Last April 8 I celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord in the course of a great meeting of Ministers, Custodes, Secretaries of Formation, Evangelization and JPIC Animators of the two Conferences of Asia and Oceania, together with the General Definitorium and Animators of the General Curia. Looking together at the present and future of our Order on these continents, after having visited some very particular entities due to the position and the conditions in which they live, a word of Scripture resonated forcefully within me on that day.
“If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do the builders labor. If the Lord does not guard the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil.” (Ps 126:1); and also, “And I, the Lord, announce to you that I will build you a house!” (2 Sam 7:11).
How many times do we ask ourselves – and how many more times is it asked of the Minister General! – “Where is the Order going? What directions do you give us for the future? What ought we to do in this change of era? I confess that I don’t have a word that could apply to all the brothers scattered throughout the world in such different countries, cultures, histories, and conditions. This question makes me dizzy and makes me feel very small. However, I don’t feel like giving cheap answers.
For this reason, praying with that word of God, I then tried to recognize where the Lord is already building his house among us.
I think of the many seeds of goodness and of forgiveness among the brothers; to the evangelical tension which is never extinguished among us; to missionary vocations; to those who continue to join us and to the elderly+ brothers which give testimony to a life spent with joy. I think of the brothers who live in war zones, marked by violence and by a great poverty, and remain close to the people. I think also to the brothers in difficulty and sometimes distant from the fraternity, because I try to listen to the groan of the Spirit from them too. I think of the infirmed brothers, who are undergoing a decisive moment of conversion and of meeting with the Lord. I think of our realities of growth and those which are diminishing and dying, both witnesses of the Paschal Mystery, in which all live.
In these signs live the charism, the communion grows, the mission is liberated. The Chapters of Mats with many Entities are taking up these signs and all will flow into the Chapter of Mats of 2025 at Santa Maria degli Angeli, where I am sure that we will receive important words for our present and future, also thanks to the voice of lay men and women, Franciscan religious and consecrated women.
I know that the Lord builds this house of his which is our brotherhood. He asks us to continue to collaborate with Him, among us, and with persons of good will.
We are not afraid: on this journey the Spirit of the Risen One inspires and accompanies us!
