05191983 SJPII General Chapter TOR
May 19, 1983: John Paul II, The Genuine Principles of Franciscan Spirituality. Address to the General Chapter of the TOR.
On May 19, 1983, the Pope addressed the following address to the religious of the Third Order Regular of San Francis, which celebrated its 106th General Chapter, in which the official acceptance of the "Rule of life of brothers and sisters" took place. Sisters of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis", recently confirmed by the Pope with the Apostolic Brief "Franciscanum vitae", and in which Fr. Jose Angulo Quilis, most recently Provincial of Spain, was elected as the new Minister General.
Benlliure, Approval of Rule 1. I am very pleased to receive you on the occasion of the one hundred and sixth General Chapter of the Order, gathered both to elect the new Minister General, and to examine the situation of the Order in the various parts of the world where the Lord calls you to work, to inspire your apostolic activities a new impulse of vitality in the near future and to review your religious life in the light of the founding charism.
I thank you for your visit and I cordially greet each and every one in particular. Encouraging you to move forward with ever faster pace, I invite you to keep alive the basic lines of the Franciscan ideal, within your communities and in the holy Church of God.
2. Your presence here, in the house of the common Father, reminds me of the coming of Saint Francis 773 years ago when, after having gathered his first disciples, twelve, like the number of the Apostles, and drafted the first rule of life , which was based on absolute poverty and inexhaustible charity, wanted to come to Rome personally to present it for the approval of Innocent III.
The rule of the "Poverello" is imbued with an evangelical spirit. And this is the fundamental reason for the irresistible attraction that the Saint of Assisi has exercised through the centuries; This is the explanation of that secret that has allowed the initial trunk of the twelve "Penitents" to expand powerfully in the numerous and multiple Franciscan family, so meritorious in the history of the Church for the service of the People of God.
Your Third Order, starting from the charismatic inspiration of the Seraphic, is directly connected with it, above all because it was the Saint of Assisi himself who promoted it, in order to ensure the necessary vigor to the observance of the Third Rule.
Burning in charity, depth in the difficult virtue of humility, joy in poverty. In other words: imitation of Jesus, love for the brothers, detachment from oneself, action and contemplation. These are the genuine principles of seraphic spirituality, which result in perfect joy.
3. The Apostolic See has repeatedly recalled that the directives regarding the renewal of religious life desired by the Second Vatican Council are primarily oriented towards obtaining a reform of an internal nature. The effort of religious institutions to update objectives and methodologies would be useless if it were not inspired and accompanied by a deepening and strengthening of spirituality.
Dear parents: the contemporary world is thirsty for the Good News.
If the proclamation of the Extraordinary Jubilee, promulgated to celebrate the 1950th anniversary of the Redemption, seeks to stimulate the generosity of all the People of God for a more personal and lively encounter with their Savior, much more can be expected along these lines from the consecrated souls. It is the indispensable premise for the divine work of world evangelization.
In this way, the incessant search for the most authentic sources of your history, the effort to revitalize and revive them, in the spirit of the Gospel, on the model of the great saint of Assisi, constitute support for the continuous development of the Church of God.
With these wishes I impart to you and to your Order my widest Apostolic Blessing.
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