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SFO International Council - Quarterly
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Profession in the SFO: Holy Spirit Gift by Rosalvo Moto, O.F.S. The Brothers and Sisters called to Franciscan life in the
secular fraternity are professed in the course of a celebration which
specifically follows the Ritual proper to the SFO. This celebration consists of the initial moment of the professed life
and, simultaneously, is a point of dialogue for a response to the work of God. The
celebration of the Profession testifies to this, because it is a work of God
and a salvific event: it is a moment at which
Salvation helps those who make profession, enabling them to promise to lead a
Gospel-Franciscan life, and producing in them particular effects of grace, which grants them specific characteristics among the
People of God.
1)
The
Grace of Profession When you make your profession in the SFO, you say “by the grace of God, I renew my baptismal promises and consecrate myself to the service of his kingdom.” (Ritual of Profession) This dedication to service in the Kingdom takes place because the Lord gives one the grace to consecrate oneself to the cause of the Kingdom. Profession is both a grace and a gift of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the source of vocation for Secular Franciscans. (Const. 11). Led by the Spirit, they strive for perfect charity in their own secular state. (Rule 2)
2)
The
Profession as an Act of the Church The Profession is taking place through the work of God. This is because God always works through Christ, whose humanity is a point of encounter between God and human beings, and today Christ lives and works through the Church, which is the entire Body of Christ, both head and members. It is worth noting the language of the Constitutions, which define Profession as the solemn ecclesial act (42.1), and of the Ritual, which declares that profession is a public and ecclesial act. (Introduction no. 13)
3)
Profession
and the Fraternity We saw that Profession, by its very nature, is an ecclesial action, an action of Christ and of the Church. I therefore ask, “How does it make visible and how does it show the work of Christ and of the Church?” By “Church,” the Ritual means a concrete, liturgical gathering, made up of the community and of the fraternity, which is to say, the local fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order. Since, by its very nature, profession is a public and ecclesial act, it should be celebrated in the presence of the fraternity. (Ritual, Introduction no. 13). The reason for such an arrangement is to be found in the reality of the local fraternity: It is a visible sign of the Church, the community of love. (cf. Rule 22; Ritual 2.14). The Profession produces “incorporation into the Secular
Franciscan Order,” which implies the full integration into the Franciscan family,
with all the subsequent results of belonging to the same spiritual family.
4)
The Ministries
in the Celebration of Profession The work of the celebrating Church-Fraternity is realized through various ministries, exercised by the people who, within the liturgical assembly, are called to carry out specified functions.
4.1)
The
Candidates The work of Christ and of the Church is expressed in the
person of the candidates who are seeking profession, as they make a promise
of Gospel life. You ask to be professed. In effect, both Baptism and Confirmation
are a fundamental presupposition to being professed: they are being called to
give witness to the
4.2)
The
Minister of the Fraternity Profession is accepted by the minister of the local fraternity (Const. 42.3). The Church, through the priest and the Minister, who both represent the Fraternity, receives the Profession (Ritual). The Minister receives the profession and the priest presides over the rite. The Minister of the fraternity exercises a real and proper
liturgical ministry.
4.3)
The
Priest Likewise, the priest who presides over the celebration is defined as a witness of the Church and of the Order. (Ritual) Our liturgical, sacramental actions make visible the
reality of From this is derived and justified the questioning of the parents and godparents at Baptism, and those to be confirmed, ordained or married. In effect, what arises and is justified, also are the questioning which is made of those who seek to make Profession in the Secular Franciscan Order. Profession in the SFO must be confirmed by the Church, and this is realized by the presbyter and by whoever, after the candidates read the formula of profession, declares: I confirm your promises in the name of the Church (Ritual 11.18). As a consequence, it is the priest who is the witness who guarantees the fitness of the candidate for profession and ratifies it in the name of the Church.
5)
The
Gift of the Spirit in the Celebration of a Profession The function of the priest is not only this, but is, above
all, to bless (which is properly a liturgical function) those who are called
to follow Christ through the example of Saint Francis of Sanctification is a work of the Father, which comes through the mediation of the Minister, when he or she declares: The Fraternity accepts your request and joins in your prayer, that the Holy Spirit might confirm in you the work which He Himself has begun. This is all the gift of the Spirit.
6)
Profession
and the Eucharist Through the priest, the Church associates
the promises of the Profession with the Eucharistic sacrifice. For this reason, the Rite of Profession is
celebrated in the course of the Through giving thanks to the Father (Eucharist) in Christ, today we
make a new thanksgiving. Called to follow Christ, who offers Himself to the
Father as a living sacrifice for the life of the world, we are constantly invited--in
a particular manner appropriate to our age--to unite to our own offering the
offering of Christ.
7)
Baptism
and Profession As the General Constitutions affirm (42.1): Profession is the solemn ecclesial act by which the candidate,
remembering the call received from Christ, renews the baptismal promises and
publicly affirms his or her personal commitment to live the Gospel in the
world according to the example of Francis and following the Rule of the SFO.
7.1)
Memorial
of Baptism It is, in fact, affirmed that Profession, of its very nature, is the renewal of the baptismal consecration and promises, and in the act of doing this, the candidate declares an intention to renew their baptismal promises. It is as if one were to wish to affirm, by means of Profession, a desire to bring to mind the consecration and promises of Baptism. For this reason, with absolute certainty, Profession in the SFO is defined as “A Memorial of Baptism.” It is not just a remembrance, though, but, rather, makes it present. We would even say that it is an actualization of Baptism. |
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