Friday October 10 2008 17:51:36 CDT
An occasional letter from the office of the chaplain
of the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans
Click here for previous editions of The Three Knots
May 17, 2008
Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans,
Greetings of Faith, Hope, and Love to you all.
As we draw close to the time of our annual Chapter/Convocation, I thought it time to send out the Chaplain’s letter in preparation for the gathering. There are always several who are unable to attend, but we will be united through our prayers and I ask everyone to be in prayer as we meet on June 19th-22nd.
We are an Order, a dispersed community, so perhaps we should ask “What do we have in common? What is it that makes us one with each other?” We are neither all male nor all female. We are neither all clergy nor all lay. We are neither all celibate nor all partnered. We are neither all straight nor all gay. We are not all members of the same denomination. Admittedly, we are all Christians—but that is a rather large umbrella!
At first glance, it doesn’t sound as though we have a great deal in common at all. However, if you reflect even briefly, you will remember that we do indeed have one thing completely in common: We are members of this Order, and we share its common rule of life and in that, we are bound together through our prayers.
We have all been drawn by our awakening to the directive which tells us that we should try to follow, however imperfectly, that great commandment which requires us to love God and to love each other. We have also been raised or have elected to follow Christ.
For some reason, which is individual to each one of us, we have found an example of Christian living in Francis, Clare or other Franciscans which has made us shout out, as did Francis, “This is what I want!”
That call, that vocation, has, by diverse routes, attracted us to the OEF. So, although we rejoice in a wide diversity of characteristics, which include not only those mentioned above, but also our racial, ethnic, educational and occupational backgrounds, we have far more which makes us one than which separates us. We have kissed the leper, and there is no going back.
We have Franciscan blood running through our veins. With all my energy, I encourage us all to remember that fact and the implications which flow from it. We are Franciscan: let that quality grow from inside each one of us until it fills every cell of our being. Let us make it grow by daily reflection on the rule of our order and on our own private rules of life.
We should not be unduly self critical in this and we should not be despondent at progress.
Nor should we be conceited at what we have achieved, but should gently and joyfully draw our example from the words of Francis, when he said, "Let us begin, for until now we have done little or nothing!"
In this way, we shall be like cells in the body, each growing and in growing making the whole body greater and more healthy. We should rejoice at being a part of that body, for it is a lonely journey if made alone.
We can take strength from knowing that others, to whom we are closely related, are walking by our side, and we should remember that the fact that we, too, are making that journey is also providing strength and companionship to each and every one of our sisters and brothers. We should be encouraged, knowing that we lift one another to the throne of God regularly, whether we request prayer or not. Our joys and sorrows, hopes and doubts, health and struggles, are bathed in our bond of common prayer.
We are bound by our rule. It is that which unites us. It is that which makes us one.
Let us all then constantly renew our sense of family, and indeed our vocation by reflecting on our shared rule and our personal rule. Let us read a little of it each day and encourage ourselves and each other to keep on this pathway to heaven with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.
I refer you to the words of the Rule of the Third Order Regular of St Francis, where it says:-“Let them ‘seek first the kingdom of God and its justice,’ (Mt. 6.33) and exhort one another to observe this rule which all have professed more exactly, as well as how they might more faithfully follow in the footprints of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Let us also reflect on the words in the “welcome” section of our web site, “We are held together by a common Rule, a structure of accountability through our formation counselors within the Order, and a local spiritual director for each person. Ours is a community of faith and life sharing a love for creation and those who have been marginalized by a society of greed and despair.”
Perhaps we have a greater sense of unity when we gather at Chapter or in Regional Fellowship meetings. That is bound to be the case by virtue of our physical proximity to each other. But let us never forget that we are also bound together invisibly by our Christianity, by our love of Francis and Clare, by our shared rule, through our prayers, but most of all by our love one for another.
May that awareness, with the help of the Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of our hearts and give us true faith, certain hope and perfect charity, sense and knowledge that we may individually, and collectively carry out the Lord’s holy and true command.
Peace and All Things Good,
Sr. Magdalena, Chaplain, oef
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