In May, Secular Franciscans from 12 countries gathered in Manila, the Philippines, for the five-day “Formation Course for Asia and Oceania”. The 38 Secular Franciscans, 12 Spiritual Assistants and 1 Franciscan Youth hailed from Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam. The Singapore group was the largest with seven Secular Franciscans, accompanied by Friar Derrick Yap and Friar Vernon Chua.
Secular Franciscans are people who have responded to a call from God to follow the Gospel in the same way that St Francis of Assisi did in the context of our times. The Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) is an international Order within the Catholic Church with a Rule of Life and Constitutions that apply the Rule to daily life and circumstances. The OFS is a way of life where each member may find his or her apostolate according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Each Fraternity in the Order must also find a common work to carry out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
A Secular Franciscan should not be defined by what he or she does but by what he or she must become: a reflection of Christ to the world in imitation of St Francis of Assisi. The formation course, held at Manresa Retreat House from 24 to 28 May 2024, sought to help the participants do this.
The course began on the afternoon of 24 May, with Mass followed by an update on the National Fraternities of Asia and Oceania by Augustine Yoon, a former Councillor of the International Council of the Secular Franciscan Order (CIOFS).
On 25 May, Friar Stefan Acatrinei OFM Conv, General Assistant of the Secular Franciscan Order, gave two lectures on the topic “The Wisdom of Love”, and Augustine Yoon gave a lecture on “A Thematic Guide for Formation”. Each country group presented a report on its OFS formation after which the participants broke into small groups for discussion before everyone gathered again to share the work done in groups. As true Franciscans, the day ended with a time of “Franciscan Joy” with singing, dancing, playing. It was a night filled with lots of laughter and happy faces.
On 26 May, Friar Stefan lectured on “The Franciscan Centenaries” and “The Service of Leadership in the Writings of St Francis and St Clare”, Grace Jose Garlene and Lucy Almiranez presented on “Fraternal Leadership: A Challenge and a Commitment”, and CIOFS Councillor Francis Park presented “CIOFS Communications – International Statutes”. After the work of the day, the participants were treated to an evening of Filipino cultural performance and food.
It was not all classroom presentations. On 27 May, the group went on a pilgrimage to the Shrine Basilica of San Pedro Bautista and visited Tagaytay City.
On the last day, the participants worked on a document summarising the sessions and resulting resolutions and recommendations. Once this was approved, they had a fraternal conversation with CIOFS Councillors Francis Park and Friar Stefan Acatrinei.
The course offered the participants the chance to get to know each other better, talk about the challenges of their national fraternities, exchange ideas and formation material and enjoy the beauty of being together as brothers and sisters in the great Franciscan Family.
As Jacqueline Low said, “It was an experience of connectedness with everyone. I felt a sense of connectedness even with creation, experiencing the essence of Franciscan fraternity and joy in one union with God amongst very diverse community and culture.”
While Margaret Goh shared, “I felt the challenges and resilience of our OFS brothers and sisters seeking to spread the Franciscan spirituality. We are encouraged to be more courageous to be seen as OFS in our parishes and among secular friends.”
It was an eye-opening experience for Victoria Voon, one of the four participants from Malaysia. “For me as an OFS Candidate, this was very good exposure to gain more knowledge, build good networking and get to know more OFS members from other countries,” she said.
In Singapore, the Secular Franciscan Order is an emerging National Fraternity of St Anthony of Padua with 30 Professed members in five canonically established fraternities. The National Fraternity is growing, with 27 currently in various stages of initial formation.
“I was drawn to become a Secular Franciscan through my exposure to the Franciscan way as some of my family members have joined the Secular Franciscan Order. The Secular Franciscan Order enabled me to live my vocation in a secular world, encouraging me to integrate my faith into my family, work and community life, thereby bringing the teaching of Jesus Christ into aspects of society,” said Monica Michael, Professed 2011.
Vivianne Kwong, who made her Solemn Profession in 2022, shared “What made me sure I wanted to be a Franciscan. … to be honest I was not sure. I needed a spirituality on which to live my life with. The Franciscan spirituality, the Franciscan joy tugged at my heart the most and on the day of my profession, after Friar Derrick ‘slapped’ me on the head, there was an instantaneous feeling that it felt right, and I knew I was home.”
For more information about the Secular Franciscan Order in Singapore, visit https://bit.ly/OFSintro.
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