St Francis

THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF ST FRANCIS

'Terry, have you ever thought about becoming a priest?"

I looked around, and there standing behind me, robed in a brown Franciscan habit, with a white cord around his waist and open sandals upon his bare feet, was Fr. Edward Lee Smith. It was 1955.

Fr. Edward had merely put into words what I had been trying to say for some time. I was only thirteen years old!

Needless to say, St Francis, whose feast day is observed in the church's calendar on 4 October, has always had a special place in my heart.

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The life of St Francis is probably familiar to everyone here today. However, let me draw your attention to some of its main features.

Francis was born in Assisi in Italy in 1182. He was baptised Giovanni but given the name Francesco by his father.

His father was a very wealthy cloth merchant who provided a very long purse for his son's pleasure loving activities. As one biographer has said, he was ‘irresponsible, gay, naturally popular, delightfully extravagant’. And a contemporary has described his clothes as being ‘beyond measure sumptuous’.

However, at the age of 24 years, all this was to change as the result of a series of religious experiences.

The first occurred in 1204 at Spoleto, some 30 miles outside his home town of Assisi. Francis had left the city to the cheers of the local citizens to fight as a gallant knight in the papal arms of Walter of Brienne. Whilst asleep, in a dream he was told by God to return home. At the risk of being branded a coward by his friends, he returned home, and thereby took his first step in renouncing his own wishes to that of obeying God.

Upon returning, he quickly re-established himself with his fun loving friends. One night, as he and his friends were tearing through the streets in a carnival spirit, he stopped and was unable to move. Finding him missing, his friends returned to this 'master of rebels' only to find him in a trance, teased him and asked him whether he was in love. "Yes" he replied, "I am in love with a bride, nobler, richer, and fairer than you have ever seen”. The bride of which he spoke was that of poverty. From that moment onwards he began sharing his own wealth, and unfortunately, that also of his father, with the poor of the city. Shortly after this, he made a pilgrimage to Rome. There he found a pauper outside St Peter's with whom he exchanged clothes so that he could find out what it was like to be poor by having to beg all day.

The third experience took place in the ruined church of St Damian, situated just outside Assisi. One day, just as he was praying before a large wooded cross on which was painted the crucified Christ, the figure spoke to him. It said, 'Francis, go and repair my church. As you see, it is falling into ruins’. Francis interpreted these words literally, and with his own bare hands, began rebuilding the ruined church, which still stands there today. When he had completed this, he moved down the hillside onto the lower plain and set to work upon the little chapel of St Mary of the Angels.

And it was here, in 1206, that he had his fourth religious experience. It was the feast of St Matthias. The priest was reading the Gospel for the day in which Jesus says, ‘Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and preach as you go, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You have received without pay, give without pay. Take no silver nor copper in your belt, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staff, for the labourer deserves his food.'

These words remained in the mind of St Frances through the service. He interpreted them as a personal instruction. So as soon as the Mass was ended, we are told that Francis cried out and said, ‘This is what I have been wanting, this is what I have been seeking, this is what I long with all my heart to do’.

He immediately stripped himself of his outer garment, tied a rough piece of cord around his waist and began a ministry of preaching to the poor, especially lepers, relying upon the generosity of others to provide for his bare necessities.

Soon others were attracted to his way of life. When the numbers reached the apostolic twelve, Pope Innocent III approved of their simple rule.

Unfortunately, as the numbers continued to grow, so did a demand to relax their austere lifestyle. Francis felt unable to compromise his original ideals, and so he, together with some of his early followers retreated. Whilst in prayer upon Mount La Vermeer, he received the stigmata, and from then on, he secretly bore the five wounds of Christ upon his body.

Sadly, the austerities of his lifestyle soon began to take their toll.

On October 3rd 1226, weak, sick, blind and close to death, he asked to be laid naked in the dust of the little chapel of St Mary and the Angels, which he had built some years earlier. There, at the age of only 44 years, he died.

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That briefly is the life of St Francis of Assisi. Yet, despite its brevity, that life has continued to hold a fascination throughout the centuries. What then is the cause of this attraction which has caused many both within the religious communities of both the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, and outside, to forsake all and follow his lifestyle? What then is the basis of this attraction?

Firstly, I would suggest it is his simplicity. In contrast to our church which often appears to make belief and practice as difficult as possible, the utter simplicity of the faith of St Francis shines forth for all to see. He took the words of the bible at their face value. So when it says, 'take no thought for the morrow' he believed that even the dry beans to be used as food for the following day should not be soaked in warm water overnight.

Secondly, his contentment. In contrast with our world, where everyone appears to be looking over their shoulder, keeping their yardarm clear in their pursuit of preferment; where people buy things they do not want, to impress people they do not like, with money they do not have, Francis was content with what he had.

Thirdly, his humility. In contrast with our rat race society, where everyone tries to be more important than everybody else; where success is judged by power and status, Francis chose the path of humility. ‘We were simple men’, he once wrote, in 'subjection to all'. He called his followers 'Friars minor'. In other words, the lesser brothers. They were to see themselves as the scum of the earth and not to make demands upon society. The begging of food and the caring of lepers were to be two particular expressions of their humility. Even scholarship was frowned upon, not only because it necessitated the ownership of books, and a place in which to study them, but also because it can lead to pride and place a person in a position of superiority. Just as the rich were expected to give up their riches, so scholars were expected to give up their learning. Evangelism was not to be achieved through learning. Evangelism rather through the use of eloquent words.

Fourthly, compassion. Whereas our affluent and materialistic society of today often appears hard and indifferent to those less fortunate, Francis showed spontaneous compassion. After all, he had nothing to protect.

Simplicity, contentment, humility, compassion , and finally, love. Love for his crucified saviour. Unlike some of the proclaimers of the social gospel of today, especially the liberation theologians of southern and central America , whose basis often appears to be a particular political ideology, Francis' concern for the poor sprang directly from his love for God.

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You and I may well call Francis a drop out, naive, an idealist or even a romantic . Nevertheless, there is something attractive about St Francis of Assisi which draws us to him.

What better prayer can we offer than one modelled upon that which is wrongly attributed to St Francis himself:

“Where there is extravagance and luxury

let me sow simplicity,

where there is greed and the desire to have more,

let me sow contentment

where there is envy of what others are getting,

let me sow humility

and where there is indifference to the sufferings of others,

let me sow compassion. Amen”