ROME — In a letter celebrating the Feast of St. Clare, General Minister Fr. José Rodríguez Carballo, OFM, gave thanks for the gift of Clare and the Poor Sisters in honor of the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Poor Clares.
“It is a time conducive to enjoy the grace of our origins, to enjoy an event which — although started eight centuries ago — continues to be the foundation and principle from which flow both history and the future,” the General Minister said in the current issue of Fraternitas. “Only with this attitude can we bring to fruition the hard work we have started well, remain faithful to the demands of the Franciscan/Clarian form of life, and find ways we can be faithful to Christ, the Church, and humanity.”
The newsletter also highlights a two-stage seminar titled “Postmodern Culture, Cordial Ethics, and The Franciscan Journey.” The first stage took place from July 11 to July 13 at Antonianum University in Rome. It focused on critically listening to the cultural situation marked by post-modernity and globalization, and its ethical implications.
The second stage will be held from Jan. 29 to 31, 2013, and will be dedicated to a hermeneutical reflection, based on the differentiation of perspectives offered by the Franciscans. The seminar’s contributions will be published for the Order of Friars Minor and the General Chapter of 2015.
The newsletter also reports on:
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The General Minister’s schedule, which includes celebrating the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Poor Sisters in Assisi, meeting with Pope Benedict XVI during the 23rd International Marian Congress, and celebrating the stigmata of St. Francis in La Verna
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The Oct. 7 session of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and its theme, “The New Evangelization for the Spreading of the Christian Faith”
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The upcoming Franciscan Festival in Rimini, Italy
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Free classic texts and new resources available through www.franciscantradition.org
Updates about the Order of Friars Minor can be found on its Facebook page, which recently has included information about St. Clare.
— Compiled by Maria Hayes