IFC-TOR

CHRISTMAS / 24 December

Periodical PROPOSITUM

Latest Issue / 2024 N. 2

″Praised Be You, My Lord Care for Our Common Home‶

IFC-TOR General Assembly / 11-15 May, 2025

FEAST of St. Francis / 4 October

ACTIVITIES

NEWS in the spotlight

2025 · Opening of the Centenary of the “CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN”

In 2025 we celebrate the eighth centenary of the composition of the Canticle of Brother Sun.

Francis of Assisi, in the spring of 1225, a few months after his experience at La Verna, wanted to spend a period of fifty days at the monastery of San Damiano, where Clare and the first poor sisters lived.

During that stay at San Damiano, after a night troubled by the pains of his illnesses but also visited by the Lord, who had given him the certainty of his love and salvation, Francis composed that hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God, which we all know.

As with past centennials, this year there will be a celebration of the entire Franciscan Family to officially inaugurate the centennial.

The celebration will begin at St. Damian’s at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 11, and will continue that same morning at St. Francis Basilica where it will conclude at the end of the morning.

The two parts of the celebration can be followed below online, while those who wish to be present in person can choose either place. At both shrines, the other part of the celebration will be projected on screen for those who are present.

The intention was to start at the place where Francis composed most of the Canticle and praised God for all creatures and conclude there where his mortal remains rest, to sing beside him and with him the last verse, composed shortly before his death, “Laudato si’ mi Signore, per sora nostra morte corporale.”

Page on the CENTENARY

Multimedia

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Timeline of the Centenaries

The Franciscan Centenary

The Franciscan centenary is a journey that we have decided to begin in order for the entire Franciscan family throughout the world to celebrate together the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis’ Easter and the culminating events of the last years of his life. Said Centenary has been divided into 4 Centenaries, respectively spread over 4 years where it will be possible to reflect and contemplate the Rule and Christmas in Greccio (1223-2023), the gift of the Stigmata (1224-2024), the Canticle of the Creatures (1225- 2025), the Easter of Francis of Assisi (1226-2026).

The website centenarifrancescani.org, commissioned by the Franciscan Family through a Commission of the Communication Offices, is the official site for disseminating reflections, themes, official documents and news that will give us the guidelines for experiencing this great Franciscan event together.

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Letters / Communications

NEWS

Council LETTERS

The year 2025 will be a year of challenges and blessings. Pope Francis calls us to be a “People of Hope” in this coming Jubilee Year, the 10^th Anniversary of Laudato Si reminds us of the challenge to renew the earth and the 800^th anniversary of St. Francis writing the Canticle of Creation beckons us to recognize our oneness with all Creation. The Season of Advent brings a needed message of hope for the present world in which we live. People on every continent are waiting again for someone to bring sanity to a world that seems to have gone wild with hatred, individuality and greed. Nations at war with each other and within themselves, disasters bringing devastation by fire and floods, nature crying out to be saved, all these things prey on our minds and form our intercessions in prayer as we await a time of peace and justice to reign.

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Dear Sisters and Brothers, Pace e Bene!
Happy Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis! This Feast, for many of us in the Franciscan Family, signals the beginning of preparation for the Feast Day of our brother, St Francis. In this special year during which we remember the 800^th anniversary of St. Francis receiving the Stigmata at LaVerna, we celebrate this reminder of how great the love of Francis was for Christ and how great the love of Christ was for St. Francis.

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COMMUNICATIONS Members

Franciscans International Board of Directors meet twice a year: in the first half of the year in Geneva, Switzerland and the last half of the year in New York, USA, unless otherwise. The two countries are chosen because that is where Franciscans International have their offices respectively. This year from the 17^th-19^th April 2024, I attended a workshop organized by our staff of the Franciscans International on human rights concerns, in Santa Maria di Angeli in Assisi. This meeting in Assisi attracted religious brothers and sisters, and the laity who work with migrants as well as for the protection of the rights of people deprived of their liberty.

(Sr. Charity Katongo Nkandu)

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At the last Council meeting of IFC-TOR, the Council was able to make more definitive plans for the upcoming General Assembly. We are sending this information now so that you can SAVE THE DATE.

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Franciscan Formation

FORMATION

Contribution for FRANCISCAN STUDY

Resource Manual for the Study of the TOR Rule

The TOR Manual as a study on the Rule, presents the essentials of a Story that can only be called a “chronicle of grace.” It is the response to the 2009 proposal from the IFC assembly that resources on the Rule “be updated and new ones created, published and made known for initial and ongoing formation.”

Introduction

SUMMARY

Penitential Movement

SUMMARY

Overview of Penitential Movement | Page 13
Louis Secondo TOR, “Why the Name ‘Brothers and Sisters of Penance’?” Edited and adapted from “The Mission of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis in the Modern World.” Analecta, TOR 14.130 (1978): 139-56 | Page 15
Elise Saggau OSF, “ The Franciscan Third Order and the Penitential Tradition” with Study Guide. The Cord 61, no. 2 (April/June 2011): 169-86 | Page 17
Nancy Celaschi OSF and Bernard Tickerhoof TOR, “The Biblical Language of Penance.” The Cord 33.9 (October 1983): 259-70 | Page 30
Clare D’Auria OSF, “Defining Penance.” Franciscan Call Seminar. Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. Aston, PA, 1984 | Page 42
Raffaele Pazzelli TOR, “Francis Becomes a Penitent.” St. Francis and the Third Order: Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1989: 87-99; 184-92 | Page 43
Raffaele Pazzelli TOR, “The Origins of the Franciscan Penitential Movement.” The Assisi Congress on Formation, 1979. Charles M. Henry Printing Co., 1980. 131-46 | Page 65
Study Guide: “The Spirituality of the Penitential Tradition.” Kathleen Moffatt OSF. Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation Rebirth of the Charism Program, 1997 | Page 82

History and Development

SUMMARY

History and Development of the 1982 TOR Rule | Page 87
Paul McMullen TOR, “The Development of the New Third Order Regular Rule.” Resources for Study of the Third Order Regular Rule. Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation, 1994. Ed. Kathleen Moffatt OSF | Page 89
Study Guide: “The Evolution of the Rule of the Third Order Regular.” Kathleen Moffatt OSF. Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation. Rebirth of a Charism Program, 1997 | Page 109
Margaret Carney OSF, Suzanne Kush CSSF, Jean François Godet-Calogeras, Ph.D., eds., “Introduction” to the History of the Third Order Regular Rule: A Source Book. St. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2008. 13-35 | Page 113
Study Guide: “The Rule Project: Metanoia and Mercy.” Kathleen Moffatt OSF. Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation. Rebirth of a Charism Program, 1997 | Page 136
Roland Faley TOR, “Genesis . . . The 1982 Rule — A Personal Remembrance.” The Cord 42, no. 9 (September 1992): 225-8 | Page 145

Rule and Franciscan Spirituality

SUMMARY

Rule and Franciscan Spirituality | Page 149
Thaddeus Horgan SA, “The Third Order Regular Rule and Franciscan Spirituality.” The Cord 42.9 (1992): 246-50 | Page 151
Bernard Tickerhoof TOR, “Francis’ Volterra Letter: A Gospel Spirituality.” The Cord 29.6 (June 1979): 164-75 | Page 156
Thaddeus Horgan SA, “The First Letter to All The Faithful.” The Cord 35.10 (1985): 303-10 | Page 164
Study Guide: “The Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis PROLOGUE.” Kathleen Moffatt OSF, Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation. Rebirth of a Charism Program, 1997 | Page 172
Roland Faley TOR. “The Letter to All the Faithful — Recensio prior” from A Biblical-Theological View of Penance and Its Present Day Expression. The Assisi Congress on Formation, 1979. Charles M. Henry Printing Co., 1980. 85-90. (See also Resources for the Study of The TOR Rule, Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation, 1994) | Page 179
Roland Faley TOR, “Recapturing A Vision: Conversion.” History of the Third Order Regular Rule: A Source Book. St. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2008. 451-8 | Page 182
Suzanne Kush CSSF, “Walking in the Footprints of Jesus.” Felician Retreat Journal. Felician Sisters of North America, 2011 | Page 190

Commentary on the 1982 Rule

SUMMARY

Commentary on the 1982 TOR Rule | Page 195
Margaret Carney OSF and Thaddeus Horgan SA, “The Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis” (Original Commentary). History of the Third Order Regular Rule: A Source Book. St. Bonaventure NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2008. 340-60 | Page 197
Study Guide: “Key Concepts of the Third Order Regular Rule,” Guidebook on the Third Order Regular Rule. Joanne Brazinski OSF, Nancy Celaschi OSF, Kathleen Moffatt OSF and Christa Marie Thompson OSF. Washington, DC: Franciscan Federation, 1984 | Page 218

Ten and Twenty-Five Years Later

SUMMARY

CD — Four Values of the Rule with sheet music

SUMMARY

Comprehensive Bibliography

SUMMARY

Third Order Saints

SUMMARY

Appendix

SUMMARY

Guide for the Study of the Encyclical FRATELLI TUTTI

The guide is a cooperative venture of several Franciscan organizations. It can be used with small or large groups and for personal reflection. You are free to print it for others who prefer a printed text and to share the URL where you found the guide. This guide is free and serves as an overview to the chapter featured but cannot in the space available do justice to the richness of each chapter.

AUTHOR

TITLE

Summary and quotes from the Encyclical

AUTHOR

TITLE

Dark Clouds A Closed World – Summary and quotes from the Encyclical

AUTHOR

TITLE

A Stranger on the Road

AUTHOR

TITLE

Envisaging and Engendering an Open World

AUTHOR

TITLE

A Heart Open to the Whole World

AUTHOR

TITLE

A Better Kind of Politics

AUTHOR

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Dialogue and Friendship in Society

AUTHOR

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Paths of Renewed Encounter

AUTHOR

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Religions at the Service of Fraternity in Our World

Franciscan Spirituality

PUBLICATIONS

Periodical PROPOSITUM

Latest Issue / 2024 N. 2

″Praised Be You, My Lord Care for Our Common Home‶

Summary

PAGE 1 / Propositum Letter / Sr. Frances Marie Duncan
PAGE 3 / "A CORRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND ALL CREATION" a contribution by Sr. Mariella Erdmann, OSF (Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Manitowoc) / WI, USA
PAGE 5 / "CANTICLE OF CREATION PICTURES" a contibution by Sr. Jo Goolish, OSF (School Sisters of St Francis - USA Province) / USA
PAGE 8 / "LAUDATO SI’: OURS TO PRACTICE AND TO PREACH" a contribution by Sr. Elise Saggau, OSF (Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls) / Minnesota, USA
PAGE 10 / "PHOTOS" a contribution by Sr. Janice Burns-Watson (Sisters of St. Francis) / Tiffin, Ohio, USA
PAGE 13 / "THE CANTICLE OF CREATION ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI" a contribution by Sr. Marianne Saieg, OSF (Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate) / Joliet, Illinois, USA
PAGE 15 / "CANTICLE OF THE CREATURES" a contribution by Sr. Gudrun Schellner (Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother) / Vienna, Austria
PAGE 16 / "ART WORKS" a contribution by Claudia Leonor (Wührl Berchtesgaden/Upper Bavaria Studied art and art therapy at Steinbeishochschule Berlin Studio at the motherhouse of the Oberzell Franciscan Sisters, Zell am Main) / Germany
PAGE 18 / "LIVING THE MESSAGE OF LAUDATO SI’ – AN OUTFLOW OF THE CANTICLE OF CREATURES" a contribution by Sr. Shirley Aeria (Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood) / Godalming, Surrey, UK
PAGE 20 / "THE CALL OF THE COSMOS TO ITS CARETAKERS" a contribution by Sr. Stella Jees, FCC (Franciscan Clarist Congregation) / India
PAGE 23 / "LAUDATO SI’: CALLING ALL FRANCISCAN CONGREGATIONS" a contribution by Sr. Renée Mirkes (Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity) / Manitowoc, WI, USA
PAGE 25 / "CARE FOR CREATION" a contribution by Sr. Delores Wisnicky, OSF (Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity) / USA
PAGE 26 / "ST. FRANCIS IN MY SOUL AND ENVIRONMENT" a contribution by Sr. Bupe Salome Chileshe (Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi) / Zambia
PAGE 28 / "A ONCE MORE WAKE UP CALL TO LISTEN TO THE CRY OF THE EARTH" a contribution by Sr. Dorothy Odundo (Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna) / Kenya
PAGE 30 / "WATER, LIFE AND MISSION" a contribution by Sr. Carmen Lúcia de Almeida (Sisters of Saint Francis of the Providence of God) / Óbidos, Brazil
PAGE 33 / "THE CANTICLE OF CREATION - IN LIGHT OF LAUDATO SI’" a contribution by Sr. M. Leonarda Rakhiba (Franciscan Sisters of Siessen Assisi Mission) / Fort Savage Farm, Marseilles, South Africa
PAGE 35 / "ALL MY LIFE IS THIS" a contribution by Sr. Barbara Ann Webster, OSF (School Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis - USA Province) / USA
PAGE 36 / "ART WORK" a contribution by Sr. Gemma Fenbert (Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Charity) / Tiffin, Ohio, USA

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TAU Series

Number and Theme of the Publication

Full List of Published Issues

1 / The Volterra Letter: The First Letter to All The Faithful · Thaddeus Horgan, SA
2 / Presentation of the Text of The Rule · Thaddeus Horgan, SA
3 / Key Concepts of the Third Order Regular Rule
4 / The Rule Project - Metanoia and Mercy
5 / The Evolution of the Rule of the Third Order Regular
6 / PROLOGUE The words of St. Francis to his followers Epistola ad fideles: RECENSIO PRIOR 1:1-19
7 / “The Letter to All The Faithful - Recensio prior” from A Biblical-Theological View of Penance and Its Present Day Expression · Roland J. Faley, T.O.R.
8 / Evangelical Identity, Chapter 1 · Thaddeus Horgan S.A. & Margaret Carney OSF
9 / The Franciscan Aspect of the Penitential Movement · Raphael Pazzelli TOR
10 / Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis ORIGINAL COMMENTARY · Margaret Carney OSF and Thaddeus Horgan SA
11 / The Spirituality of Franciscan Sisters · Raphael Pazzelli TOR
12 / The Franciscan Third Order and The Penitential Tradition · Elise Saggau, OSF
13 / Franciscan Evangelical Life and the Third Order Regular Charism · Clare Andrew D’Auria OSF
14 / KNOW, ADORE, SERVE: The Path to Conversion
15 / “Of God’s Fullness” Franciscan Evangelical Life: A 21st Century Dialogue
16 / The One Thing Necessary Seeing Chapter IX of the Third Order Regular Rule through the Lens of the Teachings of John Duns Scotus · Mary Beth Ingham CSJ
17 / Give an Account of the Hope That Is Within You · William J. Short OFM
18 / The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition Initiative A Language of God-with-us · Joseph P. Chinnici OFM
19 / Christ Our Teacher: Love’s Wisdom Reflection · Anthony Carrozzo OFM
20 / The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition: Study Document · Ilia Delio OSF and William Short OFM, 2001

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Prayer before the Crucifix

“Most high, glorious God,
Enlighten the darkness of my heart
And give me righteous faith,
certain hope and perfect charity,
wisdom and ability to understand
And serve your will.
Amen.”

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