The Religious Community and the Constitutive Elements of the Church

Would it be possible to draw out an ecclesiology from the Franciscan vision? This is only permissible if it can be demonstrated that the outflow of Franciscan spirituality - especially through the community of friars - is not merely a part of the Church but an expression of the Church. For the part regarding religious life, both postconciliar and New Testament concepts must be examined with regard to Franciscanism.

In the Vatican II understanding of religious life itself, any order or congregation belongs to, and is inseparable from, the life and the holiness of the Church. (8)The same article of the Constitution on the Church states: 'the profession of the evangelical counsels, then, appears as a sign which can and ought to attract all the members of the Church to an effective and prompt fulfilment of the duties of their vocation.' Avery Dulles' sixth model of the Church -- the Church as a community of disciples-- brings out the relationship of religious community and the Church well: 'the possibility of a more radical style of discipleship was offered by the religious life.' (9) In other words, religious life is a radical expression of the Church; and, even within the Church, the religious state appears to be a contrast society. Certainly, this is an image of the Church herself, being a contrast society in relationship to the

world. Therefore, Dulles observes that 'communities of this type religious orders or basic communities] are, in a very important sense, realizations of the Church.' (10)

Religious communities, in this case the Franciscan community, suit this postconciliar ecclesiological understanding. Francis wrote in the Rule of 1221 to his friars: "The rule and life of these brothers is this: to live in obedience, in chastity and without anything of their own, and to follow the teaching and footprints of our Lord Jesus Christ...' (11) It is following Jesus Christ which gives Franciscan brotherhood an ecclesial expression in the model of a disciple-community. Indeed, this imitation of Jesus is a central thesis for the model of discipleship, as observed by Dulles: 'The discipleship model motivates the members of the Church to imitate Jesus in their personal lives.' (12) The keyword 'disciple' was used by Francis in his admonitions regarding perfect obedience, a virtue proper for one in dealing with the Church, 'The Lord says in the Gospel: He who does not renounce everything he possesses cannot be my disciple; and he who wishes to save his life must lose it.' (13)

One important New Testament understanding of the Church hinges on the constitutive elements of the Church. The 'summary of summaries' of Acts 2:42-47 is held here as the yardstick of what makes a Church perse. Four elements are seen as the prime qualities of the early Church in Jerusalem:

．the apostles' teaching

．the communion/fellowship

．the breaking of bread

．the prayers

St Francis did not start a new Church, in'the way Luther or Calvin did. Instead, he founded a brotherhood of men religious within the Catholic Church. Besides this, many lay people were attracted to his spirituality and "Third Orders' were developed. Unlike other Gospel movements of the day, Francis never asked these seculars to leave the Church or join his fraternity. Instead they were encouraged to remain obedient to the Church and to deepen their Christian commitment in the Church.

Rightly understood, the apostles' teaching refers to the teaching of Jesus himself. On the surface, the foci of teaching were different: Jesus focused on the coming of the Kingdom and the apostles focused on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yet because the paschal mystery was precisely the realisation of the Kingdom, the apostles' teaching was the same as that of Jesus. Francis referred his order to the direct source of the apostles' teaching: 'Listen, sons of the Lord and my brothers [...]. Incline the ear of your heart and obey the voice of the Son of God.' (14)

By Francis' time, the breaking of bread had long already evolved into the Eucharistic celebration. In the same Letter to the Entire Order, Francis suggested 'only one Mass be celebrated each day in the places in which the brothers stay.' (15) Elsewhere in his admonitions, rules and letters, Francis showed great Eucharistic piety, not uncharacteristic of the culture of the time. (16) For the lay faithful, Francis saw the need of receiving the Body and Blood, especially in the context of the confession of sins. (17)

It is significant that in the above quotation Francis suggested only one Mass be celebrated, and there was no concelebration. Celebration of only one Mass -- even when there were more than one sacerdotal brother -- meant a realisation of the communion. In other words, the Mass was more important as a communion than as a source of stipends or even as an obligation of the priestly order. In this, the above two constitutive elements, apostles' teaching and breaking of bread, found their ritual celebration as the Liturgy of the Word and as the Eucharist. No wonder Francis cautioned the clergy to 'be aware of the great sin and ignorance [...] toward the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and His most holy written words which consecrate [His] Body.' (18)

An important actualisation of the fellowship finds its expression in the vow of poverty. Although Francis would not allow even communal property, sharing of material things for use would be natural. Yet for the general faithful, Francis recalled the basic attitude which formed the backbone of communion: love. He reiterated Christ's commandment of love: 'And let us love our neighbours as ourselves. And if there is anyone who does not wish to love them as himself, at least let him do no harm to them, but rather do good. [...] Let us then have charity and humility [...]. (19)

Francis saw prayer as fundamental not only for the friars but also for all of the faithful. Both the First and the Second Rules for the friars contain a detailed description of the norms regarding the Divine Office and fasting. (20) For the faithful, Francis exhorted: 'Let us praise Him and pray to Him day and night, saying "Our Father, Who art in heaven," since we should pray always and never lose heart.' (21)

In Francis' writings, certain images are used to describe the fraternity which are also valid images for the Church. For instance, there is a strong theme that the brotherhood has to be in via. In the First Rule, when explaining poverty, Francis used the phrase 'when [the brothers] go through the world' (22) to denote the itinerant nature of the friars, whereas the Second Rule borrowed a Scriptural reference (23) to describe the brothers 'as pilgrims and strangers in this world, who serve the Lord.'(24) This 'pilgrims and strangers' was again taken up in Francis' last Testament. (25) This pilgrim church image of being in via is echoed in Lumen gentium: 'While on earth she journeys (peregrinatur) in a foreign land away from the Lord, the Church sees herself in exile.' (26) One can thus boldly propose that the Franciscan expression of a community friarhood is an expression of the Church. If this is accepted, the spirituality related to the saint can be used to complement ecclesiology.

1. 2 Celano 10; Legenda Major 2:1; Legend of Three Companions 13c. In Habig, M. (ed.), St Francis ofAssisi: Writings and Early Biographies (English Ominibus of the Sources for the Life ofSt Francis) (Chicago: Franciscan Herald 1972).

2. 2 Celano 17b; Legend Major 3:10; Legend of Three Companions 51. In Habig.

3. Lumen gentium (LG) 6. In Abbot, W. (ed.). The Documents of Vatican II (London: Geoffrey Chapman 1966).

4. Antiphonale Romano-Seraphicum pro Horis Diurnis (Paris: Desclee 1928) 967.

5. Proprium Liturgia Horarum pro sodalibus Ordinis Fratrum Minorum (Madrid: OFM 1974)200.

6. See introductory notes in Armstrong, R. and Brady, 1. (eds.), Francis and Clare: The Complete Works (New York: Paulist 1982) 15-17.

7. Antbn A., Postconciliar Ecclesiology: Expectations, Results and Prospects for the Future. In Latourelle, R. (ed.),Vantican II : Assessment and perspectives ,Assessment and Perspectives, Vol.I (New York: Paulist 1989) 407-438; cf.412.

8. LG44.

9. Dulles, A., Models of the Church, Expanded Edition (Garden City, NY: Double- day 1987).

10. Dulles, 62.

11. First Rule I: I in Armstrong. Subsequent quotations of writings by St Francis are from this book. The numbering system to each paragragh is in accordance with that in the book.

12. Dulles, 222-223.

13. Admonition 3.

14. Letter to the Entire Order 5-6.

15. Letter to the Entire Order 30.

16. Ample examples can be found, such as: Letter to the Entire Order 12, 27; Testament 4,6,8, 10, 13, Admonition I and Second Letter to the Faithful 34. All these will be elaborated later.

17. Second Letter to the Faithful 22.

18. Letter to the Clergy 1.

19. Second Letter to the Faithful 26,27, 30.

20. First Rule Chapter 3; Second Rule Chapter 3.

21. Second Letter to the Faithful 21.

22. First Rule 14.

23. 1 Peter 2:11.

24. Second Rule 6.

25. Testament 24.

26. LG6.