Propositum Vitae Life Project the primitive inspiration Where it all begins

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Propositum VitaeLife Projectthe primitive
inspirationWhere it all begins

• Summer seminar June 2009

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• St. Francis of Assisi's prayer
• in praise of God
• given to Brother Leo

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• Side 1 -- You are Three and One, Lord God, all
  Good.
• You are holy, Lord, the only God, and Your deeds
  are wonderful. You are strong. You are
  great. You are the Most High.
• You are Almighty. You, Holy Father are King
  of heaven and earth.
• ALL You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.

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• Side 2 -- You are Three and One, Lord God, all
  Good.
• You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God,
  living and true. You are love. You are wisdom.
  You are humility.
• You are endurance. You are rest. You are
  peace. You are joy and gladness. You are
  justice and moderation.
• All You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.

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• ALL --- You are Three and One, Lord God, all
  Good.
• You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
  You are beauty. You are gentleness. You
  are our protector. You are our guardian and
  defender. You are our courage. You are
  our haven and our hope. You are our faith,
  our great consolation.
• You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful
  Lord, God Almighty, Merciful Savior.
• You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.

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Why after you?
How you journey How you arrive

• Bob Fitzsimmons SFO
• 2009 SFO Summer Seminar
• Secular Franciscan Order - USA

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Propositum Vitae

• 1209 approval of a new way of Life
• The oral rule basically a few lines of
  Scripture
• ? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect,
  go, sell what you possess and give to the poor,
  and you will have treasure in heaven and come,
  follow me. (Mt 1921)
•  ? Then Jesus told his disciples, If any man
  would come after me, let him deny himself and
  take up his cross and follow me. (Mt 1624)
•  ? And he said to them, Take nothing for your
  journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money
  and do not have two tunics. (Lk 93)
• This is what I want!

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• A major shift in the model of Church
• Church based on Acts, The Apostolic Life
• Monastic communal -- vs Canons Regular
  communal pastoral
• Church based on Jesus - Gospel Adventure
• Evangelical, poverty, humility, vernacular
• Life based on an Image of God, relationship, and
  a way of life
• A way of life based on Francis understanding of
  the Divine Economy.

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Divine Economy to Human Economy Michael Crosby
OFM Cap

1. All are equal, created in the divine image
   (Jesus) - The Blueprint
2. God has entered into mutual relationship with
   each one (as well as all creation) - Gods
   Poverty (Incarnation) Humility (mutuality
   desiring us)
3. Resources are to meet the needs of all so that
   all realize their dignity and have the fullest
   potential mutuality, participation

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Fraternity Order ?

• Francis vision -- classless structure, a
  fraternity (brotherhood) of equals centered on
  Gospel/Christ , charged to meet the needs of each
  other without exercising authority over anyone.
• Poverty doorway to peace and freedom
• (living w/o grasping sine proprio)
• Gospel to Life , Life to Gospel
• sine glossa (without gloss)
• Reality --Order (clericalization - governance),

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Brothers and Sisters of Penance

• Letter to the Faithful 1209-1216 inspirational
  form (prologue or proto-rule) 2nd version 1220
  (RnB)
• Memoriale Propositi 1221 juridical form (RnB)
• Surpa Montem August 1289 (RB) two Secular
  Franciscans a judge Ugolino deMedici di Ferrara
  and his brother Elias.

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Supra Montem

• The Approbation of the Third Rule of the Brothers
  and Sisters of the Third Order instituted by Bl.
  Francis, for seculars living in their own homes,
  called Tertiaries,
• Pope Nicholas IV, Rieti, August 17, 1289 A.D.
• . . . This is that, which prepares the path of
  salvation, and which promises the rewards and
  joys of eternal felicity. And for that reason the
  glorious confessor of Christ, Bl. Francis, the
  institutor of this order . . . .

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Francis of Assisi vernacular theologian Humility
Poverty of God God as Trinity predominates his
writings God organically connected to all
creation, Francis expresses this in the Canticle
of the Creatures
Most high supreme Good, You alone are
good aside God alone is worthy, we are not,
but are by pure giftedness. Reason not to get
caught up in the worthiness/performance game
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• Francis approach to God is fully Trinitarian
• You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
  You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good
• God is the Most Holy Father and Supreme Good
  the Father is source and goal
• Beloved Son is the expression of the totality of
  Gods goodness, humility and poverty is God and
  points us to the Father
• Spirit is the foundation of Christian Life, to
  have the Spirit of the Lord and his holy way of
  working it is the Spirit who enables us to live
  the Gospel with great JOY imitate Jesus

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Two Key beliefs as foundation of Franciscan Life

• Poverty of God Perfect love requires the
  lover to hold nothing back from the beloved! God
  freely, by choice empties Himself for the good of
  the other (self-communication -- kenosis)
• 3- fold kenotic expression I-P-E
• Humility of God God turns toward Jesus
  completely (God's full self-expression in one
  other then Himself) and through Jesus The Father
  turns toward us (finite self-expression of Jesus)
  and all creation.

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Poverty and humility of God
?5? Have this mind among yourselves, which is
yours in Christ Jesus, ?6? who, though he was in
the form of God, did not count equality with God
a thing to be grasped, ?7? but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. ?8? And being found in human
form he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even death on a cross. Philippians
25-8 The Revised Standard Version. 1971 (Php
25). Oak Harbor, WA Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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Poverty and humility of God

• Is expressed in 3 distinct act of Gods Choice
• I P E
• Incarnation not because of sin, but because of
  Love. The Incarnation is the unrepeatable, unique
  and single defining act of Gods love
• Passion/crucifixion not for the death or
  horror, but to show the depth of loves sacrifice
  and what The Father was willing to hold back just
  for Himself
• Eucharist abiding physical presence in the most
  insignificant form

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• The Divine Migration

GOD
Gods movement toward all creation, esp us --
Descent The Incarnation Transforms and unites
material Spiritual All is good All is holy
Our movement toward God Ascending to spiritual
union By fleeing the world
Us - Creation
Us Creation Material world, sin
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Francis Spirituality

• Spirituality is relational, a belief and the
  active or lived expression of that belief a
  spirituality that follows Gods action of descent
• God is experienced as Trinitarian communion
  entered through relationship and imitation of
  Jesus through the power of the Spirit. (Dance of
  Life/Trinity)
• Jesus reveals to us Gods name ABBA
• Francis movement
• Hear the Gospel (finite words of the Eternal
  Word)
• Do it embrace it live it

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• Admonition VII Let good action follow knowledge
• The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life 2
  Cor 36. To imitate Christ we have to know
  Christ and we learn of Christ from the Gospels. .
  .
• For example, we can read the Gospels out of
  curiosity, out of a sense of duty, or simply to
  be able to tell others what the following of
  Jesus entails.
• This gives us knowledge but knowledge of itself
  is of little value. Knowledge must flow over into
  what we do.

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• Good Only God is Good
• Sin then
• Appropriating for ourselves our own goodness
• Gratitude Love is not loved! remember IPE
• How you journey how you arrive!
• Joy is taken seriously ADM 22, RnB C7, AsC 120
• Spirituality is based in Joy, joy is the source
  of the Spirits energy to practice the Gospel
  Life!
• Experience sensory not a purely intellectual
  exercise
• Fragrant, Delectable, Desirable Sweet

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• The spirituality of Francis emphasizes
• Emptiness and receptivity becoming little and
  free so to have room for the in-dwelling of the
  Trinity.
• Primacy of the Father generatively in his
  writings Francis speaks of the Father almost
  exclusively, or Trinity Unity
• Imitation of the Beloved Son who Francis sees as
  our elder brother God in human-being-ness
• Guided by the Holy Spirit as was Mary
• Mary who offers hospitality to the Trinity and
  reveals what being human is about

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3 Ps of Francis

• Preaching Penitential movement stresses
  observing/doing the Gospel - transformation
• Prayer As a lay community this was more
  charismatic Spirit filled spontaneous prayer
• Paramount is the Eucharist ADM 1
• Poverty to place one self on an equal footing
  with the little people of the world to go and
  preach/live the Gospel where the Church cannot --
  live without grasping

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For Francis/Franciscan Spirituality

• God does it all for us
• The Spirit leads us into prayer and joyfulness
  and presents us to Jesus
• Jesus as brother is the door into the Trinity,
  Francis imitates so Jesus can present him to the
  Father, so he too can be the beloved son
• The Father is our origin, source of being and
  ultimate goal

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• Will we choose to accept the grace Of a new
  Pentecost
• Invoked by Pope John XXIII And embrace our
  Franciscan Heritage
• By living the conviction that we have been
• Raised up by the Holy Spirit
• To renew the Church and keep alive in the world
• The flame of the New Pentecost
• How might we embrace the 3-Ps of Francis?

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Comparing Spiritualities

• For St. Benedict
• GOD is the Almighty, the Transcendent.
• CHRIST is Our Redeemer and High Priest.
• MAN is the Privileged Adorer, expressing the
  praise of all creation.
• LITURGY is the principal "work" of the monastic
  community it teaches and evangelizes.

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• For St. Ignatius of Loyola GOD is Creator,
  Lord, Owner of the Universe. CHRIST is the King.
• MAN is his soldier in the battle against evil.
• PLAN of Life discovered in the Spiritual
  Exercises, the Examen of Conscience,
• Personal Meditation.
• For St. Dominic GOD is Truth.
• CHRIST is the Word revealing the Father.
• MAN is a Student seeking after Truth.
• WAY of Life centered on Study, Science, and
  Preaching the Truth.

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Most Christian Spirituality Points to the
Passion Death Resurrection Emphasis
redemptive suffering
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Franciscan Spirituality

• For St. Francis of Assisi GOD is the Father
  who does all out of love God is personal.
• CHRIST, in His Humanity, is the Beloved Son who
  shows us the Father and is our Brother.
• MAN has been reconciled by Jesus and shares in
  the life of God who is Good, All Good, the
  Highest Good.
• CREATION is the reflection of God's goodness all
  are fellow creatures, our brothers and sisters.

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Franciscan

• WAY TO GOD is in the freedom of "sons
  daughters," in trustful poverty, humility,
  simplicity lived in fraternity, and are a gift
  of God as an affirmation of his vocation peace
  and joy.
• PRAYER is simple, affective, centered on the
  humanity of Jesus as seen in the Gospels. God is
  everywhere and any formula is good if it is the
  trusting prayer of a "son daughters.

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For Francis/Franciscan Spirituality

• God does it all for us
• The Spirit leads us into prayer and joyfulness
  and presents us to Jesus
• Jesus as brother is the door into the Trinity,
  Francis imitates so Jesus can present him to the
  Father, so he too can be the beloved son
• The Father is our origin, source of being and
  ultimate goal

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How you journey how you arrive!

• Joyfully