At the beginning of May, I attended the Chapter of the Province of Malta, where Maltese, English and Italian were spoken for a week, switching from one language to another, even in questions in one and answers in another. I came from Asia, where the mosaic of languages is impressive. The brothers and sisters of our Family almost always speak a different European language from their mother tongue, which is also different.
What better preparation for the Pentecost before us, I told myself? The possibility that the Spirit gives many to understand the proclamation of the Gospel in their own language lies at the origin of the Church. It reminds her that she is never confined to one language and culture but can speak in many different ways. If it is true that the Greek Logos allowed the Christian proclamation to enter into the cultures of the time in the Mediterranean basin, it is also true that it immediately spread into languages and cultures foreign to Greek philosophy, such as Armenian, Syriac, Coptic, to name but a few.
We are present in many geographical contexts where one has to learn languages other than one's own to have a common linguistic medium. This forces one to step out of one's own way of thinking and seeing reality and open up to others because it is necessary to learn several languages. For example, the brothers must know several languages in India to move around in its vast territory.
The same is true in other areas of Asia, as in Africa and Latin America, between native and European languages. There are geographical areas where the brothers know they have to learn another language to not remain closed in a restricted context, to be able to study abroad and also for the inter gentes mission, which requires learning other languages. In this way, one can escape from one's culture and expression, which can never remain self-contained.
There are areas of the Order where learning languages other than one's own is more difficult and fails to take off. This calls for serious evaluation and concrete decisions, right from initial formation.
In my experience, I often regret not having invested more in learning other languages. So I try to speak as I can and to come into contact with categories of thought and perception of reality other than my own.
We become a genuinely international fraternity to the extent that we make this transition, face different cultures and thoughts, and accept that the same Franciscan faith and vocation is expressed in different ways. And there is still much to be done for this to grow and mature.
