October 4 is the feast day of St.
Francis of Assisi (Italy )
who died on the eve of this day in 1226.
After statues of the Lord Jesus Christ himself and his blessed mother,
Mary, statues of St. Francis are the most common in the western world, often
adorning gardens and lawns. These
outdoor statues reflect his great love of the environment, his teaching of
respect and love for all of God’s creatures, and his care for the natural
world. Outdoor statues often show him
with birds all around him.
But Francis was
first and foremost a serious disciple of Jesus Christ. He did not start out life that way. He was born into a wealthy family and spent
his early years living the rather extravagant and high-spirited life of a rich
young man. He sought to gain glory as a
soldier and even fought in several battles.
But then the gospel of Jesus Christ began to take hold of him,
especially during times of illness and his year as a prisoner of war. He abandoned his wanton ways to embrace a life
of poverty, prayer, service, and peace-making.
The simple rule he strived to live by was “to follow the teachings of
Our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps.” His father was not happy and tried several ways
to persuade Francis to return to the world of commerce and wealth. Finally, in a dramatic scene, Francis
renounced all his wealth and even took off the clothes his father had provided
for him and walked away.
Service to the
poor, cheerful obedience, care for animals and the environment, and reform of
the church are all part of his legacy along with an earnest desire for
peace. Jesus Christ himself had said,
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew
5:9), and Francis desired above all else to be a true child of God. And so this former soldier who fought mainly
for the personal glory gained in battle became a man of peace who sought
nothing for himself except to be a child of God.
His world, much
like our world, was engaged in a great battle with Islam both ideologically and
in ongoing wars. In 1219 Francis
traveled to Egypt
to preach to the Sultan of Egypt and bring an end to the Fourth Crusade, but it
was all in vain. The Sultan remained a
Moslem, and European Christians continue to try to conquer the Holy
Land by force. Yet his
willingness to involve himself in the greatest conflict of his day and his
idealism are admirable. He knew that
“all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52)
He was more
successful in preaching about inner peace through faith in Jesus Christ and
service in His name. From the days he
rebuilt the church in Assisi to
this very day there are those who find their way to peace with God through the
teaching and example of Francis. His
mission is elegantly summed up in a prayer that is attributed to St. Francis
which would be a great prayer to pray on Saturday.
“Lord, make me
an instrument of your peace. Where there
is hatred let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is
discord, harmony; where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness joy. 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; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen and Amen.
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