Minister General

Minister General Tibor Kauser, OFS

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Minister General’s 2025 Message for Lent

Prot. n. 3800

Rome, March 5th , 2025
Ash Wednesday

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Lent has begun today, on Ash Wednesday. We have entered in a 40 days period of time of preparation. This is a beautiful period of the (liturgical) year, which prepares us for the greatest feast ever: the Easter, the feast of our salvation.

What was the season of Lent for Saint Francis? He gave a special importance to the Lent in his life, as we can read in his biographies. He celebrated Lent not only before Easter (cf. Fioretti VII), but he also had a special period of Lent in preparation for other feasts. The best known is his preparation for the feast of St. Michael. For these days he always withdrew and went to a special place.

We often hear words, sentences about the Lent in a negative context: what should not be done, what is not permitted, what has to be given up. Sometimes we have this same way of thinking, too. We often use such words like ‘give up’, ‘retain’ or ‘abandon’. We often focus on things we should not do instead of what we should do, or what we should do better or more.

Our life is a life of penitence, but this does not mean that it should be a sad life. Let us discover, why is this really a part of the Feast, because the preparation already belongs to it. Saint Francis did live his life in penitence, but he had a joyful life, because he always rejoiced inside, in spite of the hardships he had to experience in his body and around him among the brothers. Lent is not a sad season of the year. It is a preparation; it is a time of possibilities. Penitence is a way to turn to God, a way to seek his will and to live accordingly. This period of the year gives us the opportunity, that like Saint Francis, we examine ourselves, both individually and also in the fraternities. Do I live, do we live according to God’s plan? What is God’s plan with me, with us? Do I live, do we live accordingly?

In the penitential part of the Holy Mass, we pray at least every Sunday: “I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts, in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do”. I invite all of you: let us think about these four things, and contemplate on them, examining ourselves.

Let us examine ourselves in the fraternities, reconciling with each other as well, thinking about the consequences of our thoughts, words, actions in the life of the fraternity. What are those thoughts of us that most offend God and each other? What are the words we say that most destroy the spirit of the fraternity by hurting God and one another? What do we do against God and against each other? What are our omissions, what do we not do but should be done to build the fraternity, to build the Kingdom of God? I invite you to dedicate some time both individually and together to these four important things to be contemplated, thus stepping onto the road of reconciliation with God and with one another.

Let us dedicate some time to these questions: not only as a preparation for the next confession, but let us dedicate some hours or even some days, or some meetings of the fraternity – we have 40 days for this – to find the roots: how and why do I act against the will of God, in my thoughts, in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do? I invite you to turn the Lent into a period of time when through reconciliation and penance we can rebuild ourselves and we can rebuild our fraternities, thus doing our part also in rebuilding the Church.

May God give us a lot of joy, deep thoughts, clear considerations, so that we can find God’s plan in our life and thus we can arrive to Easter in a renewed spirit. May Saint Francis, Saint Elisabeth of Hungary and Saint Louis of France help us on this road!

With heartfelt fraternal greetings,
your brother and your minister

Tibor Kauser
CIOFS General Minister

Prot. n. 3800

Roma, 5 de marzo 2025
Miércoles de Ceniza

Queridos hermanos y hermanas:

Hoy, Miércoles de Ceniza, ha comenzado la Cuaresma. Hemos entrado en un período de

cuarenta días de preparación. Se trata de un período hermoso del año (litúrgico), que nosprepara para la fiesta más grande de todos los tiempos: la Pascua, la fiesta de nuestra salvación.

¿Cuál era el tiempo de Cuaresma para San Francisco? Él daba una importancia especial a la Cuaresma en su vida, como podemos leer en sus biografías. Celebraba la Cuaresma no sólo antes de Pascua (cf. Fioretti VII), sino que también tenía un período especial de Cuaresma en preparación para otras fiestas. La más conocida es la preparación para la fiesta de San Miguel. Para estos días siempre se retiraba y se dirigía a un lugar especial.

A menudo escuchamos palabras y frases sobre la Cuaresma en un contexto negativo: lo que no se debe hacer, lo que no está permitido, lo que se debe abandonar. A veces también nosotros tenemos esta misma forma de pensar. A menudo usamos palabras como “renunciar”, “retener” o “abandonar”. A menudo nos centramos en las cosas que no debemos hacer en lugar de en las que debemos hacer o en las que deberíamos hacer mejor o más.

Nuestra vida es una vida de penitencia, pero esto no significa que deba ser una vida triste. Descubramos, por qué esto es realmente parte de la Fiesta, porque la preparación ya forma parte de ella. San Francisco vivió su vida en penitencia, pero tuvo una vida alegre, porque siempre estaba alegre interiormente, a pesar de las dificultades que tuvo que experimentar en su cuerpo y a su alrededor entre los hermanos. La Cuaresma no es un tiempo triste del año. Es una preparación; es un tiempo de posibilidades. La penitencia es un modo de dirigirse a Dios, un modo de buscar su voluntad y vivir en consecuencia. Este período del año nos da la oportunidad de que, como San Francisco, nos examinemos a nosotros mismos, tanto individualmente como también en las fraternidades. ¿Vivo, vivimos según el plan de Dios? ¿Cuál es el plan de Dios conmigo, con nosotros? ¿Vivo, vivimos según?

En la parte penitencial de la Santa Misa, al menos cada domingo, rezamos: «He pecadomucho de pensamiento, palabra, obra y omisión». Os invito a todos: pensemos en estascuatro cosas, contemplándolas, examinándonos a nosotros mismos.

Examinémonos en las fraternidades, reconciliándonos también unos con otros, pensando en las consecuencias de nuestros pensamientos, palabras, obras en la vida de la fraternidad. ¿Cuáles son esos pensamientos de nosotros que más ofenden a Dios y a los demás? ¿Cuáles son las palabras que decimos y que más destruyen el espíritu de la fraternidad, hiriendo a Dios y a los demás? ¿Cuáles son las obras contra Dios y los unos contra los otros? ¿Cuáles son nuestras omisiones, qué no hacemos, pero deberíamos hacer para construir la fraternidad, para construir el Reino de Dios? Os invito a dedicar un tiempo, tanto individualmente como en grupo, a estas cuatro cosas importantes para ser contempladas, entrando así en el camino de la reconciliación con Dios y con los demás.

Dediquemos un tiempo a estas preguntas: no sólo como preparación para la próximaconfesión, sino dediquemos algunas horas o incluso algunos días, o algunos encuentros de fraternidad –tenemos 40 días para esto– para encontrar las raíces: ¿cómo y por qué actúo contra la voluntad de Dios, en mis pensamientos, en mis palabras, en lo que he hecho y en lo que he dejado de hacer? Os invito a convertir la Cuaresma en un tiempo en el que a través de la reconciliación y la penitencia podamos reconstruirnos a nosotros mismos y podamos reconstruir nuestras fraternidades, haciendo así nuestra parte también en la reconstrucción de la Iglesia.

Que Dios nos conceda mucha alegría, pensamientos profundos, reflexiones claras, para que podamos descubrir el proyecto de Dios en nuestra vida y así podamos llegar a la Pascua con un espíritu renovado. ¡Que San Francisco, Santa Isabel de Hungría y San Luis de Francia nos ayuden en este camino!

Con cordiales saludos fraternales,
vuestro hermano y vuestro ministro

Tibor Kauser
CIOFS General Minister

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Minister General’s 2024 Christmas Message

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Carta Navidad 2024

ES.11.17.09.30-Mensaje

Prot. n. 3778 Rome, December 20th 2024

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

may the Lord give you his peace!

We are arriving to the end of this year, and I give thanks to God for the many graces and treasures that we have received during these twelve months, and I invite you all to join me in prayer for those who, looking back to the year, have to remember more suffering and sadness. Both joys and difficulties form part of our life and let us strengthen our international fraternity also by remembering these things together.

The second year of the Franciscan Centenaries was dedicated to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the stigmata of St Francis. Every fraternity, who could celebrate it, knows more about the encounter of St. Francis with Christ and may understand better, how can the wounds be understood as the gifts of God.

I give thanks to every great fraternal experience, national elective chapters, fraternal and pastoral visits. These important moments have renewed the life of the particular fraternities, and I offer my special prayer for those who have ended or have begun their services this year, thus arriving to a turning point in their life.

We have celebrated the General Chapter in November. Living the experience of the great international fraternity has made all of us understand in a deeper way: God is love, and we are being loved every year, every month, every day, every moment. This General Chapter has brought us closer to the love of God, and closer to the love of each other. The follow-up work of the General Chapter is still going on, finalizing the concluding document and starting to set into practice the priorities determined by the Chapter. Attached to this letter you can find the final message of the General Chapter, which is announcing the good news: God is love and we have to forward this love to everyone. I ask you to share this message with every fraternity and with every brother and sister of the OFS.

I want to remember those, too, who have suffered a lot during this year: our brothers and sisters, who had to experience the terror of war, the damages caused by natural disasters, the losses in their personal life, or had to go through serious health problems. Let us ask God to give better times for the future, and strengthen all of us to be more and more able to learn from these hard times, never forgetting that God loves us and is close to us in the hardest moments, too.

May Christmas bring you the joy and the peace of the heart! May God continue blessing all of you during the coming new year! I send you all my most heartfelt greetings, wishing you all

peace and good!

Your brother and your minister

Tibor Kauser
CIOFS General Minister

Tibor Kauser
Ministro General OFS

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Minister General’s 2024 Easter Message

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