July – August - Franciscan Province – MALTA
July – August - Franciscan Province – MALTA
July – August - Franciscan Province – MALTA
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Pope Urges <strong>Franciscan</strong>s to Proclaim Christ<br />
Offers Francis' Faith<br />
in the Gospel as Guide<br />
Pope Benedict XVI encouraged all <strong>Franciscan</strong>s to walk<br />
in their founder's footsteps by responding to all of<br />
life's challenges with the Gospel.<br />
The Pope delivered this message Sunday to the<br />
General Chapter of the Order of Friars Minor Conventuals<br />
in the Basilica of St. Francis. He underlined the<br />
modern-day relevance of the experiences of the great<br />
saint.<br />
St. Francis "understood himself entirely in light<br />
of the Gospel" and from this "comes the perpetual authenticity<br />
of his example," the Holy Father said.<br />
He continued: "His 'prophecy' teaches us to<br />
make the Gospel our criterion in facing the challenges<br />
of all ages, including our own, resisting the deceptive<br />
lure of passing fashions to root ourselves in God's<br />
plan and thus discern the true needs of mankind."<br />
The Pope expressed his desire that "the friars be<br />
able to accept this 'program' with renewed drive and courage, trusting in the strength<br />
that comes from on high."<br />
"Abandoning himself to the action of the Spirit, Francis converted to Christ even<br />
more, being transformed into a living image of him, through poverty, charity and mission,"<br />
the Pontiff recalled, alluding to the occasion of his visit - the 800th anniversary<br />
of the conversion of St. Francis.<br />
The eyes of Christ<br />
Benedict XVI, picking up on the General Chapter's theme of formation as a permanent<br />
journey, insisted this journey "be centered on the ability of letting oneself be<br />
formed by the Spirit, to be ready to go anywhere he calls. At its roots must be the act<br />
of listening to the Word in a climate of intense and continuous prayer.<br />
"Only in this way will they be able to understand the true needs of the men and<br />
women of our time, offering them answers taken from God's wisdom and proclaiming<br />
that which they have truly experienced in their own lives."<br />
The Pope also underlined the necessity of every friar, following the example to St.<br />
Francis, "to be a true contemplative, with their eyes fixes on the eyes of Christ," capable<br />
of "seeing the face of Christ in his suffering fellows and bringing the announcement<br />
of peace to everyone."<br />
To do this every friar "must make his own the journey of conformity to the Lord<br />
Jesus that Francis lived," he added.<br />
The Holy Father continued: "The Minor Conventuals are asked to be above all<br />
proclaimers of Christ: that they may draw near to all with humility and trust, in a way<br />
that favors dialogue, while always offering passionate witness of the one and only Savior.<br />
That they may be witnesses of the 'beauty' of God, that Francis sang of while contemplating<br />
the wonders of creation."<br />
The Pontiff's final message to the <strong>Franciscan</strong>s invited them to thank God for the<br />
development of the order, above all in mission countries, and to take advantage of this<br />
meeting to "ask themselves what the Spirit is asking of them to continue to proclaim<br />
with passion, in the footsteps of the seraphic father, the Kingdom of God at the beginning<br />
of the third Christian millennium."<br />
L-A{BAR LULJU - AWISSU 2007 11<br />
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