Mission in the Franciscan Tradition

Cover

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Table of Contents

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Preface

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pp. v-vi

The Church on earth, by its very nature, is missionary: "She has a vivid awareness of the fact that Christ's words: 'I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God,' apply in all truth to herself. And with St. Paul she freely declares: 'If I preach the gospel, that gives me no cause for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I ...

Abbreviations

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pp. vii-viii

Franciscans and the "New Evangelization"

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pp. 1-4

This essay is a modest attempt to make a contribution in promoting Franciscan participation in the "new evangelization," a term first used by the Latin American bishops in their 1968 Medellin Conference and proposed by Pope John Paul II in 1984 as he inaugurated the "novena of years" preparing the churches in the Americas to observe our Fifth Centennial of Evangelization in 1992. ...

Franciscan Evangelization: A Brief Historical Overview

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pp. 7-12

"I now begin a noble subject, for I begin to write of the glorious and exceedingly great labors of [Franciscans] throughout the entire world, of sufferings and death, endured for the sake of Christ and His Church." So wrote the Franciscan historian, Dominic Gubernatis ( 1689), as he began his work on the history of ...

Listening To Francis Of Assisi On Mission: Pre-Notes to Chapter 16 RegNB

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pp. 13-15

Every friar minor — follower of Francis — is called upon to witness to the kingdom of God. This element of the Franciscan call is rooted in his pledge to live the Gospel life. To love Jesus Christ, and to share that love with every human creature, is at the very heart of all Franciscan missionary activity! ...

Saint Francis and the Missionary Church

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pp. 17-27

The title of this paper is almost a misnomer. In the time of Saint Francis there was no such thing as a "missionary Church" or a missionary movement. There was nothing at work in the Church, so to speak, which would have inspired Francis to become a missionary or include in his Rules chapters on missions to the ...

Saint Francis and the Missions

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pp. 27-33

We know Francis was the first founder to write in his Rule a chapter about missions and non-Christians. He, himself, after a couple of unsuccessful attempts actually went among the Saracens. We know he considered as true Friars Minor the first martyred missionary Friars. He was, after all, the mirror of the missioned ...

Essential Aspects of Mission According to Chapter 16 in the RegNB

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pp. 35-46

It is known that Francis of Assisi is the first of the founders of religious orders who consciously included a mission among the non- Christians in his life's program. It is true that the Benedictines, too, broke new ground in the process of Christianizing Europe and the Iro-Scottish monks were actually the apostles of Central ...

The Missionary Dimension of the Franciscan Charism

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pp. 47-57

When closely examined, the way Francis of Assisi lives and understands mission is very modern and of burning topicality. Although the Franciscan Order has not maintained consistently the original conception and practice, nevertheless, it has dared time and again to live the mission in direct opposition to currently ...

The Missionary Dimension of the Franciscan Charism -- Some Comments

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pp. 59-68

Not much room for discussion is left after reading Chapter 16 of the Rule of 1221 and the existing comments on this revealing text. Let me refer especially to the letter addressed to the Generals of the four Orders and signed by F. Mel Brady as president of the First International Franciscan Conference on Islam, held at Assisi ...

Reflections on the Franciscan Missionary Charism

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pp. 69-87

In 1983 I wrote a reflection paper on the Franciscan Missionary Charism, in response to the OFM International Mission Council. Upon rereading, the style was a bit over-excited, angry, and full of "must" statements. So I have rewritten the article for this collection, hopefully from a calmer view. An article should not just ...

Francis and Mission according to the Rule of 1221

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pp. 87-108

Thanks to Hilarin Felder's classic work, The Ideals of St. Francis of Assisi, it is now widely known that "Francis, of all the founders of religious orders, was the first to take up in his programme the apostolate to the heathen. He is the very first Westerner who carried the Faith to the non-European peoples. He is the father of ...

The Evangelical Power of Witness

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pp. 109-129

The reflection which I propose for your consideration regards the legacy of evangelization bequeathed to us by our brothers who came to these American lands almost five hundred years ago — a legacy of lights and shadows — as well the challenges facing the Order in this decade which stands on the threshold of the twenty-first ...

The Inter-Franciscan Message Mattli 1982

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pp. 129-137

"Peace and all that is Good" to all people in the world who rejoice in the Lord, to all men and women who seek the Lord, and to a l l who long for justice and peace! ...

The Evolution, Involution and Revolution of the Concept and Reality of Mission and Evangelization

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pp. 139-160

Since the Extraordinary General Chapter of Medellin in 1971 there has been an ongoing reflection on the evangelizing and missionary vocation of the Order of Friars Minor. A Congress of the Franciscan Family in 1982, International Mission Councils — the last one in 1989 — Plenary Councils from 1974 to 1988 and General Chapters ...

St. Francis and Islam

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pp. 161-175

The story of the meeting of St. Francis with Sultan Malik al Kamil during the seige of Damietta at the height of the Crusade, long regarded as of doubtful historicity, is today less and less questioned. Nevertheless, even as an indubitable fact, its meaning remains enigmatic for our contemporaries. For many it is a slightly ...

Franciscan Evangelization in America: Five Centuries after Its Beginning

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pp. 177-202

Nowadays an impassioned discussion is taking place regarding the significance of the year 1492. It was the year in which the unique relationships between the old and the new worlds began. Historians have not yet come to any consensus as to how to name them. Nevertheless, these relationships are essential factors in achieving a true understanding of the nations that make up the ...

Priorities Of The Franciscan Mission Today

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pp. 203-212

... The best way to understand the Franciscan approach to the mission of the church today is to go back to the sources. In these we will recognize that the mission concept of St. Francis was not only revolutionary in the church of the middle ages, but is still revolutionary today. ...

Today's Franciscan Missionary Calling

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pp. 213-216

Francis lived and preached a form of mission in accordance with the spirit of his time. It was not a call to missionary action imposed by the sword, but mission in the spirit of the Gospel. Defenseless and unarmed he crossed the front-line between the hosts of the crusaders and those of the Muslims. He tried to convince by the ...

Partners in Dialogue

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pp. 217-228

Today we are in a new moment, not only because we are at the beginning of a new decade, but more importantly because the changes occurring since the Second Vatican Council seem to be at a critical point. I am not proposing to consider all of the changes set in motion by the Council, not even all those that have affected ...

The Challenge to Go Beyond Words:Religious Renewal Through Mission

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pp. 229-243

Early in 1991 Pope John Paul II surprised the Christian world with his mission encyclical, Redemptoris Missio.¹ His message created no sensation, and, except for some mission magazines, few sources have drawn attention to the Pope's concerns. Fortunately, the success of a papal document is not measured by the initial response ...