St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved of all saints of the Church. He is the only one you will always find in the garden department of Lowe’s or Home Depot. He and his followers are often found on cookie jars, on in cartoons like “Br. Juniper.” There are movies about his life and almost every year a new book about the life of St. Francis is published (read the writings of Francis in his own words, here).
What is the great attraction of this man from the early 13th century? (timeline of the life of St. Francis). He was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant, he tried a career in the military when he was in his early 20s, once on the winning side and once on the losing side, spending a year as a prisoner of war. He underwent a powerful experience of conversion, later writing that the Lord let him among people who had leprosy and he showed mercy to them.
Before long he attracted others, men and women, single and married, to his way of life. He is therefore credited with the founding of three orders in the Church. The order of Lesser Brothers or Friars, the Poor Sisters or Poor Clares under the leadership of St. Clare of Assisi, and the Third Order, made up of religious and lay men and women, today called the Third Order Regular and the Secular Franciscan Order.
The basic intuition of Francis was as simple as it was difficult. He said he wanted to follow the teaching and the footprints of Jesus. To know the teaching of Jesus he listened to the reading of the Gospel, and he focused especially on any passage in which Jesus is speaking. Then he would ask himself, “How can I put this into practice today?” In the same way he looked for what he called the “footprints” of Jesus. These were not words but actions of Jesus in the Gospel – healing the sick, washing feet, fasting and praying in the desert. He would then try to do similar things in his own life. A dramatic example illustrates this point.
What is the great attraction of this man from the early 13th century? (timeline of the life of St. Francis). He was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant, he tried a career in the military when he was in his early 20s, once on the winning side and once on the losing side, spending a year as a prisoner of war. He underwent a powerful experience of conversion, later writing that the Lord let him among people who had leprosy and he showed mercy to them.
Before long he attracted others, men and women, single and married, to his way of life. He is therefore credited with the founding of three orders in the Church. The order of Lesser Brothers or Friars, the Poor Sisters or Poor Clares under the leadership of St. Clare of Assisi, and the Third Order, made up of religious and lay men and women, today called the Third Order Regular and the Secular Franciscan Order.
The basic intuition of Francis was as simple as it was difficult. He said he wanted to follow the teaching and the footprints of Jesus. To know the teaching of Jesus he listened to the reading of the Gospel, and he focused especially on any passage in which Jesus is speaking. Then he would ask himself, “How can I put this into practice today?” In the same way he looked for what he called the “footprints” of Jesus. These were not words but actions of Jesus in the Gospel – healing the sick, washing feet, fasting and praying in the desert. He would then try to do similar things in his own life. A dramatic example illustrates this point.
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Francis heard the command of Jesus, “Love your enemies,” and chose the person many considered “Public Enemy Number One” in his day, the leader of the Muslim armies fighting with Christian armies in the Crusade, the Sultan of Egypt Malek el Khamil. In 1219 Francis traveled all the way to the mouth of the Nile River in Egypt in order to meet this “enemy,” exposing himself to the possibility of death in the process. Much to the surprise of his contemporaries, Francis was received very kindly by the Sultan, who listened to the preaching of Francis very willingly. A decade after Francis’ death the same Sultan agreed to a peace treaty with Christian forces, allowing Christians to return to the Shrines of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, to Bethlehem, and Nazareth.
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Francis however, did not want people to imitate himself. Toward the end of his life, when one of his followers asked how they would be able to survive after his death, Francis gave this reply, which I think is appropriate for us to remember: He said, “I have done what was mine to do, may Christ teach you what is yours.”
Let us be inspired by the example of this humble poor saint from Assisi, lover of peace and friend to the poor and sick, and one who had a great affection for animals. We do not need to imitate his actions, but to be challenged ourselves to listen to the words of Jesus in the Gospel, and to remember the actions of Jesus, then trying to put these into practice in our lives. In that way, we can consider ourselves, like thousands of people before us, friends and followers of St. Francis of Assisi.
Let us be inspired by the example of this humble poor saint from Assisi, lover of peace and friend to the poor and sick, and one who had a great affection for animals. We do not need to imitate his actions, but to be challenged ourselves to listen to the words of Jesus in the Gospel, and to remember the actions of Jesus, then trying to put these into practice in our lives. In that way, we can consider ourselves, like thousands of people before us, friends and followers of St. Francis of Assisi.
Please also see Br. Bill's overview of the Secular Franciscan Order
and how the Seculars fit into the Franciscan family here.
and how the Seculars fit into the Franciscan family here.
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Br. Bill Short, OFM, has a special love of things medieval, is a professor at the Franciscan School of Theology, and the Director of the Collegium S. Bonaventurae – International Center for Franciscan Studies and Research in Rome. Br. Bill gave this reflection on the Feast of St. Francis at Mission San Luis Rey Parish and is used with his permission.
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