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St Francis of Assisi St Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226) is the patron saint of Italy, animals, birds, ecologists and merchants. He is probably one of the most well known saints and is certainly one who is greatly loved and admired. Probably on account of his life of extreme poverty and his affection for people and animals, he fired not only the imagination of the ordinary people, but also inspired the work of many artists over the years. Giotto is a case in point. He was a famous Renaissance painter, who painted the life of Francis many times, usually as frescoes decorating the walls of churches. Francis was born the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi in Umbria. Francis was a young man when he gave up his rich inheritance, choosing instead to lead a simple monastic life. He and his brown-robed friars now known as the Franciscans, were a familiar sight travelling from town to town begging for money which they used to nurse lepers and the sick and to rebuild ruined churches. Francis’ mission to rebuild the ruined churches of Northern Italy sprang from a vocational experience he had in the ruins of a church known as San Damiano. One day as he knelt before a crucifix, he heard Jesus say to him: “Go Francis and repair my house which you can see is going to ruin.” Francis took this instruction to have a literal as well as a figurative meaning. So it was that he started single-handedly to restore that church which later became the dwelling place of the Poor Clare Sisters. He paid for the materials with money that he begged from his townsmen and with the proceeds of some of his father’s cloth which he sold. This led to a prolonged conflict with his father which was only resolved when Francis dramatically renounced his inheritance and even his clothes before the bishop of Assissi. The bishop of Assisi provided him with the simple clothes in which Francis began his new life of poverty, preaching the love of Christ. Many delightful stories are told about Francis. His affinity with creation caused him to refer to the sun as ‘Brother Sun’ and the moon as ‘Sister Moon’ and his own body as ‘Brother Donkey’. In 1225 he wrote the Canticle of Creatures which is a hymn of thanksgiving to God for all creation.. He is said to have built the first Christmas crib, to have tamed a fierce wolf and to have preached so eloquently to the birds that they all gathered quietly to listen. Towards the end of his life Francis had a vision of Christ and received the marks of Jesus’ wounds, known as the stigmata, on his hands and feet. Soon after this experience he fell ill and the next year became blind. He endured agonies from primitive surgery and other medical treatment and died aged only 45 at the Portiuncula, Assisi. He was canonized in 1228, two years after his death. The 20th century has witnessed a widespread revival of interest in Francis, but also a tendency to see in him only those traits which appealed to individual writers and movie makers. This has resulted in caricatures of a sentimental nature-lover or a hippy drop out from society. When we confine our understanding of Francis to these stereotypes, we omit the real sternness of his character and we neglect to acknowledge his all pervasive love of God and his deep identification with Christ’s sufferings. These are what make sense of his life. His rejection of material possessions and security, his deep love of the by-no-means perfect church of his day, his missionary zeal, his deep devotion to the passion of Christ, whom he strove so closely to follow declaring ”naked following the naked Christ” all these are as much St Francis as the sermon to the birds and the wolf of Gubbio. During his life the Church was at best poor imitation of what Christ was calling it to be. It was dominated by corrupt clergy whose greed, lechery and self-will reversed the image of the Christ they were meant to be following. The ordinary people had become disillusioned with the practice of their faith and many people no longer recognized Christ in those who represented the Church to them. Indeed the church itself had become irrelevant as a vehicle for ministry to the needs of the poor and the marginalised. Into this context came Francis who heard God’s call, caught the vision of what Christ came to be and do and rose to the prophetic challenge of going back to basics. This involved stripping back the layers of greed, hypocrisy and self interest and as he did so, others caught the vision also and soon joined him. Together the Franciscans brought back freshness, hope, colour and life into the church and people started once again to see the features of Jesus emerge in their ministry. It is not so much what Francis did in the Church that is so important, but who he authentically was. He and his little band of followers imaged what the church and each individual Christian is called to be. We are called to live the Gospel simply radically and literally. In doing so we show the world a living moving breathing image of Jesus, which has the power to draw people to God. Francis once again proves that no amount of teaching and preaching can substitute for the witness of a life authentically lived in the spirit of Jesus Christ. For during his life the Church was challenged and experienced a profound revival because of the example his life set before them. May this be true of us today; you and me as we seek to be church in our communities, in the context of our century. So it is that I would like to share with you a Franciscan Blessing that challenges us to stand up and step out to be radical witnesses for Christ in our own context. Let us pray…. May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers and hard hearts, half truths and superficial relationships. May God bless us so that we may live from deep within our hearts where God’s Spirit dwells. May God bless us with anger at injustice and oppression and exploitation of people May God bless us so that we may work for justice and freedom and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, grief and conflict. May God bless us so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. May God bless us with enough courage to believe that we can make a difference in this world, this neighbourhood, this community. So that we will courageously try to do what we don’t think we can do and turn to Jesus Christ for all the strength necessary. May God bless us fearlessly to speak out about greed which deprives all God’s creatures from sharing with humanity in the resources of the earth: May God bless us that we remember we are all called to continue God’s redemptive work of love and healing. In God’s place, in and through God’s name In God’s Spirit continually creating And breathing new life and grace into everything and everyone we touch. Amen |
