Saint of the week: Francis of Assisi
- Aimee Boudreaux MacIver
- Oct 7, 2024
- 3 min read
Francis of Assisi changed the Church, the world, and my personal life in uncountable ways. He said yes to Christ, and he meant YES!, all the time, everywhere, not half-way, just sometimes, some places. The power of just one life given wholly to God's love cannot be measured.
His feast is October 4 (we postponed for our St Thérèse focus). His life is nothing short of remarkable.
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Almost 850 years ago, a wealthy cloth merchant and his wife welcomed their son, Giovanni, in a city perched on the mountainside above a lush Italian valley. He grew up among winding streets and buildings carved from the local pink limestone, overlooking a valley of green farms and vineyards. His family’s wealth allowed him to enjoy fine clothes, good food, and other luxuries. As a young man, Giovanni was popular and charismatic with a love for singing, dancing, and adventure. He was a cheerful, bold, and impulsive leader who would pay his friends’ bar tabs and take them carousing around the city late into the night. He was known everywhere by his magnetic charm and by his family nickname—Francis.
When a war broke out near his city, Assisi, Francis was eager to fight—yet another chance to show off fine clothes and an expensive horse. But when Assisi lost, he was taken prisoner. Prison radically changed him. He grew restless: What was he doing with his life? With his resources? What was the point of all the parties, the banquets, the clothes?
When he returned home, Francis began praying, a lot—sometimes spending the whole day in a small abandoned chapel outside of town. Conversion deepened. He began giving away his fine clothes, possessions, and his family’s money to the local poor. His father grew impatient and eventually complained to the local bishop that Francis was neglecting his duties. One day Francis and his father ended up in a confrontation in the local square, and Francis—passionate, all-in Francis—stripped off every piece of his clothing and gave the bundle to his father. “From now on,” he declared, “I will rely only on God.”
From this critical turning point, Francis lived one of the most famous lives in history. He pioneered the concept of voluntary poverty; ministered to lepers; journeyed to far-flung missions; formed one of the most enduring and beloved religious orders in the Church; and composed passionate spiritual poetry. His “Canticle of Creation” is believed to be the first literary work of the Italian language.
We can envision Francis roaming through the ancient forests, gazing at the blue morning fog over the valley, marveling at the afternoon light on the pink limestones, soaking up sunshine in a meadow, delighting in the seasons, watching the creatures living with him in the open air. His conversion was not only a new and radiant relationship with Christ, but also with creation itself. No longer was the world around him merely a means to pleasure, wealth, and status. Instead, Francis cherished creation as a wondrous revelation of the Creator.
In Francis’ poem, we catch an insight into the heart of a man whose relationship to creation shifted radically from one of consumption to one of wonder:
Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendour!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather through which
You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you light the night and he is beautiful
and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains us and governs us and who produces
varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.
Francis is a witness for us of how we can cherish creation as a precious gift from the Creator who cherishes us. Francis is a witness for us of how to say yes to God. Francis is a witness to how much the world changes when we do.
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