I have been reading about Saint Francis of Assisi lately and I must say that something about the humble saint has really struck a chord deep within me. I never knew much about the little man from Assisi, a man who preaches to birds and kisses lepers, except that he was fond of animals. I think that is how most people know him: the lover of animals. That is a real shame, I think, because there was so much more to him. I never knew what a treasure we have in Saint Francis. I’ll lay out just a few of those.
Saint Francis’ commitment to follow Christ was, by our standards, extreme. He went from being the son of a wealthy merchant to not knowing, or even worrying about, where he would get his next meal. He took Jesus’ call to poverty very seriously. And there are too many examples which show just how commited he was to following Christ. He would beg for food going door to door and even if he was given something, he would only accept scraps. He also did the most vile thing imaginable in that time: he consorted with lepers. He traded in his expensive clothes for a simple brown habit tied with a rope around his waist.
Francis was also a peacemaker, which for that time was very odd. The Church was at war with the Muslims. And what did Francis do? He mounted a missionary expedition to the front lines of the fighting where he managed to gain entrance to the palace of the Sultan of Egypt, Melek-el-Kamil, and preach the Gospel to the Sultan. This, you understand, was so counter to the typical attitude of Christians. Christians during that time period did not even think it was a sin to kill Muslims, and here was Francis, with no sword, no spear, no horse, preaching the Gospel to the enemy in order to save them.
Francis knew something that we still can’t figure out: every single thing in existence is created by God. We are all related. True, the Church offers salvation, but we shouldn’t horde it for ourselves. Francis understood that the only way to serve God is to love all of His creation. We should reach out in love and try to bring our brothers and sisters into the fold of the Lord. It is amazing to me that Francis attracted so many people without sacrificing any of his beliefs. How often do we sacrifice our beliefs in order to be accepted? Francis only cared about the things of God.
There is too much information about Saint Francis to put into one blog. I just wanted to point out some of the characteristics of this great Saint. To have his focus on the Lord would be a blessing indeed. Saint Francis teaches us not to let worldly things interfere with our love of God. But how often do they interfere? Too often, that much is certain. Francis saw the world so differently than we do. He saw that nothing was his, or mine, or yours. Everything belongs to God. That realization made it possible, and I dare say necessary, for him to become detached from material things so that he could focus only on God.
Saint Francis’ Prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
Amen.