“The mountains shall yield peace for the people, and the hills justice.“ Psalm 72:3
Pray these words with St. Francis:
Lord, make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sadness, joy.
Francis of Assisi, one of the most popular saints of all time, began life as a rich, rather wild young man attracted to adventure and ease. From such an unpromising beginning, he later inspired thousands of followers during his lifetime. And for the centuries since then many others have been inspired to lead lives of true simplicity, generous service, and delight in creation.
Francis could say with St. Paul, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:22). Both Paul and Francis experienced dramatic conversions which transformed their lives. Paul changed suddenly from being a persecutor of Christians to becoming a great missionary who preached the gospel to the ancient world.
The conversion of Francis took place more gradually. After enlisting in a local war expecting to become a hero, he was instead wounded and taken prisoner. Returning home, feeling sick, empty, and dejected, he wandered around Assisi, noticing for the first time the people who were poor and living in squalor. After recovering from illness, he decided to serve God in the poor. to the dismay of his wealthy father he used family money for the poor and also for the rebuilding of dilapidated churches in the countryside.
One time when Francis stopped to pray in the ruins of the Church of San Damiano, he heard a voice from the crucifix asking him to repair the church. Francis thought the voice was asking him to rebuild the church physically but later realized that he was being asked to build the Church of God spiritually. This vocation was strengthened by his encounter with a leper who was begging. After giving the leper a few coins, Francis impulsively bent down to kiss the leper’s deformed hand.
These two experiences, the voice in the church and his kissing of the leper, led Francis to serve God’s people, especially the poor. His wealthy father, embarrassed by Francis’ actions, publicly disowned his son in the presence of the bishop and the people in the town square. In a dramatic gesture Francis took off his elegant cloak, threw it at his father’s feet, and put on the simple clothing of the poor.
From then on Francis showed his zest for living by totally dedicating himself to serving Jesus in the poor. He and his companions lived outdoors or in churches, took care of the poor and sick, and, above all, lived and preached the gospel. Francis said to his followers: “Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words.”
Does Francis mean: “actions speak louder than words.” Does how you live show what you believe?
Eventually Francis founded a religious community of followers who desired, like him, to imitate Jesus. For eight centuries the Franciscan order has attracted countless Christians to a life of service, simplicity, and an appreciation of all creation.
Francis was a man of peace. His greeting to everyone was, “May the Lord give you peace.” True Christians were to befriend all and condemn no one. Francis was a peacemaker always.
The brutal Fifth Crusade in the early 13th century horrified Francis. In an attempt to bring peace and the Christian message he traveled to the court of the Muslim Sultan in Egypt. Al’Kamil, a wise and moderate man, was deeply impressed by Francis’ courage and sincerity and invited him to stay for a peace-making mission.
Francis in turn was deeply touched by the religious devotion of the Muslims, especially by the call to prayer five times a day. Had Francis and Al’Kamil been able to dialogue longer, and then been able to convince the Crusaders and the Muslim leaders about the value of Peace, how different our world would be today!
Francis’ beautiful Prayer for Peace has touched many believers, and nonbelievers, through the centuries. It begins by describing the path to peace and simplicity:
Lord, make me a channel of your peace.
Where here 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.
Where there is sadness, joy.
After you read these words prayerfully, ask yourself which of them touches you most personally. How can living out this prayer bring peace not only to you but also to the whole world which is so badly in need of peace.
For Francis all that God has made is holy. Often called God’s troubadour, he saw all creatures as brothers and sisters to be respected. Francis named creation in terms of a loving family: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Earth, Brother Wind. Francis’ love for all creatures endears him today to environmentally conscious people who see all creation, including human beings, as an interdependent community, an interwoven circle of life.
The Canticle of the Sun was inspired by Psalm 138 which praises God as the Creator of the universe. The Canticle begins with the line, “All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing, alleluia.” Francis uses descriptive phrases like “rushing winds,” “flowing water,” “bright burning sun with golden beams,” “soft silver moon that gently gleams,” “stars nightly shining,” “dear mother earth,” and “all flowers and fruits.” Every line ends with the words, “O praise God! Alleluia!”
As he lay dying, Francis added verses which welcomed Sister Death: “All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death, from whose embrace no mortal can escape.… Happy those she finds doing your will.”
Spend some time thinking how nature makes you more aware of God. Write your own hymn praising God!
Francis, in his writings and in the stories told about him, showed a delight in God’s creation and a joy in living. He saw as a burden whatever was an obstacle to his love of God and neighbor. He kept his heart empty of anything that interfered with this love.
Near the end of his life he experienced a painful form of blindness and also received the stigmata (the marks of the nails in his hands, feet, and side like those of Christ crucified). What Francis had known in meditation became ultimately the actual experience of pain. Like many of the saints throughout the ages, Francis endured great physical and psychological suffering.
Shortly before his death Francis dictated his Testament, showing his followers how to live the Franciscan way of life. He emphasized the importance of imitating the poor and crucified Jesus. Influenced by a desire to live an authentic life based on the gospel, Francis offered a new form of “apostolic” religious life.
Moved by the preaching and example of Francis, Clare of Assisi in 1212 became the first female member of the Franciscan order. She, quickly joined by other women, became the founder of a contemplative community known as the Poor Clares.
Francis defined a Franciscan way of life for women and men of following the gospel in a life of prayer penance, and poverty. What Francis offered all his followers then and now is a model of human life based on the gospel of Jesus Christ. In giving glory to God he was indeed fully alive and his spirit lives on today.
Since his death countless pilgrims have traveled to Assisi to honor Francis and to pray for world peace. At the beginning of his papacy in 1986, Pope John Paul II announced that he would consult with world religious leaders in Assisi. The special meeting was held for prayer and peace. These leaders represented Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus as well as Christians of many churches. They fasted, kept silence, walked together in procession. They had no common prayer but each prayed according to his own tradition. The Pope said at the conclusion that what happened through prayer and witnessing for peace there continues the spirit of peace St. Francis offers the world.
As you come to the end of your time with Francis, ask yourself how you can live out the final lines of his famous Prayer for Peace:
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.