The
afternoon session began with midday prayer in Portuguese. The moderator for the
afternoon was Raffaele who summed up the whole morning sessions and then
introduced the General Ministers talk.
The
General Minister then went on to speak on the “ Towards Fatima: European
Ministers’ Meeting”. After introduction
he indicated the numbers of friars in the European conferences. He showed how
the number is going down. He then treated following points:
·
Destined to disappear? We are called to give
witness to our charism today, and thereby to let everyone share in the gift we
have received. He said that is not the moment to throw in the towel and resign
ourselves to a slow but irreversible death.
·
Religion with God: Phenomenon of secularization
has not led to the disappearance of religious devotion and the search for
spirituality. People looking to other horizons, not necessarily those proposed
by our Churches. We have moved far beyond the slogan of a few years ago:
“Christ yes, the Church, no”. Today the slogan is more a case of: Religion yes,
God, No”
·
A gift for the People of God: Our own life as
capuchins, is a gift for the people of God. Our task is to cry aloud to the
world that God loves us, that life is beautiful and deserves to be lived to the
full. Let us love our provinces and our charism, and live in such a way that it
may be known and appreciated. The thought of death, either as individuals or as
provinces need not concern us.
·
Anticipating the Dawn: with ten thousand
Capuchins in the world, it is certainly possible for us to try new ways to
ensure that our charism will continue to be present, even in those countries of
Europe where the charism is under threat of extinction.
·
People touched by God
·
You are the Holy One, enthroned on the praises
of Israel: How we are, the way we live and pray. It is not only that God has
power over us, but we have a certain power as far as He is concerned.
·
Intent upon God: New Horizons for the religious
Life by Rino Cozza: the chief difficulty for religious life today is to answer
the God-question…..the point of departure, but also of arrival, is to be
recognized not for the number of prayers, but for the experience of prayer.
·
Witnesses to the Primacy of God: Francis first
allowed himself to be evangelized in the depths of his being, and this led him
to be acutely aware of the greatness and goodness of God
·
Our way of evangelizing: we need brothers who
are not afraid to try something new, who are able to step aside from the safe
and well-trodden paths of former times, and set out on paths that do not yet
exist, to open up new ways.
·
Fraternal collaboration among circumscriptions
·
Requests to take on the care of parishes
·
Intercultural fraternities
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