1. Leonel Aruajo, OFM and Joseph Koh, OFM
Franciscans Charism
Presented by
Leonel Aruajo, OFM and Joseph Koh, OFM
Kairos 2005

2. Content What is Charism? Story of Francis Story of Clare
Symbols of Franciscans
Franciscans in Oceania & E.Timor
Ministries in Modern Times
Conclusion

3. What is Charism? In General
Indicates a personal gift of the Holy Spirit used for the good of the Church.
To participate in the official mission of the Church to make Christ present in the world.

4. Franciscan Charism
Franciscans contribute their particular charism to the Body of Christ.
When writing the Rule or "Way of Life" for the first Order, Francis wrote:
  "The Rule and Life of the Friars Minor is this, namely, to observe the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."

5. Franciscan Charism
The charism of Franciscans was simply to live the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

6. Franciscan Charism
The essence of this Franciscan life remains the same today, despite changes in times and circumstances through eight centuries of history.  

7. Franciscan Charism The Franciscans continue:
to share the Good News of Jesus Christ,
in fidelity to the Church,
living in brotherhood,
in poverty, chastity and obedience,
working for those in need and for justice,
for the respect due to all people and to all creation,
promoting harmony and peace

8. Life of Francis

27. Life of Clare Assisi (1194-1253) Noble Class
1212, heard Francis’s preaching
Asked to be received as a nun, following the life of Francis in absolute poverty

28. Life of Clare
During Middle Ages, impossible for nuns to go begging i.e. without property
Francis sent her to a Benedictine monastery to keep her safe
Clare’s sister and mother joined her

29. Life of Clare Francis gave the nuns a Rule of Life
Pope Innocent IV gave Clare the approved Rule at her death bed

30. Poor Clares
The life of all those who follow in the footsteps of Saint Clare are
…filled with security and peace, knowing that the Divine Child dwells among them in the Most Blessed Sacrament and He will always defend them. 

31. Poor Clares
"There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to savor the sweetness of the Lord, to behold His Temple" (Psalm 26:4).

32. Brotherhood
Francis called his followers fratres minores, or lesser brothers.
Chief concern was being brothers, in a lowly and poor way, a minoritas
Minoritas is subordinated to and directed towards the fraternitas, i.e brotherhood
Francis called it “Order of Friars Minor”

33. Poverty
How did it begin?

34. Poverty Francis The Leper Well-dressed
prominent young man with bright future
Sinful man
The Leper
Poorly dressed, ugly, deformed
no social status
God in him

35. Poverty
translate his meeting with the leper into an ideal or spirituality of poverty
realised that since the Lord met him in the person of a leper, it was clear the Lord did not attach any importance to social status for its own sake
learnt to regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [Phil 3:8].

36. Poverty
it is only in emptying ourselves as Jesus did that God can enter our lives, and fill the emptiness with his love and goodness.

37. Symbols
Tau Cross
San Damiano Cross
Habit

38. Tau Cross The Tau - the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet,
For Francis it's significance lay in the mention made in Ezekiel "Go through city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is distressed and troubled because of all the disgusting things being done in the city." (9:4)

39. Tau Cross
Scholars speculate that Francis attended the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) where he heard Pope Innocent III use the Ezekiel reference in the opening liturgy. So it is basically a call to repentance and support for those who are troubled. The symbolism seems as apt today as it was in the time of Saint Francis and all the way back to Ezekiel.

40. San Damiano Cross
While gazing at the Cross, Francis saw the lips of Jesus move and he heard the words, "Francis, go repair My House which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin". Francis responded, "gladly will I do so, Lord".

41. San Damiano Cross
an icon of the paschal mystery of Messiah, a visual reminder of the tenets of our Faith.
invites us to reinforce our Faith and thus help repair God's Church today, as Saint Francis did centuries ago

42. Habit Peasants’ clothing in Middle Ages
Originally coarse like in sackcloth, as a symbol of repentance
Also symbolises the Cross

43. Habit
White cord with three knots, representing the three vows, e. Poverty, Chastity and Obedience

44. Franciscans in Oceania
1788 – Louis Le Receveur first arrived in Australia with the French explorer La Perouse
1839 – Bonaventure Geoghegan, Irishman arrived in Australia
1854 – Peter O’Farell began minstering in Sydney

45. Franciscans in Oceania
1879 – community in Waverley began with three Irish friars
1904 – first Australian entered the order
1939 – Australia became independent province

46. Franciscans in Oceania
1860 – Italian and Irish friars arrived in Aotearoa
Worked with the fledging European settlement around Auckland and as missionaries among the Maori
1880 – withdrew from New Zealand
1937 – returned to New Zealand

47. Franciscans in Oceania
End of WWII, strong push for friars to work as foreign missionaries
1946 – first missionaries sent to Aitape region, northern Papua New Guinea
1969 – assumed responsibility for the order presence in Singapore and Malaysia
2000 – a community in Kuching, East Malaysia

48. Franciscans in Oceania
Friars in this province have worked as missionaries in various parts of the world, such as Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia

49. Franciscans in East Timor
Belonged to the province of Indonesia, which was founded by Dutch Franciscans
1982 – Friars arrived in East Timor from Indonesia
Currently, an independent Franciscan entity

50. Franciscans Today 1st Order (Male Order) OFM, OFMCap, OFMConv
2nd Order (Female Order) Contemplative Nuns, OSC, PC
3rd Order (Male and Female religious, eg. FMM, FMDM, OSF, TOR) and seculars (Secular Franciscan Order)
Others – Anglican Franciscans

51. Ministries Peace & Justice – JPIC
Human Rights – Franciscans International
Poor, Schools, Prisons, Immigrants, Missionaries, etc

52. Conclusion
The variety of charisms reflects the universalism of the Gospel.
Each charism serves a portion of the kingdom's gifts to humankind. The Body of Christ finds expression in a variety of groups. Together they build the kingdom and make the Body of Christ present to our world.
The call to Franciscans is to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the manner of St Francis.