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| St. Francis of Assisi |
Yes, with faith in God, we can work wonders by becoming the generous hands, compassionate eyes, hopeful voices, and dedicated feet of Jesus to the people who touch our lives every day.
Consider an extraordinary person of faith whose feast day we celebrated October 4: Francis of Assisi. Francis has been portrayed as a lover of animals, an environmentalist, a flower-child (ala the movie Brother Sun Sister Moon), a peacemaker, a mystic, a reformer, a poet. But who really was he?
“Francesco” came from a comfortable middle-class family in central Italy. He went off to fight in wars in that region; and failed miserably. Then, back in Assisi, yearning for meaning in his life, gradually, in silence and in prayer, he searched for God.
Eventually Francis gave up “his things,” so to speak. He experienced his absolute dependency upon God, and in that, he found everything: an all good Creator God who became flesh in Jesus and is gloriously alive in our midst by the power of the Spirit.
Francis began to pursue the Gospel way of life in a literal way, living simply, rebuilding a chapel, attending the sick. Eventually, men and women began to gather around him as religious and lay men and women, to live what became known as the Franciscan way of life.
Eight hundred years later, does Francis have anything to say to us? Of course! In addition to his writings like his Canticle of Sun, and his letters, we can find inspiration in experiences from his life.
One day, Francis was praying and suddenly he experienced the marks of the crucified Jesus in his hands, feet and side. This captures for me the depth of Francis’s relationship with God; God gifted him with the stigmata. Francis challenges us always to be in relationship with God, especially through the sacraments.
Another, earlier incident occurred as he prayed before the crucifix in the tumbledown chapel of San Damiano, outside the city walls of Assisi. Francis heard Jesus whisper from the crucifix: “Francis, rebuild my house which you see is falling into ruins.” Francis at San Damiano challenges us to build up our households, our parish community and beyond.
And a third experience: as Francis rode on horseback one day, a man with leprosy appeared. Francis started to ride away. But no! He slowly dismounted and embraced the leper. Like Francis, we may want to avoid distressing situations. Francis’s embrace challenges us as well.
Francis transcended trivia and focused on essentials: our relationship with God and one another, and our positive, pro-active response to the “brokenness” in our fellow human beings and in ourselves.
May Saint Francis inspire us to intensify our prayer life, to build up our family and to reach out with helping hands.
