Commissions are a fairly new creation and, as such, are still in the process of being defined and implemented. We have five: Ecology, Peace and Justice, Work, Family, and Youth and Young Adult. While the Rule is the foundation upon which we build our lives, commissions give our lives focus. A commission organizes Franciscan outreach. It gives our outreach a direction. It challenges us to believe that all fraternities, even the small ones, can make a difference in their communities. Of course, the definition begs the question: is outreach necessary? Isn't it enough to come together once a month in community and pray together? Isn't it enough to provide spiritual guidance for our members? No. Fraternity prayer and ongoing formation are extremely important; together they are the cornerstone of a fraternity, but if we stop there, we fall short of our Franciscan charism. We know this by direction and by example.
We are directed in Article Four of our Rule to follow the example of St. Francis, who, in turn, followed the example of Christ in the gospel. We are to read the gospels and go from gospel to life, from life to gospel. What, then, do the gospels say about the righteous? This is too brief a forum to write a dissertation about the subject, so I will simply quote from the Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 25:32-40: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.
St. Francis himself gave us the ultimate example of his life. He could have chosen to become a hermit, praying alone in his cave. He could have gone to an established monastery and lived his life within the closed walls. Instead, he begged Pope Innocent III to give him permission to become a poor friar, an itinerant preacher, and a servant of the poor, the sick, and this disenfranchised. He wrote to Canticle of Creation, giving us his beautiful vision of nature. He treated life as a holy quest, joyfully serving his Lady Poverty as chastely and steadfastly as Sir Galahad served Camelot.
He also sent his friars out, two by two, like the Apostles, to serve the outcasts and the marginalized and to bring God's people back into closer communion with him. By our outreach, we continue St. Francis' directive. Look around you. Don't you see people every day who need the spirit of St. Francis? Keeping the Franciscan spirit within the fraternity intead of sharing it is, well, a bit selfish. As Matthew 5:14-16 tells us: you are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
We cannot be Franciscan without the service, without the quest, and there is a vast world to serve.
The St. Maximilian Kolbe Fraternity is in the process of developing our Commissions. We had a mini Day of Retreat and a Commisisons Workshop on Saturday, June 5, 2004, and discussed what we would like to do as a fraternity. One thing that we all insist on is that our ministries be based on love and not condemnation. We will, for example, support the Crisis Pregnancy Center and Project Rachael, but we will never stand outside an abortion clinic yelling "baby killer" to the women going inside. We will help people who need help without demanding that they either be Catholic or become Catholic. We will also refuse to get involved in partisan politics as a fraternity. We believe that as soon as we cross the line and condemn someone, or force them to believe as we do, or contribute to the radical polarization that partisan politics fosters as a fraternity, (individual members participate and vote as individuals) we forfeit the ability to bring a Franciscan spirit of Peace and All Good to those we are trying to help.
