The Place of Music in a Franciscan Vocation and Apostolate

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THE PLACE OF MUSIC IN A FRANCISCAN VOCATION AND APO STOLATE In the Rule of the Friars Minor we read, that when the brethren are blessed by the Lord with ability in some form of work, they should do their work faithfully and out of a sense of dedication. By so doing they will avoid dangerous idleness and at the same time will preserve the spirit of prayer and devotion.1 In the early days of the Order this chapter of the Rule had reference to manual labor, even outside the convent. But gradually the work of the brethren was done within the convent rather than outside, and the care of souls became the chief work of the friars, manual labor being assigned almost exclusively to laics.2 For Francis and the early friars, all work took on an apostolic aspect and purpose, and with the gradual formation of the Order came the gradual division of labor. In our times the division of labor, ordinarily a sign of high civilization,3 has become more extensively specialized both in society as such and within the structure of the Church, to which Francis bound his followers in an explicit manner, by insisting on devotedness to the Holy See. The apostolate of the Order is therefore not a simple but rather a diversified thing, whether we analyse a cross section of the work we are presently engaged in, or whether we take the perspective of history into consideration. Since we live in a complex society, which by our apostolate we hope to infuse with the message of Christ, our entire approach to that society must in a real sense be complex , even though we retain an evangelical simplicity. As Franciscans, we will be able to contact certain strata of society, only if we can approach it on its own terms, i. e., if we have equipped ourselves with the specialized training, that will make the message of the Gospel —¦ in teaching and 1 The Marrow of the Gospel (A study of the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi by the Franciscans of Germany) trans, and ed. of Werkbuch zur Regel des Heiligen Franziskus (Werl, Westfalen, 1955) by Ignatius Brady O.F.M. (Chicago, Franciscan Herold Press, 1958) p. 145. Father uses the newer translation 'ability in some form of work' rather than the older version 'the grace of working.' 2 Ibid., p. 56. 3 Sachs, Curt, The Rise of Music in the Ancient World East and West (New York, Norton, 1943) p. 57—70, High Civilization and Music. 150 Music in Franciscan Vocation and Apostolate151 example — even more readily acceptable. Providence has already equipped us with varying gifts, no one having been left out, and no one being in any sense unimportant. The task of the Order and the individual is to discover how these many and varied gifts can best be employed, and then to employ them by dint of hard work and the grace of God. There is a missionary task and an honored place for everyone. In our times, the apostolate of education (which needs no special defense) has become increasingly important, though it is by no means the first time in our history that education has been the arena of apostolic work. The recent criticisms of American Catholic education — which can also apply to Franciscan education — are an indication that we have reached a certain point of maturity: that we realize we can no longer profer the Catholic message to the human race with anything less than first rate scholarship and institutions.4 God, the message of the Gospel and of Franciscanism are all first rate. But we have the duty of measuring up to the ideals we profess and the salvation we profer, by being spiritually minded and motivated, but holding in suspicion any spirituality of the apostolate which caters to an oversimplified view of the work to be done; by being Christocentric in our endeavors without falling into the easy snare of a type of quietism or obscurantism. In an age when only deep, honest and painstaking scholarship and teaching count in education, when one can qualify as an "authority" only after many years of consistent publication...