Meeting of Local Ministers - Portugal Region

"Praise and bless my Lord, give him thanks and serve him with great humility"

The theme that will animate our continuing formation plan in 2024/25 seeks to put us in line with the celebration of the 800 years of the Franciscan charism. We want to be in communion with the Franciscan Family and therefore we will celebrate a "Franciscan Centenary" from 2023 to 2026, articulated and celebrated in several centenaries, recalling: the 800th anniversary of the Rule and the Christmas of Greccio (2023), the Stigmata (2024), the Canticle of the Creatures (2025) and the Easter of Francis (2026).

As a Church, we are also invited to live the Ordinary Jubilee, to be pilgrims of hope. In this sense, we will celebrate two major events in the Church in 2025: the Jubilee Year “Pilgrims of Hope” and the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures of St. Francis.
To help us delve deeper into these themes, we were joined by Brother José Carlos Matias, a Conventual Franciscan. This brother helped us understand and articulate the Jubilee Year, whose central theme is hope, with the Franciscan vision of creation expressed in the Canticle of the Creatures and our mission to be true leaders according to the heart of God. 

With regard to the Ordinary Jubilee, this reflection challenged us above all on how we cultivate hope in our lives and in our communities, in order to be true “pilgrims of hope”. Together, we reflected on the concrete attitudes that we can adopt so that the Jubilee is truly a path of grace that nourishes and strengthens our faith, our charity and our hope in our Congregation.

With regard to the Canticle of the Creatures, the song that celebrates the goodness of God manifested in all the elements of nature and that invites us to an attitude of gratitude and care, we were challenged to cultivate in our lives and in our communities an attitude of praise, gratitude and care for the beauty and harmony of creation.

We also had time to watch the film “The Friend, Francis of Assisi and his Brothers” by Renaud Fély and Arnaud Louvet. This film is a challenge for us to be faithful to the spirit that Francis wanted for his Order and, at the same time, to put our intuitions at the service of the Church with creativity.

It was a very rich weekend of reflection, meeting, sharing and prayer. As disciples of Christ, in the manner of Saint Francis of Assisi, we rejoice in walking in the Church in fidelity to our charism.

In this sense, the great challenge is to be superior according to Saint Francis of Assisi :

Must have a reflective life, 
of great quality, of recognized fame,
without personal affections
so as not to scandalize the community,
by favoritism granted to a party.
He must love prayer and divide his time
between the needs of his soul and the needs of the flock.
between the needs of his soul and the needs of the flock.
Early in the morning, he must begin with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
and with superabundant prayer.
and with superabundant prayer, he will entrust himself to the flock,
to divine protection.
Then he will make himself available to all,
to answer their questions
and respond to their needs,
with charity, patience and love.
He will take care of the simple as well as the learned and wise.
In his way of proceeding,  
the image of piety and simplicity must shine through,
patience and humility.
Know how to comfort the afflicted,
and lead the violent to gentleness.
Have a heart for mercy,
and never refuse them forgiveness.

Mirror of Perfection, No. 80