26th Week, Saturday; Oct 4; Saint Francis of Assisi
The prophet exhorts the people, "Turn back to God!"
Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29
Louis Evely makes an arresting observation in the book In His Presence. He says the worst evil is not just doing evil. Rather it's doing evil and excusing ourselves or rationalizing our act to stay virtuous. He writes:
"Commit straightforward, clean-cut and undeniable sins of which you will later be able to repent with the same sincerity you used in committing them.... If you are weak enough to sin, do not be too proud to recognize the fact. "
The prophet makes the same point in today's reading when he says, "As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him."
***
How honest are we about our own sinfulness? "If we say, 'We are without sin,' we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8
***
Saint Francis of Assisi
Feast Day October 4
We speak much today of poverty and or returning to the true values of the Gospel. What St. Francis of Assisi (1181?82-1226) undertook in the 13th century might very well inspire our times. Today’s society threatens to destroy itself in many parts of the world by its own philosophy and prosperity; even in developing countries, artificial needs are forced on people, to the loss of the deeper values of God and people. What we need is not only talk about poverty and evangelical living, but responsible Christian living according to the values of the Gospel.
***
The popular image of St. Francis of Assisi is warped with romantic notions. Many see him as a sweet simpleton who picked flowers and talked with animals. Francis was gentle and loved God’s creation, but he was not naive. Just the opposite. As a youth he went to war eagerly, patiently endured imprisonment and illnesses, embraced Lady Poverty as his bride, and gave up everything to follow Christ. The real St. Francis of Assisi was a courageous spiritual warrior.
Francis’s vocation cost him dearly. Decision by decision he stripped himself of attachments so as to be more like Jesus. Once en route to a war in southern Italy, Francis heard a divine voice invite him to stop serving the servant and dedicate himself to the master. He responded by committing himself to live for God alone. In his early twenties, Francis decided to become like the poor he met in Assisi’s back streets and took “Lady Poverty” as his bride. Then one day when Francis was praying in the dilapidated church of St. Damian, he heard a voice from the crucifix say, “Go and repair my church.” At first Francis literally worked to fix the building, but later understood that his real call was to renew people spiritually. From that day Francis devoted himself to Christ crucified. Francis’s father took him to the bishop’s court, demanding that his son repay the money he had used to repair St. Damian’s church building. The saint submitted but then stripped naked, returning his clothes to his father as a sign that he forsook his family and his inheritance.
Then Francis began his itinerant ministry in central Italy, attracting young followers as he went. Once in 1209 at Mass he heard the gospel about Jesus sending his disciples to preach, to heal, and to do spiritual warfare. He took it literally as a life pattern for him and his band of men (see Matthew 10:7–10). In 1210, Francis got formal approval for his community of Friars Minor from Pope Innocent III, and by 1221 he had hundreds of brothers and had established friaries all over Europe. In 1224 at his retreat on Mount Alvernia, Francis had a vision of a seraph, a great angel, nailed to a cross. As he watched, Francis himself received the stigmata. Replicas of the Savior’s wounds appeared in his hands and side, acknowledging the saint’s intimacy with Christ. The movement Francis launched has reverberated through the centuries, touching millions of souls. He died in 1226.
***
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, it is a pleasure for us to celebrate today your gentle and loveable saint, Francis of Assisi. Let us go through life like him one with you, one with nature, one with all that is good and kind-hearted. Make us humble and peaceful like him. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
