FRANCISCAN YOUTH AND SPIRITUAL ASSISTANCE

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FRANCISCAN YOUTH AND SPIRITUAL ASSISTANCE
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National Fraternity Constituted 30 Emergent
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GENERAL CONSTITUTIONS OFTHE SECULAR FRANCISCAN
ORDER

• Title VII The Franciscan Youth (Art. 96-97)

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Article 96

• 1. The SFO, by virtue of its very vocation,
  ought to be ready to share its experience of
  evangelical life with the youth who feel
  attracted to Saint Francis of Assisi and to seek
  the means of adequately presenting it to them.
• 2. The Franciscan Youth (YouFra), is formed by
  those young people who feel called by the Holy
  Spirit to share the experience of the Christian
  life in fraternity, in the light of the message
  of Saint Francis of Assisi, deepening their own
  vocation within the context of the Secular
  Franciscan Order.
• 3. The members of the Franciscan Youth consider
  the Rule of the SFO as an inspirational document
  for the growth of their own Christian and
  Franciscan vocation either individually or in a
  group. After a suitable period of formation, of
  at least one year, they confirm this option with
  a personal pledge before God and in the presence
  of the brothers and sisters.

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• 4. The members of the Franciscan Youth who wish
  to belong to the SFO should satisfy the
  requirements of the Rule, the Constitutions, and
  the Ritual of the SFO.
• 5. The Franciscan Youth has a specific
  organization, methods of formation, and teaching
  methods adequate for the needs of the world of
  youth, according to the existing realities in the
  various countries. The national statutes of the
  Franciscan Youth should be approved by the
  respective national council of the SFO, or in its
  absence, by the Presidency of the International
  Council of the SFO.
• 6. The Franciscan Youth, as a component of the
  Franciscan family, requests from the competent
  secular leaders and religious superiors,
  respectively, fraternal animation and spiritual
  assistance.

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Specific characteristics of Franciscan Youth
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In the field of pastoral care of youth, it is
found that young persons are attracted to St.
Francis and that they wish to deepen their
Christian and Franciscan vocation.

• To these young persons, Franciscan Youth and the
  SFO provide options, while respecting the demands
  of the youth in modern times, their crises,
  problems and questions.

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Some of the essential elements in their
vocational journey are

• To feel the call of the Holy Spirit to undergo,
  in fraternity, the experience of Christian life
• Progressive discovery of St. Francis, his project
  of life and his values
• Ecclesial and social presence, as condition to
  having concrete apostolic experiences.

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The Franciscan Youth, as described in the SFO
General Constitutions, differs from other
Franciscan youth groups by      

• The acceptance of the Rule of the SFO as an
  inspirational document
• The personal and formal commitment made before
  God and the fraternity to live that inspiration
• Belonging to the Franciscan Family and deepening
  their own vocation within the context of the
  Secular Franciscan Order
• The accompaniment and animation provided by
  Secular Franciscans
• Spiritual and Pastoral assistance
• Its organisational structure and specific methods
  of formation for a vocational process which
  normally, but not necessarily, leads to the SFO
• The proper National Statutes approved by the
  National Council of the SFO or, in its absence,
  by the Presidency of the CIOFS, which sets down
  the conditions to belong to the Franciscan Youth.

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• Vocational journey

Members of the YouFra deepen their own vocation
in the light of the message of St. Francis
through an itinerary of progressive formation.
Vocational discernment is the main focus during
this journey. Normally, this vocational journey
is made up of the following stages
a) Initiation
b) Formation for the promise in the YouFra
c) Deepening the personal call
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SPIRITUAL AND PASTORAL ASSISTANCE TO THE
FRANCISCAN YOUTH
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As a component part of the Franciscan Family,
linked in a special way to the SFO, each YouFra
fraternity should, in accordance with the General
Constitutions of the SFO, request
a) Fraternal animation from the authorities of
the Secular Franciscans
b) Spiritual assistance from the competent
religious Superiors.
Cf. Const. 96,6.
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With regard to fraternal animation, the SFO
Fraternities, from among their responsibilities
related to YouFra, must

• Promote the Franciscan youth, through
  appropriate initiatives and dynamics
• Take care of the vitality and expansion of the
  YouFra Fraternities
• Accompany the young in their process of human
  and spiritual growth, through proposals of
  activities and of thematic contents.

Cf. Const. 97,1
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Another important duty that the SFO Fraternities
should take care of is that of giving the YouFra
a fraternal Animator, who, together with the
Spiritual Assistant and the Council of YouFra,
should guarantee a suitable secular franciscan
formation.
Cf. Const. 97,2
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In the Statutes for the spiritual and pastoral
assistance to the SFO we read in art. 2 1
The spiritual and pastoral care is provided as a
two-fold service- The fraternal office of the
altius moderamen on the part of the Major
Superiors- Spiritual assistance to the
fraternities and their Councils.
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This two-fold, fraternal service integrates, but
does not substitute for the responsibility proper
to the Councils and Ministers of Fraternities, to
whom pertain the guidance, coordination and
animation of the Fraternities on the various
levels.
Cf. Const. 86,2 The Statutes for Assistance,
3,1
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In the Statutes for Assistance (art. 2,3) we also
find an explication of what should be the aim of
spiritual assistance
The purpose of spiritual assistance is to foster
communion with the Church and with the Franciscan
Family through witness and sharing of Franciscan
spirituality, to cooperate in initial and
on-going formation of Secular Franciscans and to
express the fraternal affection of the religious
towards the SFO.
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The Spiritual Assistant to the YouFra
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In the document YouFra The journey of a
franciscan vocation, a basic document for the
YouFra, approved by the CIOFS Presidency in 2004,
we find the following in point 6
YouFra, as a component of the Franciscan Family,
needs spiritual assistance in order to guarantee
its fidelity to the franciscan charism, communion
with the Church and its unity with the Franciscan
Family.
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As the delegate of his Major Superior, the
Assistant to the YouFra must give witness to the
franciscan religious spirituality and to the
fraternal love of the religious for the YouFra,
to the communion between the franciscan religious
and the Franciscan Youth Must be a guarantor
of the fidelity of the YouFra to the franciscan
charism, of their communion with the Church and
of the unity of the YouFra with the Franciscan
Family.
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Since it is a question of spiritual assistance to
the young in their vocational journey and of
deepening their vocation, the Assistant has the
very particular task of helping the young people
in their vocational discernment, which should be
based on an integral human, Christian and
franciscan formation.
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The document, YouFra The journey of a franciscan
vocation then continues by pausing on the
appointment and profile of the Assistants

• The appointment of Spiritual Assistants pertains
  to the competent franciscan Major Superiors in an
  analogy with what is established in the Statutes
  for the Spiritual and Pastoral Assistance to the
  SFO.

In so far as is possible, the service of
assistance to the YouFra and SFO should be
carried out by the same person.
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The Assistant must help the Fraternity to live
unity in diversity and to respect autonomies,
different ways of living fraternal life,
different formative methods, the way of holding
meetings or doing the various apostolic
activities, keeping in mind, however, that it is
certainly very nice and important to share some
moments of prayer, encounter, formation and
apostolic activities together in order to give
witness to the common mission.
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The Assistant in the formation of the YouFra
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The Assistant has a particular role in the area
of formation, that of cooperating with the
fraternal Animator and the Council of YouFra in
the formation of the young. However, the
responsibility of all the Fraternity of the
YouFra for the accompaniment of its members is
not diminished by the fact of having a Spiritual
Assistant and Fraternal Animator. The two figures
are complementary but do not substitute for the
work of the YouFra as a Council, as a Fraternity
and as people.
Cf. Const 97,2.
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It is necessary for the Franciscan Youth to
receive a solid human, Christian and franciscan
formation in order to be able to live their
Christian life in Fraternity. They must be helped
to know franciscan spirituality and the
Franciscan Family better. It is a question,
therefore, of a more practical rather than a
theoretical formation, which is based on lived
experiences in the Fraternity and, as far as
possible, with other Franciscans, religious and
secular.
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The Spiritual Assistant, in his cooperation with
the accompaniment of the young Franciscans, must

• accompany the young in living their life
  according to the Gospel
• help and accompany the young in the continuous
  conversion requested by the Gospel
• know how to listen, wait, have patience and,
  above all, to love
• enter into personal dialogue with the young, help
  them in their progress and, in a particular way,
  in their vocational discernment
• collaborate in forming the young to the
  fulfilment of their mission in the Church and in
  society.

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Saint Francis prayer before the Crucifix

• Most High, glorious God,enlighten the darkness
  of my heart and give me true faith, certain
  hope, and perfect charity,sense and knowledge,
  Lord, that I may carry outYour holy and true
  command. Amen.