Reflections on The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order in the New Evangelization

Something new is happening in the Church.  One might say there is always something new happening in the Church, which might rightly remind us of what Qoheleth says—that there is nothing new.   There is always something new because the Holy Spirit is always and forever coming down on the Church as at Pentecost.  The Son is always and forever coming among us in the world.  Christ is always and forever dying for us and rising to new life.   The Father is always and forever pouring forth His love on His Beloved Son.  It is because of these Mysteries, which we experience in the Eucharist, that there is always and forever something new in the Church. 

If the Secular Franciscan charism is lived boldly with fidelity to Christ and His Church, we will be at the vanguard of this newness in the life of the Church.  

We might say that there is nothing new in the history of the Church.  Similar patterns of falling from and returning to the Lord unfold.  But every experience of the Lord’s grace is something radically new.  I say this all because I really do believe the Lord is doing something new in the Church.  Beginning with the late 1800’s, God has been moving the Church in a new and vibrant direction.  I believe Vatican II, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI were significant instruments in that new working.  We might call this newness, the New Evangelization.   I also believe that Pope Francis is also a tool of the Lord for something new.  Newness is not discontinuity.  Newness is fully living what has been received by the Church from Christ.  Newness is the fresh experience of Jesus Christ in our lives.  Our Franciscan vocation as members of the Secular Franciscan Order must be caught up in this newness.  We risk the danger of be irrelevant or an institutional obstacle to the unfolding of the Church’s newness.  In this spirit, I intend to reflect on the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order in these series of articles.  It is my firm conviction that if the Secular Franciscan charism is lived boldly with fidelity to Christ and His Church, we will be at the vanguard of this newness in the life of the Church.  

Father Adam Streitenberger, OFS