The “Refresher Course for Guardians and Superiors of Religious Houses” from the five Polish Provinces belonging to the North-Slavic Conference of the Order of Friars Minor was held in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska in Poland from October 24-27. In addition, all the Minister Provincials of the South-Slavic (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia) and North-Slavic (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia) Conferences were also present.
The meeting was attended by the Minister General of the Order, Br Massimo Fusarelli, and the Definitor General for both Conferences of the Order, Br Konrad Cholewa. The refresher course involves more than 130 friar Guardians from Poland.
On Tuesday, 25 October, during the morning meeting of the provincials of the North-Slavic Conference, a new president was elected. The Minister Provincial of the Province of St Hedwig - Br Alard Maliszewski - was elected. The Vice-president was elected Br Juraj Mihály, Provincial of the Province of the Most Holy Saviour in Slovakia. The President of the Conference is responsible for coordinating collaboration in the region and coordinating contact with the Minister General. In addition, the Secretary and Bursar of the Conference was appointed, Br Dominik Banaś from the Province of St Hedwig. Br Teofil Czerniak, the outgoing President, greeted and encouraged the new President for his ministry.
On the afternoon of 25 October, a solemn Eucharist was celebrated in the Calvary Basilica, led by the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, Br Massimo Fusarelli. In his homily, Br Massimo took his cue from the Gospel passage scheduled for that day - the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast: “The Kingdom of God is a small, hidden, fragile reality, yet it enjoys enormous vitality and fruitfulness. We are unfortunately tempted to look at this reality with a worldly eye. We give in to the temptation coming from the seductive power of statistics, of the weight of numbers. This is often the case among us, too, frightened by the small numbers and the extinguishing forces. Jesus tells us that the project of the Kingdom is advancing, and maturing, even if we do not take care of it. Since the world is already saved, there is no need for us to save it. It is safe, but it does not know it. It was Jesus who sowed the wheat and added the leaven. It is up to us if we will be His co-workers not to hinder His work too much”.
And, continuing, the Minister General added: “Pope Francis, during an Angelus prayer in June 2015, said: From those two parables, we can draw an important lesson: the Kingdom of God requires our collaboration, but it is above all the Lord’s initiative and gift. Our weak work, seemingly small in the face of the complexity of the world’s problems, is not afraid of difficulties when included in God’s. Faced with the resistance and delays of our friars - and even our own - we are sometimes tempted to pull the oars in the boat and go on at a minimum. This is why we must remember that even in the brothers whom we must serve as ministers and guardians, the seed and leaven of the Kingdom are present. Do we really believe this? Are we certain that the Kingdom of God will grow in us and in the friars entrusted to us? Let us cherish the gaze of faith, strengthened by the spirit of holy prayer and devotion, of fraternal dialogue. St Francis shows us the path of mercy as the privileged way to advance on the path of the Gospel”.
The friar guardians then welcomed and listened to a talk by Bishop Janusz Mastalski, Auxiliary of Cracow, Br Józef Augustyn SI and Br Wit Chlondowski OFM. The course was organised by the Secretariat of Formation and Studies of the North-Slavic Conference of the Order.
