{"id":3951,"date":"2020-05-22T16:53:14","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T15:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ofmcap.org\/aids-for-gaining-deeper-meaning-from-the-constitutions\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T11:44:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T09:44:37","slug":"aids-for-gaining-deeper-meaning-from-the-constitutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ofmcap.org\/en\/aids-for-gaining-deeper-meaning-from-the-constitutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter of the General Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Aids for Gaining Deeper Meaning from the Constitutions<\/p>\n

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Aids for Gaining Deeper Meaning from the Constitutions<\/h4>\n

Letter of the General Minister<\/h4>\n

Prot. N. 00307\/20<\/p>\n

To all the Brothers of the Order
Their Locations<\/p>\n

Dear Brothers,<\/p>\n

May the Lord give you peace!<\/em><\/p>\n

Amid the many discussions that emerged during our last General Chapter (2018), there was no shortage of explicit references to our Constitutions. The question was raised about obtaining some means that could help us to understand and scrutinize them better. It pleases me to glean from such statements a healthy and blessed will to grow further and with greater authenticity toward our response to God\u2019s call.<\/p>\n

Also implied here is an awareness that the charismatic heritage gifted to our Order has as its fundamental point of reference the Constitutions. In fact, it aims \u201c to show us how best to observe the Rule in the changing circumstances of life in order to safeguard our identity and to give it concrete expression. In them we find a sure means of spiritual renewal in Christ and effective help for each brother to bring to completion the total consecration of his life to God.\u201d (Const. 9:1-2)<\/p>\n

It has always been this way through the centuries: the Constitutions have supported the faith and apostolate of us Capuchins, contributing to the bearing of so much fruit in the way of remarkable holiness. Consequently, even today we consider it vitally important to \u201clovingly devote ourselves to the personal and communal study of the Rule, the Testament and the Constitutions so that we absorb their spirit.\u201d (Const. 9:4)<\/p>\n

Having embraced the requests from the Chapter, since the beginning of our term we’ve tried to identify and ask the assistance of certain brothers who would offer us some better input on all the twelve chapters of the Constitutions. The following is a list of those who committed themselves to helping us with the chapters assigned to them:<\/p>\n