Animals and nature! These are the things that come to mind when we hear about St. Francis of Assisi. Yet, his upbringing was very different. Like St. Thomas Aquinas, Francis was born to a wealthy family in Italy in 1181. He was a handsome young man who had expensive tastes and liked to party. One day he saw a beggar in the streets and he was moved with pity, so he sold his expensive belongings to help the man. For that, he was mocked by his friends and publicly confronted by his father. This began to disillusion Francis to the life he was living, yet he still continued living as he was! Francis then went on a military expedition in search of glory on the battlefield, but was shipwrecked and held captive. Surely that would have changed his life, but it did not! Francis came back and continued to live a very comfortable life. He would go on another military campaign, but this time he chose to return home following a vision he had.
Changed by that experience, He no longer attended lavish parties and instead chose to beg with the poor in Rome during a pilgrimage. Francis not only gave alms, but even hugged a leper there as well! It was said that Francis was filled with an indescribable joy during that encounter. Inspired by this and his love of God’s creation, He would later go on to start the Franciscan Order “to follow the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and walk in his footsteps." Francis not only emphasized external poverty for his order, but he preached self-denial.
There are many stories about Francis and his adventures including his role in: restoring a church at San Damiano, converting St. Claire, evangelizing to the Muslim Sultan during the Crusades, protecting a village from a wolf, and creating the first nativity scene. It is clear from his life that Francis had a great love for God’s creation, but he had an even greater love for God. One day, after fasting for 40 days to celebrate the Feast of Mary's Assumption, he asked God how to best know Him. It was then that he had a glorious vision and received the stigmata (the five wounds of Jesus). Interestingly enough, no one knew he had it until one of his Franciscan brothers announced it to the Order following his death.
You don’t have to renounce all your possessions like Francis did to become a saint, but here are three things you can take away from the life he lived:
We are practicing Catholics. St. Francis was given at least two opportunities to turn his life around, but he chose not to. Rather his conversion was a slow and gradual process. It is the same way when we wrestle with sin in our life. God gives us the Sacraments to prepare and nourish us on our spiritual journey. Like Jesus showed us in His Passion, if we fall, we can get back up again. However, this time we have an all-loving God willing to help us up.
Don’t count the cost. It would generally be considered a bad idea to go up to an enemy general and try to evangelize to him, but that was what St. Francis did with Sultan Al-Kamil. The Sultan was so impressed by him that he allowed St. Francis to go freely around the Holy Land. There are times when we make excuses or calculate the cost-benefit of doing a good deed that would inconvenience us. St. Francis cared so much for the souls of the opposing Muslim army and its leaders that he was knowingly risking his life to do so. In the long term, his actions lead to the Franciscans being allowed to stay in the Holy Land and oversee the Catholic Churches there. God calls us to do what is good and He will handle the rest.
Love is sacrificial. When St. Francis received the stigmata, he had to endure a lot of pain. Yet, he was able to do so well enough that not many people noticed. That is not to say that we should hide our worries and problems, but it is to say that we can use our suffering to grow closer and rely on God. St. Francis still lived in poverty and served the marginalized while he still had the stigmata because of his great love for them. St. Francis had an unconditional love for others because he started with the little things and developed good habits.
One of the most famous prayers by St. Francis is his prayer of peace. IF you find that you are stressed out with school or life in general here is a good prayer to look to:
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
And where there is sadness, joy…
For it is in giving that we receive
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life
Amen
Be awesome and blossom 🌱
By: anh Daniel
Comments