Faith in Practice

St. Francis of Assisi 

In the Gospel according to Luke, the disciples beg Jesus to bestow upon them the gift of faith so that they can work signs and wonders for God. Jesus replies, You already have faith. Now practice that faith.

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.

Unconditional Love

Jesus on the Mount of Beatitudes

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus asks us to love our enemies. The Greek text of the Gospel shows the word for love is agape. Not a romantic or emotional love, but an unconditional love, wishing our fellow human beings only good.

Jesus makes some radical demands upon us: Love your enemies; if someone slaps you on one side of the face, offer the other; give to everyone who asks.

Now how can anyone practice all the teachings of Jesus? How understand them? Who can give to everyone who asks? Are these teachings simply another example of middle eastern hyperbole or exaggeration? A few people, for example, Francis of Assisi or Dorothy Day, have tried to live these literally. For most people, they’re not very practical. So, how understand these ethical teachings?

First, you don’t have to like someone to love them. The love that Jesus asks us to have means that, no matter how someone may wrong us, we will never let bitterness close our hearts to them nor will we wish them anything but good. Agape recognizes the humanity we share with all people who call God “Father” – and that unconditional love begins within our own households, workplaces and communities.

Second, the radical ethical teachings of Jesus are linked to the mission of Jesus, who proclaims that the kingdom of God is in our midst. Yes, the kingdom is here, but not completely or fully. You and I are living in-between the historical coming of Jesus centuries ago and the final coming of Jesus in glory. We live in the tension between.

Jesus indicates the goal or thrust of our behavior, but this goal may not always be achievable. "Giving to everyone who asks" is not always possible, yet it indicates the direction of our lives: be generous with what we have -- our time, talent and treasure.

Remember that Jesus connects our love of God with our love for one another. Matthew 25 says this loudly and clearly: when I was hungry, when I was thirsty, etc. We can’t say we love God and yet neglect our needy fellow human beings. To the person who strikes you on one side of the face, Jesus says, offer the other as well. Yet sometimes we must fight against evil. We may have to take someone’s life in self-defense.

But Jesus indicates the thrust or direction of our lives, that is, we must try to be peacemakers, healers, bridge builders, reconcilers. So, these teachings of Jesus create tension between the present and final stages of the kingdom of God.

The genuine disciple of Jesus lives in this tension by seizing the many opportunities to do good today. To quote John Wesley: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” Amen.

An Instrument of Peace

Francis of Assisi receiving Stigmata

In light of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4), I would like to explore this extraordinary person of faith. Francis has been described as a lover of animals, an environmentalist, a peacemaker, a mystic, a reformer, a poet. Who really was he?

Francis, from a middle-class Italian family, went off to the wars in that region and failed miserably. Then a dream compelled him to return to Assisi. Francis began to wrestle with fundamental questions. He yearned for something greater than himself that would give purpose to his life. In silence and in prayer, he began his search for God: “Who are you, oh Lord, and who am I?”

Eventually, Francis gave up every “thing” he had. He experienced his creaturehood, his nothingness. In that experience, he found everything—an all-good and compassionate God; a God who became one of us in Jesus; a God who is alive in our midst by the power of the Spirit, especially in the sacramental life of the community of disciples we call the church.

Francis began to pursue the Gospel in a literal fashion. Eventually men and women began to gather around him, to form what we know today as the worldwide one million-plus Franciscan family.

We may wonder, does the thirteenth-century Francis have anything to say to us in the twenty-first century? I believe we can see his message in three incidents.

As Francis prayed before the crucifix in the tumbledown chapel of San Damiano, he heard the crucified Jesus tell him, “Francis, rebuild my house which you see is falling into ruins.” Francis challenges us to build up our family and community life. Holiness comes from learning to forgive and to ask for forgiveness, learning to face challenges together.

Another incident occurred as he rode one day along a road. Out stepped a man with leprosy. Francis started to ride away. But no! Francis slowly climbed down from his horse and embraced the leper. Francis saw in that leper the brokenness of human beings, lacking wholeness. We experience this, in ourselves and in other people, in many ways.

The third incident was at La Verna, a cliffside sanctuary not far from Florence, Italy. Francis was praying, and suddenly he experienced the stigmata or marks of the crucified Jesus in his hands, feet, and side. This incident captures the depth of Francis’s relationship with God: such a close friendship that God gifted him with the stigmata. Francis challenges us to deepen our relationship with God.

This planet of ours, in some ways, hasn’t changed much since the times of Francis. There are so many ways in which we can be healers, peacemakers, bridgebuilders.

Francis was able to cut through trivial questions and focus upon the essentials: our life with God and one another.

May the life of Francis inspire us to intensify our life of prayer with God, to build up one another, and to reach out with a healing hand to those whose lives have been broken.

More about the blessing of pets:
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessing-of-animals/