This month a new commission I am a part of–The Commission for Affective Maturity, Order of Friars Minor–had our first meeting. It is a very international and interdisciplinary group, with five people across four continents. Needless to say, it was impossible to find a convenient time for everyone to meet (it was 6am my time!). But, time zone challenges aside, we are excited to be taking on some very important work.

The Order of Friars Minor has commissioned us to write a document on affective maturity. It will be roughly a two year process, and will result in a valuable and practical document. The final document (as we envision it at this stage) will assess socio-emotional maturity as well as provide guidance to help people further mature. I am very pleased to join the following practitioners and scholars in this endeavor:

• Br. Darko Tepert, a Franciscan and Scripture scholar from Rome (chair)
• Ms. Ann Yeong, an expert in spiritual formation from Singapore
• Br. Daniel Alejandro Fleitas Zeni, a Franciscan and psychologist from Argentina
• Br. Alessandro Ciamei, a Franciscan and therapist from Rome

It is still early in our project, but in our multilingual and multicultural context, we are generating some good ideas… even at 6am!