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The Evangelical Power of Witness
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The Evangelical Power of Witness Fernando Uribe, O.F.M.* 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 century. The present moment is, therefore, a critical one of tension between the past and the future which requires enlightenment to give us security in our research for new roads and new responses to the demands of the present moment. I will take as my principal point of reference the General Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor (GG.CC.). I make use of this document because I believe that, only six years after its approval at the General Chapter and only four years after its promulgation, it has a healthy newness within the setting of our Order and a relevance for all the followers of Francis. I also believe that this approach is justified because here we find condensed all the thought of Saint Francis, as well as of the Church's Magisterium, a significant segment of the Order's reflection during these past decades. I will consider the entire document from the perspective of witness as an evangelical force, but I will tarry particularly on Chapter V, entitled: "God has sent you into the entire world for this reason," since in it the topic of witness constitutes the principal key to understanding the reading. I chose witness as my principal topic for two reasons. In the first place, because it seems that is a felt need in a broader sector of the Order, as results from the replies to the questionnaire sent out from our General Curia to all the brothers in *This paper was originally delivered as an address to the General Chapter of the Order of Friars Minor (San Diego, CA: 1991). It is printed here with the permission of the author. 110 / Fernando Uribe, O.F.M. July 1990. There are, in fact, more than ninety collective or individual replies which propose witness of life, or similar expressions, among the priorities of the Order on the topic of evangelization for the next six years. To this must be added that, among the 368 replies that propose the formation of the brothers as a priority, many allude to the need of formation for a more authentic life as a method of evangelization. Furthermore, many replies referred to the Franciscan life style1 and a number of proposals were made which asked that insertion among the poor and the marginalized of society become a priority. As if this were not enough, at least thirty–eight replies indicated witness among the challenges connected with evangelization and the same number indicated it among the priorities to be followed on the subject of evangelization "ad gentes." The second reason is because none of the proposals which could be made to help the Order in its task of meeting the challenge of evangelizing the world today is as indispensible and as effective as the power of witness. Even more, dynamic witness has such a great impact that it constitutes the preliminary element to any other method or means which could be proposed for an updated evangelization. The concept of witness as foundation and supposition of evangelization was already clearly pointed out by the poor and simple Francis of Assisi, when he proposed to the brothers, as the first step in the missionary task, to avoid quarrels and disputes, to be subject to every human creature for God's sake, and to bear witness to the fact that they are Christians.2 I divided this reflection into two parts. In the first part, we will treat of discovering the significance of witness in the First Order's GG.CC.; that is, to what degree and why it is a determining factor in the Order's life. In the second part, we will see what are the principal implications which stem from witness as an evangelizing dynamism to the Order's form of life and service. 1Here are a few examples: Living according to the Rule and Franciscan Charism (151); being evangelized ourselves (42); and rediscovering the Gospel Life(15). 2One way is to avoid quarrels or disputes and be subject to every human creature for God's sake (1 Pt 2:13), so bearing witness to the fact...