Sunday 28 July was the last day of the so-called “canonical month”, the month of retreat for the 18 friars who are approaching the solemn profession in view of the day when they will be admitted once and for all into the Order of Friars Minor.
For the last week of the month, they were at the Convent of the Capuchin Friars of Jerusalem, engaged in the spiritual exercises recommended by the Custos of the Holy Land, fra Francesco Patton, who reflected on the vocation in the light of the Gospel according to Mark and on the vows of obedience, poverty (sine proprio) and chastity.
Discipleship and the vows
“The conclusive week dedicated to the spiritual exercises is a particularly intense moment,” said the Custos, “from the point of view of prayer, reflection and discussion with the Word of God. The journey I have proposed is linked to the discipleship described in the Gospel according to Mark, because Francis defines our life as “following the footsteps of Our Lord Jesus Christ and living in obedience, without anything of our own and in chastity.”
“I believe that it is fundamental, before taking of the commitment definitively and solemnly, to have made a synthesis around the topic of the vows, which are the answer to a gift and are called “evangelical advice.” When we speak about obedience, this is what takes us to completely trust first of all in God, but also that fraternity in which we are inserted, living “without anything of our own” – which is typical of Franciscanism. Lastly, the topic of chastity which in the Gospel is clearly linked to the topic of being entirely for the Kingdom of God.”
The gift of being able to live this moment in the Holy Land
The young friars have been able to live this last moment of reflection and prayer on their vocation in the Land chosen by God for his incarnation. “Being able to make their profession here certainly represents a particular gift,” admits Fra Francesco Patton, “and it certainly has a particular resonance because rereading the passages of St Mark’s Gospel, all the places that the friars know well are referred to and therefore they can easily place themselves there visually and find their place on this path in the footsteps of Jesus.”
During the Sunday homily, celebrated in the Chapel of the Community of the Capuchins, the Custos addressed a last prayer and piece of advice to the friars. “We thank the Lord because in this week He has helped us make a precious journey of further knowledge, on the meaning of entering into relations with Him, of growing in our relationship with Him, which is the most important and decisive. Let us follow the words of St Paul who today in Ephesians 4, 1-3, exhorts us, ‘I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.’”.
Silvia Giuliano
