Word to the Wise
Thursday, October 4, 2007 - St. Francis of Assisi
[Nehemiah 8:1-4 and ]THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2007 ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI [Nehemiah 8:1-4A, 5-6, 7B-12 and Luke 10:1-12. Since St. Francis of Assisi is a significant figure to Franciscans and Dominicans the readings will probably vary in Franciscan and Dominican locations.] Go on your way; behold,I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals...... It would be difficult to find any other saint in the church calendar better known than Francis of Assisi! Even those who may not have any religious faith at all find in him a symbol of peace and freedom from material worry. Environmentalists love his reputation for respect for all living things. People love to put statues of him in their gardens. Parishes bless pets at this time. (Peace is not always possible at those events!) A visit to Assisi in Italy involves three huge churches filled with murals and frescoes of incidents from his life! He becomes bigger than life! Two different popes have convened inter-religious prayer meetings in Assisi to capture the spirit of the place. The little house where he died sits in the middle of one of the huge churches! It was quite an experience for me to visit there in 1988, before the earthquake that damaged some of the murals. The Franciscan charism is built around a radical renunciation of material goods and wealth. "Lady Poverty" is one of their figures. The first Franciscan rule was little more than a series of statements taken from the gospel of Matthew (I think), particularly the Sermon on the Mount. The movie, BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON rather dramatically portrays the renunciation by Francis of his inheritance in front of the bishop and family and a crowd. He takes off his clothes and walks away naked! (Do not try this today with your local bishop!) The complete dependence on divine providence for one's food, clothing and shelter has a tremendously evangelical appeal. No wonder St. Francis is supposed to have said: "Preach always. If necessary, use words!" The lifestyle was supposed to be the primary preaching. (For Dominicans, lifestyle is supposed to reflect the preaching and not so much to BE the preaching.) Since Francis was not particularly detailed in the way his example was to be carried on by later generations, there are quite a few different groups of Franciscan friars and not even God knows how many congregations of Franciscan women. They all point to this poor and holy man as their hero. We Dominicans call them our "cousins" On this feast of St. Francis of Assisi, we can all pray for a greater imitation of the spirit of this man of peace! AMEN
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