the Capuchins (cf. motu proprio Cum monasterium, December 10, 1538). The inspiration and the passion of Mother Lorenza allowed the Capuchin reform to acquire anew the original way of expressing the two faces of the same charism.
1.4 Today, after almost five hundred years, we can ask ourselves if our relationship is centered on fraternity, or if it is more important for us to look for juridical dependence, priestly service, or formation. Do we value a certain free and easy relationship between us? Do we make ourselves equals? Are we able to share our experiences? Do we serve one another in a mutual way? Why is it so difficult to be with one another and call ourselves brother or sister and not father or mother? Are we basing ourselves on our original identity?
2. A reflection of divine communion
“[T]hrough contemplation, transform your entire being in the image of the Godhead Itself” (St. Clare, Third Letter to Agnes of Prague, 13)
2.1 Vatican II has brought back the theology and spirituality of communion to the center of the life and mission of the Church. As an image of the mutual communion of love that is the life of the Most Holy Trinity, the Church is called to be a mirror of unity in diversity by means of the communion of fraternal love (cf. Pope St. John Paul II, Novo millennio ineunte, 43). Unity does not mean uniformity. “[Our model is] the polyhedron, which reflects the convergence of all its parts, each of which preserves its distinctiveness. (Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium, 236).
2.2 The reality of cultural transformation in our time, with its widespread process of increasing secularization, brings with it a series of anthropological changes that put into question the fundamental facts of humanity itself: the source of human dignity, sexuality, the family, and social roles. The ideology of gender, spreading in many areas of society, puts the traditional way of thinking of life in crisis. Along with this dominant culture, at least in many nations, a certain cultural diversity has become a plain and lived reality in the city streets because of the process of migration. For this reason, intercultural dialogue has become an urgent necessity if the danger of the formation of ghettos is to be avoided.
2.3 We too can run the risk of becoming a ‘ghetto’, a closed culture in the midst of a world that ‘speaks another language’, if we do not have a human and spiritual capacity for dialogue. Today dialogue is the indispensable means by which real paths of communion are put into practice.
2.4 We are called to study well the challenges of the current culture, taking as our starting point the intercultural experiences already happening in the Order. Our charism of fraternity can offer a beautiful witness of how communion can be made real in the world of today. A communion that is the fruit of a dialogue born in silence and in listening, the fruit of a spiritual life centered in divine Love.
2.5 This brings us to asking ourselves: Do we know how to value the cultures of others or do we judge everything from a presumed cultural superiority? Are we ready to learn from other cultures where the charism has developed and is lived? Are we frightened of diversity? Can we make an effort at dialogue, beginning at the level of the local community? Can we take the time necessary for a mutual listening, looking together to foster unity in diversity?
2.6 Dialogue is an indispensable tool in this changing world. At the spiritual level too, peaceful and deep dialogue is the clearest sign of the quality of a contemplative life and its transformative power which makes us the reflection of God.
3. A journey toward revitalizing the charism
“[A]lways be mindful of your commitment … What you hold, may you hold, what you do, may you do and not stop. But with swift pace, light step, unswerving feet, so that even your steps stir up no dust, may you go forward securely, joyfully, and swiftly, on the path of prudent happiness.” (St. Clare, Second Letter to Agnes of Prague, 11-13)
3.1 The international meeting of Capuchin Poor Clares in 2016, in Mexico City, was a true and living expression of our Order in communion, committed to the intercultural dialogue that makes unity in diversity grow. The presidents, the assistants, and the other participants, all of us, worked very hard in listening, in dialogue, in participation, and in discussion in order to arrive at the clear orientation that will guide the way in the coming years, with special attention to the work of the revision of your Constitutions.
3.2 It was proposed to “bring vitality back to the ways of living the charism by means of the revision of the Constitutions, keeping the structure of the text, but with particular attention to those points that, based on our experience, demand a fitting reformulation” (Agreements of the II International Meeting of the Capuchin Poor Clares, Agreement 1, General Objective, Mexico 2016).
3.3 The II International Meeting revealed the maturity of all the sisters. We gave thanks for the way in which the Federations have take up many paths since Vatican II, paths of renewal and of collaboration among monasteries, of formation and of communion. The fruits of formation in recent years, and especially of the sisters who have studied in Rome, are very visible and have demonstrated themselves in their skilled contributions. Nevertheless, what is most important is to feel the desire to revitalize the ways of expressing the charism.
3.4 The Church today asks of you: “Be beacons to those near to you and, above all, to those far away. Be torches to guide men and women along their journey through the dark night of time. Be sentinels of the morning (cf. Is 21:11-12), heralding the dawn (cf. Lk 1:78). By your transfigured life, and with simple words pondered in silence, shows us the One who is the way, and the truth and the life (cf. Jn 14:6), the Lord who alone brings us fulfillment and bestows life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). Cry out to us, as Andrew did to Simon: ‘We have found the Lord’ (cf. Jn 1:40). Like Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, announce to us: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ (Jn 20:18). Cherish the prophetic value of your lives of self-sacrifice. Do not be afraid to live fully the joy of evangelical life, in accordance with your charism” (Pope Francis, Vultum Dei quaerere, 6).
3.5 After Pope Francis’s great gift of an apostolic constitution on contemplative life, it is time to move ahead with the first task developed during the International meeting: the project of the revision of the Constitutions. We now have more clarity and can trace out the path to take more securely. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the Instruction from the Congregation for Consecrated Life on putting Vultum Dei quaerere into practice. Nevertheless, we are able to take up the first stage in this process of revision. Even though it is not yet the time to concentrate on the drafting of the text, you are called to focus on the points of your experience that merit particular attention and to identity the ‘tensions’ that need study and on which you will reflect in a particular way.
3.6 A preparatory commission, or pre-commission, made up of eight sisters representing the various regions of the world, has worked in order to offer you a guide. They are developing an Instrumentum laboris in view of presenting to you a series of questions on which it will be very important to take your time and reflect upon both personally and in common.
3.7 We are called to involve all the sisters and all the monasteries. Every sister and every abbess is responsible for the revision. The Federations have the important task of animation and accompaniment in this process. The Instrumentum laboris is flexible and each Federation will be able, according to its circumstances, to find its own right way to work on the reflections and questions. Monasteries that are not yet in federation are also invited to give their contribution, and the commission shall have a special solicitude for them.
3.8 What hopes does this project awaken in you? What fears or preoccupations? With what attitude will you take up the journey? Casting your gaze on deeds of St. Clare and the Capuchin Poor Clares, you are invited to move ahead with trusting steps, letting yourselves be guided by the Spirit of the Lord and Its holy activity.
4. The path of peace and good
“[It is] a slow and arduous effort calling for a desire for integration and a willingness to achieve this through the growth of a peaceful and multifaceted culture of encounter.” (Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium, 220)
4.1 The revision of your Constitutions is a common path of ongoing formation, a true seeking of the common good of the Order and the building of communion. The goal that we intend to reach is not the only important thing, but no less the way in which we want to make the journey. It would be good to do this is in a formative way, with recourse to personal reflection, sharing in common, as well as written input, thus looking to stimulate and awaken the flame of the charism.
4.2 Pope Francis wisely points out four principles for building communion on the path of social peace and in seeking the common good (cf. Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium, 217-237) as a basis for a culture of encounter. We can allow ourselves to be guided by these principles as we reflect and ask ourselves questions in working with the Instrumentum laboris.
4.2.1 Time is greater than space. This principle reminds us of the need to take our time in the process such that it can be developed well, without worrying about immediate results. Giving a correct answer is not what is important, but rather asking the fitting question, thinking together, comparing these with our experience, and reaching an understanding. (cf. Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium, 222-225)
4.2.2 Unity prevails over conflict. Differences are inevitable, and many times they are the cause of conflicts that must be accepted, endured, and managed, such that they can be transformed into a process of peace and communion. Even a diversity in thinking and sensibilities should be expressed peacefully, and can be reconciled in a unity that is always greater. (cf. Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium, 226-230)
4.2.3 Realities are more important than ideas. Ideas are only tools for gathering up, understanding, and guiding reality. It can be dangerous to live in an ideological world, one of just words and rhetoric, that does not keep in mind what is going on practically speaking. In the responses and proposals let us not forget to ‘keep our feet on the ground.’ (cf. Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium, 231-233)
4.2.4 The whole is greater than the part. This final principle points out the necessity of thinking of the particular in reference to the whole, the local beside the universal, our particular experiences in relation to the challenges of the whole Church, for example the tension between inculturation and a healthy globalization. The life of the community passes between practical concerns and the sense of being an international Order present in different continents. (cf. Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium, 234-237)
4.3 Are we willing to accept and give time to reflection, dialogue, and to encounter? Do we truly wish to foster a mutual listening, an environment of trust in which we can express ourselves? Are we able to manage conflict? Shall we look for a reconciled unity? Are we aware that this is the way of doing penance in our time, a true demand of conversion, an ascetical path for getting out of ourselves?
4.4 If we take up the path with these four principles, our peace and good could become more than a traditional Franciscan greeting, but a choice of a life, a concrete contribution to a more peaceful world.
5. Conclusion
I am certain that your contemplative wisdom will make you faithful to the charism in the healthiest tradition of the Order, opening you up to the newness and needs of today. Our great challenge is not to lose our identity, but to live it in a constant reform. I am convinced, dear sisters, that personal reflection and open and sincere dialogue made in mutual respect and in a contemplative attitude will bring out the richness you have in common, the diversity that makes different expressions beautiful, and the authentic witness of communion lived in God. In this way, the responses that you will send to the Preparatory Commission will bring about a lively renewal.
All this being said, there remains only to entrust thoughts and intentions to the Mother of God, that she may help you to discern the best for your life, in truth and charity, according to the spirit of the Gospel.
I invoke upon each of you and upon each community the gift of discernment, a mature fruit of the divine Spirit in us, for “you have espoused yourselves to the Holy Spirit” (St. Francis, Form of Life given to St. Clare, 1), certain that your Spouse will be with you!
Fraternally,
Br. Mauro Jöhri
General Minister OFM Cap.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Why Hate Someone?

We feel hatred towards others, beloved ones and ourselves. Today there are people who express their hatred towards everything like, God, Church, religion, politics etc. There are people who carry hatred in their hearts and minds and suffer from it terribly. They get into psychosomatic sicknesses, which medicines cannot heal or cure only by removing it from our hearts can cure. I have come across many people in my ministry who harness hatred and then allow them to get into a negative mood all through life. Hatred brings a bad feeling because it is bottled up and dangerously waiting to explode one day. When we have hatred towards others and when we express it towards them through words, deeds and gestures we hurt those innocent ones for no fault of theirs.

The best thing we can do is to release it slowly and resolutely otherwise it gets complicated. We need to focus on the main cause and reasons of hatred. After which we need to work on those reasons and remove them completely and totally from our lives.

Today there is a lot of hatred towards other religion because of lack of sufficient knowledge of that religion. We know that all that is happening today in our society is due to hatred towards a particular religion. We see many being persecuted and killed due to hatred towards religions and its principles and teaching. This hatred breaks all bonds and relationships. Hatred brings one to judge and abuse the other. It can happen directly or indirectly. It is a powerful emotion, able to destroy person and even nations. We know the history. We have fought wars due to hatred.






So why suffere from hate…it is good to release and acquire a positive power in its place….if not then we destroy our very person, become very negative and irritating, in process but slowly destroy our hearts……we slowly move toward self-destruction…..during this lent season, allow the grace of Jesus to remove and clean this hatred which is deeply seated in our hearts….be free…..break free……create a better place in us for all…..

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Let us pray for the Peace in the World

When i was born i did not know my religion.....I was taught about religion and God as I was growing up. I began to believe and appreciate my religion because i was taught that my religion would bring peace and allow me to experience God's love. And it is true and am grateful to my parents, parish and priests who taught me that Christianity liberates you and grants you eternal life. And as i was studying in the school i encountered many others who did not profess and believe in a religion of mine.....But there was never feeling that they are bad and will not experience peace, joy and spiritual freedom. When began to known them i realised that they too believe in God whose name was different. But slowly in our conversation we came to know that He is the same God but only name, colour is different. We never had a ill feeling towards each other because we grew up knowing and appreciating each others belief and faith. We participated in festivals each year....our appreciation grew day by day. 
And suddenly from nowhere we began to hear, read and see on Television some saying that "this and that" religion is not good, it is not born here.....it is foreign religion.....we began to experience violence in the name of religion.....there was hatred created among people....we slowly began to distance from one another....there were evil people who went around telling that we must protect our religion.....the suspicion and doubt grew over the period of years....now we have killing and and murdering the people in religion...people are frightened to speak, write and even profess openly their belief and faith due to  fear of being killed......times immemorial.....people hunt down and kill those who don't belong to their faith....they are forced to embrace to renounce their faith in a God whom they love.

The bomb blasts in religious place, market, schools, parliaments, government places at this minute, all over the world....there is trouble in the name of Loving, compassionate and forgiving God who created all of us in His image and likeness......Young and innocent are getting killed.....day by day the methods and ways of killing and shooting is changing and new thousand ways are introduced to kill on who does not belong to my fold........scanning through the TV channels....we can see that innocent ones have to leave and run away from terror and suffering....they leave behind all their dreams.....the hard earned properties are all destroyed....their faith and belief in God they carry along with them to find a safer place where they can once again build up their broken lives.....

Today there is fear all over among people......the social media too is one way responsible in spreading this fear.....some of the messages that are forwarded have a negative impact on the minds of people who are already scared of the present situation....let us not spread unfounded news......The world has to come together....let us not talk of religion, temple, church and Mosque but Humanity......Let us look at the person who is now scared to live.....there is no peace.....poor nations are in danger of getting attacked and completely destroyed.....it is not enough to pray and collect money for them....it is time for the world to take actions....all religions who believe in a God who is Kind, merciful and loving should come together....save the world....so beautiful....the Mother Earth who has given us everything....let us not destroy irresponsibly....if not then many more parliaments will be attacked....officers on duty will lose their precious lives....many cities will be targeted and bring down the efficiency and economic growth.....many farms all over the world will be wiped away and we will not have anything fresh and green to eat......many streets will be abandoned.....many common places will be deserted....we will not hear the noises of the children playing.....the earth will be without these innocent children....


Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Am I Keeper of my Brothers?



The ministers and guardians shall do their best to sustain the brothers on their journey towards holiness by providing the brothers and fraternities with quality time for prayer and ensuring their daily fidelity to it. Therefore, they have a duty to
minister the Word of God to the brothers and to take care to provide them with appropriate instruction and religious formation. They shall endeavor to promote knowledge of our charism and encourage the brothers to observe the Rule and the consitution faithfully, and to keep alive their sense of faith and ecclesial communion, and to promote the good of the People of God everywhere. They shall not neglect spiritual conversations, whether with individuals or in the local chapter, or homilies to the brothers during the celebration of the eucharist or of the Word of God. (Const. 161). It is the task of the local chapter, under the guidance of the guardian, to strengthen the spirit of brotherhood, to promote an awareness of the common good among all brothers and conduct a dialogue about every aspect of fraternal life, especially with regard to fostering prayer, observing poverty, promoting formation and supporting apostolic activity, in a common search for the will of God.

The ministers and guardians are to guide the brothers as sons of God, respecting their human personality so that they may give their obedience of their own free will. They shall not impose commands in virtue of the vow of obedience unless charity and necessity demand it, and do so with great prudence, in writing, or in the presence of two witnesses. (Const. 162).
The ministers and guardians are to do their best to ensure that their fraternities are molded by the gospel teaching on mercy. In accordance with the responsibility, which the Rule imposes on them, the ministers shall firmly, yet kindly and charitably, admonish, encourage and, when necessary, correct the brothers privately through fraternal discussion, taking into account the person and the circumstances. They shall talk about the shortcomings or ommissions of the fraternity with the brothers themselves, particularly in a local chapter, and together seek and apply effective remedies. (Const. 163)



The ministers shall apply themselves to the pastoral visitation prescribed by the Rule and universal law, either personally or through others. During the visitation, the ministers or other brothers delegated to conduct it shall have a sincere conversation

with the brothers, both individually and communally, about everything, whether spiritual or temporal, that protects and fosters their life. Let them not neglect the visitation of the houses. (Const. 164). Let ministers and guardians outshine the brothers in the life of our brotherhood and in the observance of the Rule and Constitution, and encourage the brothers to observe them as a daring adventure of love.
Let them act with great understanding and prudence, adapting themselves to the times and conditions of different regions, so that the brothers may express their opinions trustfully, freely and sincerely, and together seek whatever leads to the continuing renewal of our life and the enrichment of all that we do. It is the responsibility of the ministers, after willingly considering everything with the brothers, to decide and direct what must be done.

If a brother is guilty of an offense against a person or an ecclesiastical or social institution, by the same law of charity which requires justice and respect for the rights and dignity of all, especially the most vulnerable, ministers shall help him to assume his responsibilities, make good the harm he has done and accept the canonical and civil consequences of his behavior. If a brother commits an offense, or there is a danger of its being repeated, the minister shall take all possible suitable measures, including cooperation with the civil authorities, to prevent it. Indeed, responsibility for an offense rests with the the brother who commits it. 

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

THE MESSAGE OF BR. MAURO JOHRI,OFMCap. MINISTER GENERAL at PACC meeting






  •   For the passed 11 years, my meeting with the Conference superiors consisted of not so many brothers.
  •   This time we are much more because many of you brought your councilors.
  •   The decision in the last Chapter of the Order to elect one councilor just for India
    has given positive results.
  •   There was also a decision to have a separate councilor for PACC.
  •   We feel much more closer together (the General Council and the PACC) because
    Br. Victorius Dwiardy,OFMCap talks to us about what is happening in your circumscriptions and we believe he also brings to you news of what is happening in the General Council.
  •   This meeting is a unique opportunity for us to get to know each other.
  •   We cannot appreciate what we do not know. It is important for the General Council to get to see your faces and really appreciate you our brothers.
    (Especially when we have make decisions regarding brothers.)
  •   The richness of the diversity of PACC needs to be seen and experienced.
  •   The future of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is especially in Asia, The
    number is growing greatly in Asia, particularly India and Indonesia. You have in
    your hands the future of the order.
  •   This dialogue will give you more and more the responsibility of the ‘tomorrow’ of
    our Order.
  •   From 2005 there was an international meeting, dialogue of religions, it is
    important to feel the richness of each culture and we need to enter into dialogue.
  •   Deepening the cultural aspects, we find a way to inculturate more. The chapel
    here is a good example, the (traditional) architecture.
  •   You can tell us something about the dialogue between religions. Many of you live
    in countries with Islam. You know how to live together.
  •   We need to listen to you and to see how you live in a multi-cultural environment.
  •   This should be a meeting open to hope. For me it is fundamental to say: “We
    want to tell you that you are an important part of the Order. Without you the Order will be a lot poorer. We are full of hope for everything that will happen in the future. Thank you 

Monday, March 20, 2017

AUTHORITY of the Ministers AND The difficult Friar


Our vocation is the fruit of God’s grace working on human nature. Religious life is a consecration of the whole person (c.607§1), and therefore a crisis may come about at one or more levels, from the spiritual to the psychological. Religious vocations are simultaneously long-lasting and fragile, rather like glass which can last for ages and yet be broken at any moment. A crisis in a religious vocation may have several causes. 



Here are some preliminary considerations:
• a perpetually professed brother has received a call from God, publicly accepted through the ministry of the Church, and generating fraternal life in common till death. The vocation of every brother is therefore to be valued, sustained, and struggled for by everyone concerned, not least those with authority. 

the manifestation of a crisis in a religious may well say something important, and at times negative, about how selection and formation have been conducted in the Institute, how authority has or has not been exercised, and about the kind of fraternal and religious life experienced. The crisis in an individual may be the symptom of failure elsewhere.
•No appropriate natural or spiritual means, from medical treatment to retreats, should be neglected to try and overcome the crisis.

•To be a minister is to receive authority from God, to exercise it in a spirit of service, to be docile to the will of God, to show reverence for the human person, and not to fail to decide and command (c.618). Since the obligation of minister is to foster the charism of the order, he is the initial person to deal with the brother. Minister is to give the brother opportune assistance in their personal needs, be solicitous in caring for and visiting the sick, console the fainthearted, and be patient with all (c.619).
The fruitful relationship of minister and his council is going to be particularly relevant when an individual brother is in crisis. ‘Reverence for the human person’, a striking expression, must never be denied by the minister to a brother, and it reminds us of the uniqueness and value of each brother.
Canon law offers a number of responses to situations where religious life is no longer sustainable or is rejected in some important aspects. These situations may or may not involve fault on the part of an individual. The minister may have the initial task of deciding which course to pursue most appropriately, and this is a delicate phase needing prayer, thought and a good personal knowledge of the brother concerned. Many factors will need to be considered, ranging from the welfare of the individual to the common good