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A
particular charisma for our Father’s project
The very name of the association indicates that its own charisma is the Franciscan one of being lesser brothers for each person, with a particular reference to Africa.
As a starting point, the Holy Spirit grants each member of this association, quite similar to St. Francis of Assisi, to contemplate in a particular fashion Jesus, the Son of the Father, by the act of denying and humbling himself for us.
As Jesus, out of love and humility, made himself our brother and servant, so they, out of love and humility, aim at living as lesser brothers and sisters of all people, particularly the least and the last, who more reflect in themselves the suffering face of the Son of Man.
? For centuries now Africa has been the symbol of the oppression of man on man, something to be ashamed of, and this remains impressed in the psychology of human kind.
The cry of the poor not listened by the rich of the world, is listened by God also through the sending of little brothers and sisters to cure the spiritual and material sores of everyone, proposing to him an itinerary toward the freedom of the children of
God.
Solidarity: the new name of the peace.
The unquestionable truth that all human persons are brothers and sisters brings forth the logical consequence that we must live as such, without resign ourselves to unacceptable diversity in ways of life.
In a world of injustices it is a must to partake with the least, in the footsteps of Jesus, the Son of God who became poor for the sake of all of us, but especially for them.
As to the Little Brothers and Sisters of Africa, this solidarity does not mean only to want to help the poor, but to share as much as possible in their pains and hopes.
It is this vocation of radical living, being close to the poor, that marks more their effective poverty in food, clothing, environment, use of means of communication and everything else.
To make Africans free through Africans does entail a profound enculturation of the Gospel message and of the consecrated life, rooted in chastity, poverty and obedience, and makes them fully understandable and effective in today’s
reality.
The
fundamentals
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CHASTITY.
The strength of love which gushes forth from a clean heart, always ready to donate itself and to serve everybody, never enslaved to selfishness of the passions, a target to point to with full conviction to bring forth more
fruit.
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POVERTY.
The inner liberty, which stems from the radical choice of eternal goods, from abandoning themselves into the hands of God, from sharing everything with the least and the last, who have less than the basic necessities of life.
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OBEDIENCE.
The deepest attitude of the Son of God, capable of annulling all his own wishes, to recognize and implement up to the end the loving plan of the Father on behalf of all the
brothers.
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