Today is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. If I was with the Sisters we would be celebrating his feast day! I cannot wait to be with the Sisters next year to celebrate it with them. St. Francis of Assisi is a beloved saint and probably one of the most well known saints. But most people do not know too much about him. Many know that he is the patron saint of animals and pets or he is the "first hippie" but there is so much more behind this amazing man of God.
St. Francis was born in 1181 or 1182. He was born to a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, Italy. Young Francis was a man of the world. He wanted everything that the world could offer him and much more. He was what you would call a party animal. St. Francis also wanted to be knight! So he went off to fight in Perguia and was defeated in that battle and taken prisoner. He was held for a year before he was ransomed by his father. After being nursed back to health, he went off to battle again because of his desire to be a knight.
His father bought him expensive armor and clothes. On his first night of his journey he had a dream to return to Assisi. He followed the promptings and returned home to much taunting. He gave his armor to a poor solider who was not as lucky to have good armor on his way home. Francis returned to his past life but the Lord had been working on him. Francis no longer felt the same joy he did prior to his dream. Francis began to pray more and was forced to wait upon the Lord to show him His will. The Lord's grace was overwhelming his soul and was being filled with pure joy!
On a ride through the country side, Francis saw a leper. He would have been typically very turned off by the leper but instead he embraced the leper and kissed his hands. He was instantly filled with joy! As he got on his horse and road away and looked back the leper had disappeared. The Lord had put him to the test and St. Francis passed the test.
The Lord led him to a little run down country church, San Damiano. While he was there the crucifix spoke to him saying "Francis, repair my church." Francis believed the Lord was asking him to rebuild San Damiano, the crumbling church he was sitting in. Francis responded quickly and impulsively. He went and took all the fabric from his father's business and sold them to raise money to help rebuild the church. Once is father found out he took his son in front of the bishop and accused his son of theft. The bishop told him to return the money and that the Lord will provide. With that Francis stripped everything off and said "Pietro Bernardone is no longer my father. From now on I can say with complete freedom, 'Our Father who art in heaven.'" Francis was a free man. He took the brown rough habit of a beggar and retreated from the city back to San Damiano.
Francis began begging for stones to rebuild the church. As he went out and begged and preached, men began to join him because they desired his radical lifestyle. Francis quickly recognized that he needed a direction for his little community. He opened the Bible to three places, the story of the rich young man, Jesus telling his apostles to take nothing on their journey, and finally take up your cross daily. He told his companions that this would be their rule. His Rule was straight from the Gospel.
St. Clare of Assisi asked to join the friars but Francis told her no because the life was too hard for her. Eventually he prepared a place for her and she ran away from her family and joined the friars as a nun. Soon many young women came to join her and the Order of the Poor Clares was started.
Men began to go out and preach the Gospel to others. People at first were terrified of the beggars in rags. But people were drawn to them because they were so joyful and this joy comes only from the Lord. Francis had to go and ask the pope for permission to continue their community. The pope sent him away at first because of his appearance but had a dream that told him to go and listen to this poor beggar. The pope granted him permission to continue his community.
Francis also traveled to Syria to convert the Muslims. He knew that there was a good chance that he would be martyred but he survived and preached the Gospel to the sultan. The sultan told Francis that he would convert but it would cost both of them their lives.
Many people know St. Francis as a nature lover and a friend to all creatures. One of the stories that is often told about St. Francis was that he preached to the birds and they remained still and listening until he dismissed them. Another story about Francis says that a wolf was terrorizing a village and killing it's residents. St. Francis spoke to the wolf and told him to stop hurting the villagers. The villagers provided the wolf with food and he never attacked again.
Near the end of his life Francis prayed that he could share in Christ's passion and the Lord granted his prayer by having him receive the stigmata, the wounds of Christ. After extreme poverty and wondering throughout the world he was struck with blindness and the bishop ordered that he be operated on and he prayed to "Brother Fire" to be merciful and when they cauterized his face he did not feel any pain. Eventually, Francis died from his illnesses on October 4 1226 at the age of 45.
On his feast day let us remember some of his wisest sayings:
"Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self."
"Grant me the treasure of sublime poverty: permit the distinctive sign of our order to be that it does not possess anything of its own beneath the sun, for the glory of your name, and that it have no other patrimony than begging."
"I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone"
"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."
"No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves."
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
"While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart."
"Preach the Gospel at all times, when necessary use words."
