Praise be to Jesus and Mary, now and forever. Continuing our reflections on Franciscan spirituality, we'll look specifically at what are the cornerstones of Franciscan spirituality.
Cornerstones of any spirituality are those aspects that are its most vital realities, the things that resist the change of time throughout the centuries because they're rooted in Christ.
We know that Christ is living and operating with his grace in every period of the church.
Every age of history has its needs and its characteristics and as Christians, we're called to live in the times that God's placed us in and to make an impact for the good and for his kingdom here and now.
As tempting as it can be for some of us, we shouldn't pine over the past or fantasticate about the future.
We should live and embrace the messy present.
Why?
Because God lives in the present.
The developments, the external manifestations and practical applications to life of Franciscan spirituality will be different from one age to another.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe, for example, is not blessed Giles of Assisi, one of Saint Francis's first followers.
They each lived out Franciscan line in the specific times that they lived in.
That said, if we're able to grasp the substance of Franciscan spirituality, we'll be able to live it out in our world today according again to the needs of today and we'll still be faithful to the ideal and to our origins as all authentic Franciscans have been throughout the centuries.
Every spirituality develops along the threefold path.
The first path or first period is that of the founder of the religious order and their immediate disciples.
It's often the time of simple and arduous heroism.
There's a complete dedication to God at this time according to an ideal that he himself has inspired and it contains all the seeds of the particular spirituality as it were.
So everything's basically in a nutshell.
The first period is called the doctrinal period.
The second period is called the doctrinal period.
It's when the orientation and intuitions and instincts of the founder find their theological justifications.
The third period is the period of growth and development which becomes the life of that school of spirituality throughout the years, throughout the decades, and even with some throughout the centuries.
In one of his letters, Saint Bonaventure, who was part of the doctrinal period of the development of Franciscan spirituality, Saint Bonaventure wrote this.
He said, I began to love the life lived according to the spirit of Saint Francis, especially because it was similar to the beginning and the development of the church.
The church began with simple fishermen and progressed to having the most celebrated and expert doctors.
You can see the same thing in the order of Saint Francis.
In this way, the Lord shows that it isn't the work of human prudence, but rather it's the work of Christ, says Bonaventure.
Father Ciccarelli, in his book that we're using for our reflections, gives a pretty concise definition of Franciscan spirituality.
He says that, quote, Franciscan spirituality is the gospel lived integrally according to the spiritual needs of the time and in perfect conformity to the directives of the church, unquote.
So one, the gospel fully lived, two, according to the needs of the times, and three, in harmony with the church, in harmony with the living magisterium.
The gospel is Christ's revelation of God who is love.
Christ reveals to us the Father, he reveals our eternal destiny, and he incorporates us into himself so that in him we can infallibly reach that destiny, which is paradise.
So a conception of life, which is integral and evangelical, must have love as the soul which inspires every activity and every movement towards God and every interaction with our late neighbor.
Love has to be the center, it's the soul.
Spiritually, what happens in our walk with God?
Well, ideally, we move from fear, which is the beginning of wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 1.16 says we move from fear, we move to love, which is the fullness of the law, as the apostle says in Romans 13.10.
And here we speak of a love that's exquisitely Franciscan, a love which doesn't exclude any creature, a love which is first in God.
Why? Because God is love, right?
1 John 4.16.
Since he creates us and he creates everything out of love, and for love, he unites his creatures to himself too.
So love or charity is and always will be the soul of Franciscan spirituality, and we'll begin to speak about that in our next reflections on Franciscan spirituality.
In an integrally evangelical conception of life as the Franciscan life is, rather than having us, so rather than having man as its starting point and being anthropocentric, it has Christ as its starting point, as its center.
We've talked about this before, right?
Ours is a Christocentric spirituality.
Christ, son of God, son of Mary, the God-man who's at the center of the universe and who's the foundation of everything that exists too.
He's the foundation because he's the sole mediator by which we reach our spiritual end, which is union with the blessed Trinity.
In order to best dispose ourselves to union with God, the means that Franciscans will embrace are the same means adopted by our Lord, essentially poverty, humility, and suffering.
So the cross, right?
They're means that aren't ends in themselves, but they're necessary in our spiritual climb to conformity to Jesus.
And the fruits of embracing Franciscan spirituality include one, well, it's a complete interior and joyful freedom.
The freedom of one who overcomes oneself and overcomes the world, to borrow from the Lord's words in John 16.33.
Another fruit of Franciscan spirituality is simplicity, spiritual simplicity, which helps us go directly to God in everything.
It's like a child who goes directly to their loving parent in everything.
The third fruit is perfect joy, as St. Francis would say, a joy which comes from the possession of God that no force on earth can take away from us.
A joy which makes bitter things like pain and suffering and difficulties.
It makes those things sweet.
And we see how, as St. Paul says, everything works for good for those who love God.
Romans 8.28.
The last fruit, the fourth fruit of Franciscan spirituality is the apostolate, which becomes the place where our interior life and growth actually begins to benefit other people.
Father Ciccarelli synthesizes all these points.
We'll close with a quote from him.
He says, Franciscan spirituality is the particular mode of conceiving and living the Christian ideal.
It has love as the soul, as the animating force of every created and uncreated reality.
It has Christ Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary, as the foundation and center of the created universe and of the spiritual life of every man, of every person.
It has the mystical union with God as its endpoint or goal.
It has God's grace, along with poverty, humility and suffering as the means to reach this goal.
It has as its fruits interior freedom and liberty, spiritual simplicity, perfect joy and the apostolic work, the apostolate.
And lastly, all of this is lived under a devout and faithful submission to the church.
So in every truly Franciscan evangelical soul, these characteristics will be present.
Maybe more in some than in others, but always according to each person's gifts and abilities and of course their cooperation with God's grace.
Let's ask our lady then for the grace to be able to give a true Franciscan witness to Christ in this time when the world has once again grown old and cold because of sin, because of sin, which is always our big enemy.
Praise be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.