(Excerpts from our General Constitution)
THE SECULAR
FRANCISCAN ORDER
Article 1
1. All the
faithful are called to holiness and have a right to follow their own spiritual
way in communion with the Church.[1]
2. Rule 1 There are many spiritual families in the Church
with different charisms. Among these families, the Franciscan Family, which in
its various branches recognizes St. Francis of Assisi as its father,
inspiration, and model, must be included.
3. Rule 2 From
the beginning, the Secular Franciscan Order[2]
has had its own proper place in the Franciscan Family. It is formed by the organic union of all the
Catholic fraternities whose members, moved by the Holy Spirit, commit
themselves through profession to live the Gospel in the manner of St. Francis,
in their secular state, following the Rule approved by the Church.[3]
4. The Holy
See has entrusted the pastoral care and spiritual assistance of the Secular
Franciscan Order (OFS), because it belongs to the same spiritual family, to the
Franciscan First Order and Third Order Regular (TOR). These are the "Institutes" who are
responsible for the altius moderamen,
referred to by Canon 303 of the Code of Canon Law.[4]
5. The
Secular Franciscan Order is a public association in the Church.[5]
It is divided into fraternities at various levels: local, regional, national,
and international. Each one has its own
juridical personality within the Church.
[1] See Can. 210; 214; Lumen Gentium 40.
[2] It is also called "Secular Franciscan
Fraternity", or "Franciscan Third Order" (TOF). See Rule
2, footnote 5.
Canon 303 of the CCL defines third orders: "Associations
whose members live in the world, but share in the spirit of some religious
institute, under the overall direction (altius
moderamen) of the same institute, and who lead an apostolic life and strive
for Christian perfection, are known as third orders, or are called by some
other suitable title."
[3] After the Rules approved by Pope Nicholas
IV in 1289 and by Pope Leo XIII in 1883, the present Rule was approved by Pope
Paul VI, June 24, 1978.
[4] See General
Constitutions SFO 85,2. When the
Constitutions are cited without any other specification, the reference is to
the present text.
[5] See Can. 116; 301,3; 312; 313.
Article 3
Article 4
Article 5
THE FORM OF
LIFE
Article 8
Article 9
Article 10
Article 3
1. The secular
state characterizes the spirituality and the apostolic life of those belonging
to the OFS.
2. Their
secularity, with respect to vocation and to apostolic life, expresses itself
according to the respective state, that is:
— for the
laity, contributing to building up the Kingdom of God by their presence in
their life-situations and in their temporal activities;[1]
— for the
secular clergy, by offering to the people of God the service which is properly
theirs, in communion with the bishop and the presbytery.[2]
Both
are inspired by the gospel options of Saint Francis of Assisi, committing
themselves to continue his mission with the other components of the Franciscan
Family.
3. The
vocation to the OFS is a vocation to live the Gospel in fraternal
communion. For this purpose, the members
of the OFS gather in ecclesial communities which are called fraternities.
Article 4
1. The SFO
is governed by the universal law of the Church, and by its own: the Rule, the
Constitutions, the Ritual, and the particular statutes.
2. The Rule
establishes the nature, purpose, and spirit of the OFS.
3. Rule 3 The Constitutions have as their purpose:
— to apply
the Rule;
— to
indicate concretely the conditions for belonging to the OFS, its government,
the organization of life in fraternity, and its seat.[3]
Article 5
1. Rule 3 The authentic interpretation of the Rule and of
the Constitutions belongs to the Holy See.
2. The
practical interpretation of the Constitutions, with the purpose of harmonizing
its application in different areas and at the various levels of the Order,
belongs to the General Chapter of the OFS.
3. The
clarification of specific points which require a timely decision is the
competence of the Presidency of the International Council of the OFS (CIOFS). Such a clarification is
valid until the next General Chapter.
[1] See Can 225, and the Discourse of Pope John
Paul II to the OFS, September 27, 1982 in L'Osservatore
Romano, September 28, 1982.
[2] See Can. 275 ff, Presbyterorum ordinis 12; 14; 15 ff.
[3] See Can. 304.
THE FORM OF
LIFE
Article 8
1. The
Secular Franciscans commit themselves by their profession to live the Gospel
according to Franciscan spirituality in their secular condition.
2. They seek
to deepen, in the light of faith, the values and choices of the evangelical
life according to the Rule of the OFS:
— Rule 7 in
a continually renewed journey of conversion and of formation;
— Rule 4,3 open to the challenges that come from society and
from the Church's life situation, "going from Gospel to life and from life
to Gospel;"
— in the
personal and communal dimensions of this journey.
Article 9
1. Rule 5 The
spirituality of the Secular Franciscan is a plan of life centered on the person
and on the following of Christ,[1]
rather than a detailed program to be put into practice.
2. Rule 4,3 The Secular Franciscan, committed to following the example and the
teachings of Christ, must personally and assiduously study the Gospel and
Sacred Scripture. The fraternity and its
leaders should foster love for the word of the Gospel and help the brothers and
sisters to know and understand it as it is proclaimed by the Church with the
assistance of the Spirit[2].
Article 10
Rule 10 "Christ,
poor and crucified", victor over death and risen, the greatest
manifestation of the love of God for humanity, is the "book" in which
the brothers and sisters, in imitation of Francis, learn the purpose and the
way of living, loving, and suffering. They
discover in Him the value of contradictions for the sake of justice and the
meaning of the difficulties and the crosses of daily life. With Him, they can accept the will of the
Father even under the most difficult circumstances and live the Franciscan
spirit of peace, rejecting every doctrine contrary to human dignity.
