“BACK TO THE FUTURE”

A REVIEW OF THE “FOR UP TO NOW” (F.U.N.) MANUAL

BY

KATHY TAORMINA, SFO

QUEEN OF PEACE REGIONAL FORMATION DIRECTOR

The “new” Initial Formation Manual, produced by the SFO National Formation Commission, is an in-depth, hands-on manual to be used in the Initial Formation Stage of the SFO Formation journey.  It is full of the “Foundational Topics” which we, as SFO, need to know, understand and incorporate in our every day lives BEFORE we are professed.

The reason that I called this article “Back to the Future” is because that is what I see and read as I peruse the F.U.N. Manual.  We are going back---back to the fundamentals of St. Francis and St. Clare, back to the early Franciscans such as Celano and Bonaventure.  We are re-capturing the true Franciscan Charism that was born and nurtured in those early years, and bringing it to the Franciscans of today to carry onward into the future.

We have learned through the years the true way to learning and incorporation into one’s being of a Franciscan Way of Life is a three-pronged approach to Formation.  First we must encounter and share with the HUMAN person in Formation. Next we meet and incorporate the CATHOLIC entity of the person in Formation. Then, we share and live the FRANCISCAN spirit with the person in Formation.  This trinity of learning, HUMAN, CATHOLIC and FRANCISCAN, is the journey we all must travel to discern, choose, and then live out our Franciscan Way of Life daily.

In the Orientation phase of Initial Formation, we will read and learn about Basic Catholic Doctrine, the Ecclesiology of the Laity, and have an Introduction to the Franciscan Family.  In the Inquiry phase we will cover the topics of the SFO Vocation, Identity and Nature.  Also covered are the Charism, Mission and Movement of the SFO.  In the Candidacy phase we gain knowledge of the SFO Rule, JPIC and Catholic Social Teaching.  We will cover Franciscan Theology, Tradition and Spirituality along with Penance, Conversion, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Clare and our SFO History.  The Manual has 2 sessions on Profession.
The Manual is not complete however!  Chapters will be added as they are written to make the Manual more comprehensive and user-friendly.  The F.U.N. Manual comes already 3-hole punched to slip into your own binder.  In this way, you can add your own observations and notes to each chapter.

A CD accompanies the F.U.N. Manual which includes the full manual, all the color pages for copying, all the power points for teaching and much more all ELECTRONICALLY, so you can share these pages with your Fraternity and those shut-ins or otherwise unable to attend the class.

This F.U.N. Manual will take our Secular Franciscan Order into the future with the finest trained Formation Directors and the best prepared Candidates for Profession into the most knowledgeable Fraternities! Keep in mind though, that the Manual is only a resource, it is you and I who will take this resource and share it and its bountiful knowledge with those in Initial Formation, those in On-Going Formation, and ultimately the world.

I can’t wait to share the F.U.N. Manual with the Queen of Peace Region on September 24, 2011.  Come and learn, come and share, come and be inspired!  “Let us begin for up to now we have done nothing.” ~ St. Francis