Blessing of St. Francis - The Aaronic Blessing

Ecclesial Movements and New Communities

           

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”  (Is, 43:19-21)





Both John Paul II and The Holy Father, Benedict XVI have given blanket approval to
the new Ecclesial Movements.  John Paul II stated in his message for the World
Congress of Ecclesial Movement and New Communities, "From the begining of my
Pontificate, I have given special importance to the progress of ecclesial movements...
They represent one of the most significant fruits of that springtime in the Church which
was foretold by the Second Vatican Council...Movements can thus make a valuable
contribution to the vital dynamics of one Church founded on Peter in the various local
situations...I have often had the occasion to stress that there is no conflict or
opposition in the Church between the institutional dimension and the charismatic
dimension, of which movments are a significant expression.  both are co-essential
to the divine constitution of the Church founded by Jesus, because they both help to
make the mystery of Christ and his saving work present in the world."

In a book writte by then Cardinal Ratzinger with the journalist, Vittorio essori he writes:

"What sounds full of hope throughout the universal church - and this even in the midst
of the crisis that the Church is going through in the Western World - is the upsurge of
new movements that no one has planned and no one called into being, but that simply
emerge of their own accord from the inner vitality of the faith...It grows in silence.
Our task -  the task of the office-holders in the Church and of theologians - is to
keep the door open to them, to prepare room for them..."

"The memory of the previous World Congress of Ecclesial Movements, held in Rome
from 26 to 29 May 1998, is still vivid in my mind and in my heart...during which my
Predecessor expressed his approval of the Ecclesial Movements and New
Communities, which he described as "signs of hope..."
From the Vatican, 22 May 2006 BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

"Today, the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities are a "luminous sign of beauty
of Christ and of the Church, his Bride.  You belong to the living structure of the Church.
She thanks you for...the promotion of vocations to the ministerial priesthood and
consecrated life which you nurture among your members." 
From the Vatican, 22 May 2006 BENEDICTUS PP XVI

Post Vatican ll Franciscan Movement 1968 to present

 

 

 

Our Sunday Visitor July 31,1983 from Taking God to the Streets

Below is the article typed out shown above

Our Sunday Visitor July 31, 1983

 "The Little Brothers of St. Francis, as they call themselves, represent a new breed of Franciscan Friars who are trying to revive in the 20th Century a way of life that was lived by the little poor man of Assisi almost 800 years ago. 

   Like other Franciscans they live simply, practice poverty and bring Christ's love to the poor.  But, unlike most Franciscans, they are contemplatives who devote themselves to regular monastic prayer and devotion.
   This tiny community- at present time there are only two members- is one of perhaps 100 small Franciscan communities that have emerged throughout the world over the past 10 or 15 years.
    Although all these communities are different, they have a lot in common.  They tend to emphasize contemplative prayer as Francis and his earliest followers did, devoting themselves to being constantly mindful of God.
    In an age when many Religious are abandoning the wearing of habits, many of these Franciscans make a point of wearing theirs both in public and in private as a visible sign of their committment to follow Jesus.
    They base their way of life on a brief and little known document written by Francis himself as a guide to friars called to contemplative religious life.
    According to this document,, known as the "Rule for Hermitages", three or at most four brothers should live and pray together in a manner that is both Franciscan and monastic.
    Although the same rule has become the cornerstone of the new Franciscan communities, the communities are not directly affiliated with eachother, and each community has developed its own unique character."

The Boston Globe Thursday, November 8, 2001

To read the article with larger print, click on the link below and then click on each page to read:

http://bostonglobearticle.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

The Franciscan Book of Saints

chapel on rock and treehouse hermitage