Franciscan friars from six provinces across the United States gathered on Oct. 16 at the Sheraton Kansas City Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo., coming together in a spirit of fraternity for the historic Chapter of Unity, the culmination of years of prayers and planning to form the coast-to-coast Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
During this synodal, week-long, Chapter, the men will share their experiences as Friars Minor, consult the views of others, ask the Holy Spirit to guide them, and discern together about how to continue to walk the pilgrim path together.
Minister General Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, opened his address to the Chapter, noting that “all Christians must be able to project to others a feeling that in the Christian, one finds something special: the divine presence that transforms all of life. Those who see us must feel drawn to be with us, they have to be attracted, even without us realizing it, to our way of living in charity, in joy – in other words, in the Lord. In order for this to be realized, Christians need to truly live the spirit of the Gospel. As we celebrate the Centenary of the Rule, we are rediscovering this text as that which allows us to jealously hold on to the Gospel.”
“These words remind us that we must develop discernment for our choices,” he emphasized. “We cannot simply take a quick glance inside with the goal of self-preservation, but we must be open to the world and its complex realities, including creation: this is the environment in which the eternal word of the Gospel resonates today, allowing us to re-read and reinterpret the Word in a living way geared to our time.”
The discernment process that brought the friars together was the result of hard work, creativity and imagination, Br. Massimo emphasized.
“You have grasped each other's mantle to recognize that the Lord is also with you in this new time,” he said. “This is why you have agreed to ‘sit at the same table.’ This seems to me a very fitting image to express the reality of openness that each brother and each province has lived. In fact, in this journey I believe that everyone has learned to acquire something, while giving up something else. It is a paschal logic of death and life, which is at the heart of the Gospel. It is not just a question of the survival of what we have known so far and that which emotionally we do not know how to surrender; it is recognizing and letting a newness grow, while accompanying a type of reality towards its natural conclusion.”
"How we decide to be friars, where we will choose to live, with and among whom we will pitch our tent and in which way will we be able to respond to the call to live the Gospel in a very different world..." will be important, according to Br. Massimo.
“Dear brothers, I entrust these simple notes to you at the beginning of the journey of the new Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe USA. I invite each one of you to hold the hem of your brother’s mantle. In this way you will come to know that the Lord is walking with you on this road. It is new and it gives us hope; it also raises some fears and in the words of the Lord, I extend the Gospel injunction, ‘do not be afraid’ because it is the Holy Spirit who walks before us and beside us. Welcome his gentle breath, allowing your heart to go beyond any obstacle, daring to do even more, as you have already done with the mission of Cuba and Puerto Rico."
Br. Massimo went on to present a synthesis of priorities moving forward, saying that a post-religious reality demands that we learn how to:
“You are not alone on this journey,” Br. Massimo emphasized in closing. “The whole world-wide fraternity of our Order is watching you and cheering you on. The General Definitory is committed to being close to you and journeying with you. It is with these heartfelt sentiments that I greet you as your servant and brother in St. Francis and St. Clare. May Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, be with you and guide you with the same love and solicitousness shown to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin and the myriads of her devotees over the centuries.”
By Eileen Connelly, OSU
Foto: Br. Octavio Duran, OFM
