Spirit of St. Francis of Assisi echoes down eight centuries to 2010

 Glory of the Feast of Saint Francis on Oct. 4 reminds me, in 2010, of being...in the joy and splendor of all creation. May the world resonate with the peaceful simplicity of a heart message, echoing down eight centuries from Assisi...All Things Beautiful...ATB

The Feast of St. Francis is observed on Oct. 4, not only by those of Catholic faith, but catholic in the universal sense of people of all faiths.  Nearly 800 years since his death on Oct. 3 in 1226, the world resonates with the message of this gentle giant, St. Francis of Assisi, forerunner of the Franciscans.  

Most of us are acutely aware in our times of the power of positive, possibility thinking. An inspirational quote by motivational speaker Andrew Horton set me thinking about this in relationship to what I’ve been learning about Francis of Assisi.

  “You have the ability to choose your attitude and level of happiness,” says Horton. “You can either allow things to get you down or you can choose to view any challenges as a vehicle that is moving you closer to hidden opportunities. When something difficult happens in your life, choose to see it as something that is merely polishing you up, to make your life more beautiful.”

He could have been speaking of St. Francis, who seemed to embody those qualities. St. Francis tuned into all things beautiful…from loving all animals (it was St. Francis who created the first live nativity) to the poor and downtrodden of humanity… the lepers of his time.  He saw challenges as opportunities to do good in the world. He triumphed over life tragedies, including separation and renouncement of family, disease, imprisonment.

 He loved people of all cultures. During the crusades, he went on a peacemaking pilgrimage to be received in Egypt by the sultan Melek-el-Kamel; it was a visit to the Muslim world which would eventually find the Franciscans being recognized as custodians of the Holy Land on behalf of Christianity. 

St. Francis inspired the beautiful Clare of Assisi who ran away from home to follow Francis, rather than marrying a wealthy young man. She established the order known as the “Poor Ladies” that later became known as the Order of St. Clare and worked alongside Francis, offering encouragement, as well as caring for him in illness.

St. Francis revered all of creation, something that we on this planet are at last grasping in our hearts. In his book All Saints,   Robert Ellsberg writes that, for Francis, “All things, whether living or inanimate, reflected their creator’s love and were thus due reverence and wonder. In this spirit he composed his famous ‘Canticles of Creation,’ singing the praises of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and even Sister Death. Altogether his life and his relationship with the world – including animals, the elements, the poor and sick as well as princes and prelates, women as well as men, represented the breakthrough of a new model of human and cosmic community.” 

Cosmic community 2010: At this delicate juncture in our history, the message of St. Francis seems all the more powerful and urgent…  "Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Brother Sun, who is the day through whom you give us light."

This excerpt from The Canticle of Brother Sun, written by St. Francis of Assisi in 1225, invokes all of creation to praise the Creator.  Francis' teachings about creation as a manifestation of God have influenced the Catholic Church’s theology regarding creation; and in 1980 Pope John Paul II declared St. Francis the patron saint of ecology.  

St. Francis found strength and healing in the beauty of nature. He was known for his long, contemplative soujourns in quiet, sacred places in his beautiful Italy, and his love for all creatures.  Legends have sprung around this aspect of St. Francis. One tells the story of St. Francis preaching to the birds in the trees while on his travels. Another of quieting a wolf that was terrorizing a village.

Thinking of St. Francis, I think of beautiful healing gardens, such as those he loved in the mountains and monasteries of his homeland. While we may not have monasteries, we each can be modern-day mystics like St. Francis…savoring the seasons and living in constant awareness of the grandeur of nature and the universe. 

Louise Hay, author of numerous books on spirituality and healing, founder of Hay House International, invites us to celebrate the beauty of autumn. I can picture Saint Francis expressing such affirmations as these she shares: 

 “Beauty is everywhere. Natural beauty shines forth from every little flower, from the patterns of reflected light on the surface of water, from the quiet strength of old trees. Nature thrills me; it renews and refreshes me. I find relaxation, enjoyment, and healing in the simplest things in life. As I look with love at nature, I find it easy to look with love at myself. I am part of nature; thus, I am beautiful in my own unique way. Wherever I look, I see beauty. Today I resonate with all the beauty in life.

When we see all things as beautiful, I believe, the perennial favorite Prayer of Saint Francis may then truly be spoken from a compassionate heart: 

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: where there is sadness, joy.

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. – Amen 


Links for St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis: Why He's the Patron Saint of Ecology