The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land gathered in the Basilica of Gethsemani to celebrate a highly significant liturgy, which expresses the profound sense of their vocation. The friars renewed their religious vows and received the Rule of St. Francis from the hands of the Custos, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
History tells us that on 29th November 1226, Pope Honorius III solemnly approved the Rule of the Friars Minor, presented to him by Francis of Assisi. This is why on this day All the Saints of the Seraphic Order are commemorated and the friars minor habitually renew their religious vows.
The Basilica of Gethsemani was crowded with many friars, happy to be together and to thank the Lord for the gift of their vocation. During the sermon, the Custos placed the liturgical gesture of the delivery of the Rule in a Christological and Franciscan horizon.
In the first place, he recalled that Jesus lived a culminating moment of his obedience to the plan of salvation prepared by the Father in the Garden of Gethsemani. Here, Jesus laid down His will in the will of the Father, freely and generously choosing to sacrifice His life for the love of Mankind. Similarly, the search for the will of God was one of the fundamental points in the path of the faith of Francis of Assisi. He no longer wanted to live for himself but for that Lord who had given His life for all of us.
The Custos recalled how “Francis was driven and tormented all his life by the memory of the love of Christ, to the point of wanting to imitate Him completely, fashioning his life on that of the Master.” The Rule, a pure synthesis of the evangelical ideal, expresses the generous will to radically imitate Christ.
At the height of an arduous and at times painful search, the Christian project of Francis found its expressive formula: “To live according to the forms of the Holy Gospel, together with the brothers the Lord had given him, following a Rule approved by the Mother Church and by the Pope”.
Eight hundred years later, the friars of the Holy Land have repeated this evangelical and ecclesiastical choice, adopting the Rule, and following a life project which has, over the centuries, kept its original beauty intact.
It was moving to see young friars, who have just entered the Order, repeat their recent religious vows alongside their venerable brothers, who have served the Lord all their lives.
The same words of consecration and fidelity, pronounced together, expressed the common effort in the testimony of God and in the service of the Church. The same faith as ever, humble and clear, seeks the encounter with the Lord and is generously placed at the service of the Kingdom.
The brothers of Galilee, in turn, celebrated the same rite the day after, in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
The confident gesture of the renewal of the vows was done in the place where the Word of God became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Mary of Nazareth, the dawn of the Gospel, appeared as the model for the humble acceptance of the Word and the total willingness to serve God.
Over these few days, we have accepted seeds of hope, lights of beauty and words of trust to find comfort in our path as disciples of the Lord. Our heart brims over with gratitude, because we know that the Lord walks with us.
Fra Carlo Serri ofm
History tells us that on 29th November 1226, Pope Honorius III solemnly approved the Rule of the Friars Minor, presented to him by Francis of Assisi. This is why on this day All the Saints of the Seraphic Order are commemorated and the friars minor habitually renew their religious vows.
The Basilica of Gethsemani was crowded with many friars, happy to be together and to thank the Lord for the gift of their vocation. During the sermon, the Custos placed the liturgical gesture of the delivery of the Rule in a Christological and Franciscan horizon.
In the first place, he recalled that Jesus lived a culminating moment of his obedience to the plan of salvation prepared by the Father in the Garden of Gethsemani. Here, Jesus laid down His will in the will of the Father, freely and generously choosing to sacrifice His life for the love of Mankind. Similarly, the search for the will of God was one of the fundamental points in the path of the faith of Francis of Assisi. He no longer wanted to live for himself but for that Lord who had given His life for all of us.
The Custos recalled how “Francis was driven and tormented all his life by the memory of the love of Christ, to the point of wanting to imitate Him completely, fashioning his life on that of the Master.” The Rule, a pure synthesis of the evangelical ideal, expresses the generous will to radically imitate Christ.
At the height of an arduous and at times painful search, the Christian project of Francis found its expressive formula: “To live according to the forms of the Holy Gospel, together with the brothers the Lord had given him, following a Rule approved by the Mother Church and by the Pope”.
Eight hundred years later, the friars of the Holy Land have repeated this evangelical and ecclesiastical choice, adopting the Rule, and following a life project which has, over the centuries, kept its original beauty intact.
It was moving to see young friars, who have just entered the Order, repeat their recent religious vows alongside their venerable brothers, who have served the Lord all their lives.
The same words of consecration and fidelity, pronounced together, expressed the common effort in the testimony of God and in the service of the Church. The same faith as ever, humble and clear, seeks the encounter with the Lord and is generously placed at the service of the Kingdom.
The brothers of Galilee, in turn, celebrated the same rite the day after, in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
The confident gesture of the renewal of the vows was done in the place where the Word of God became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Mary of Nazareth, the dawn of the Gospel, appeared as the model for the humble acceptance of the Word and the total willingness to serve God.
Over these few days, we have accepted seeds of hope, lights of beauty and words of trust to find comfort in our path as disciples of the Lord. Our heart brims over with gratitude, because we know that the Lord walks with us.
Fra Carlo Serri ofm