DOMUS PACIS, ASSISI - Readers of this daily briefing will recall back to week one of the General Chapter that Chapter delegates expressed a deep desire for this once-every-six-year gathering of the global leadership of the Order should be a profound moment in the life of our fraternity. It should be a moment when the leaders of our Franciscan communities have something to say the the rest of the friars throughout the world, and to the world at large.

During the first week of the Chapter, looking ahead, some of the quotes of the Chapter delegates about their hopes for this time together were: 

• "We need to speak about w hat the prophetic choices of this body will be. We need to create a document that has flesh instead of one that merely has paper. This needs to be something that can serve as a stimulus for all the brothers of our Order."
• "We want to give a prophetic sign to the world."
• "We have the Gospels, our Rule and the Constitutions. We don't need more documents. 
  What we need is a    radical revisioning of our life and ministry.
  "

In the intervening weeks, the Chapter has had input from a variety of sources, both from within the friars, from other religious, from lay people and from Pope Francis himself. They have spent time in language groups and in Commissions discussing the various aspects of our way of life and of the challenges that we are currently facing as we look toward the future. 

As we look at this week ahead, the final week of this General Chapter, the overall theme of the week will be this question of the message of this group of Franciscan leadership, at this place and this moment in our history. What will they have to say? Let's look at how the week will unfold (as always, this schedule is subject to change):

Monday, June 1:

• Morning Session will begin with the various Commissions reporting on their work in Plenary Session. These groups will likely be bringing their various proposals for Chapter mandates, statutory changes or new regulations to the Chapter floor for the first time. No votation will take place at this time, but it will be a first hearing by the larger group of what type of initiatives are coming to the surface. The Commissions will take the large group feedback back into their Commission group, which will likely occupy the rest of the day.
• Evening: The Chapter has been invited once again to the Proto-Convento at the Portiuncula for dinner and for a concert that will feature various artists, mostly if not completely friars, including the well-known singing Friar Allesandro.