If Francis was alive today and broke out into song and dance like he did back in his time, pouring out his abundant joy at the celebration of the Eucharist, there is no doubt the ushers would rush in and throw him out of the church on his ear. What a sad commentary on the death of the Spirit in our churches today.
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This Franciscan Coat of Arms is an image worthy of our contemplation. The image is a true expression of both Jesus’ and Francis’ fervent style of love. We see in Jesus’ crucified hand, first of all, God’s incredible love for us. In Francis’ wounded hand, in turn, we see the loving response of St. Francis to the burning love of God, who first loved us.
This is indeed something to ponder. All in all, the Franciscan Coat of Arms is a wonderful expression of the Franciscan (or Seraphic) style of love. Though few of us live up to this ideal, it calls us to something rare and splendid!
This is how St. Francis of Assisi prayed, and where the Franciscans came up with the idea of his praying posture to be our Coat of Arms.
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"The men and women belonging to this Third Order shall dress in humble, undyed cloth, the price of which is not to exceed six Ravenna soldi et ell, unless for evident and necessary cause a temporary dispensation be given"
FIRST RULE OF THE THIRD ORDER
Dated 1221 A.D.
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Franciscan's shouldn't spend hours standing in front of their closets every morning wondering about what clothes we're going to wear that day. For us, the choices should be clear and simple: tan slacks and shirt or tan slacks and shirt.
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Maybe you're not ready to clothe yourself in a monk's simple habit, but there are still many ways Franciscan's can wean themselves from a $100 billion a year fashion industry. Why not pare down your closet and share your wardrobe with a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen with people who really need it?
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St. Francis lived a life of joy and radical commitment to following Jesus. All too often we see an antiseptic, watered-down, wishy-washy kind of Christianity that kills the spirit and stomps out joy.
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What is so unique about St. Francis is that he does what we would like to do, and he does it in such a simple and ingenuous way that we know we could do the same thing is only we would.
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The barriers between nature and the human city can only be broken down this way: The garden outside moves inside when the people move outside toward it. When there is no longer an inside or an outside but a New Jerusalem without walls and the entire earth becomes a garden once again. This is the social message of St. Francis, a message ignored after two thousand years of churches who repeatedly retreat and try to survive by hiding within their own walls.
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The blueprint for "peace and justice" was drawn up by Jesus Christ in Jerusalem and St. Francis and his followers began to live it anew outside the little town of Assisi, Italy. The church sitting outside the city walls must be repaired first if the church inside the walls is going to be renewed. The physical Roman Catholic Church itself must be rebuilt stone upon stone with living stones if the Church is to become once again a living temple of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
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We seem so scared to death today of being alone that we flee from it. We choke our minds and souls with continuous music, chatter, cell phones to which we don't even listen. It is simply there to fill the vacuum of our lives. When the noise stops there is no inner music to take its place. That hole you have in your heart? It is perfectly filled by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All we need to do is invite Him in.
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"Bonum est praestolari cum silentio salutare Dei."
(It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of God)
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Our God dwells in the little poor abandoned chapels which also lay beyond the walls of the city. Once you cross beyond those walls there are not separate classes of people, and more importantly, people are not victimized and imprisoned by their being either rich or poor.
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"Choose a secret place to thyself; love to dwell with thyself alone; seek not to be talking with anyone; but rather pour forth prayers to God, that thou mayest keep thy mind in compunction, and thy conscience clear."
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
by Thomas A' Kempis
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What is the true value of a person? Today, a person's value and self-esteem can by and large be measured in proportion to our ability to make money. Money and what it represents becomes the fulfillment of our lives. St. Francis was a social reformer not because he saw what money would do to the fabric of society, but he saw what money would do to a man's soul and spirit.
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The sacredness of our own personal relationship with the Lord is an area which is sometimes rudely and forcibly invaded today under the guise of "group dynamics," "group spiritual direction," or (God forbid) "group hugs." Communion with God is not fostered by invading that secret cave within where we sit naked and vulnerable in the presence of Almighty God.
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The life of St. Francis says that the Gospel is a way of life and not a series of platitudes to make us feel good on Sunday morning.
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St. Francis' poverty was not the brainchild of a radical reformer. The radical streak of St. Francis is not found in his poverty but in his radical response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! HE LIVES IT! I pray every day for more radicals like him to discover their true manhood. The people of Francis' time were astounded by his radicalness. They didn't believe living the Gospel was possible. Nor do we today...
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From the time of St. Francis' death the Church has tempered his "extreme" views by our periodic re-interpretations of the Original Rule. Now, as we enter into the Twenty-First Century and see around us the extreme peril to which the love of money has brought us and how little charity there is among the nations and between God's people because of possessiveness and greed, the Original Rule of St. Francis no longer looks so extreme as it did once before.
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Most of us fret about what is to be done to build up the Kingdom of God, as if it is we who are the ones responsible for bringing about God's Kingdom here on earth! The Kingdom is only made present when God takes up His dwelling among us; and God takes up His dwelling in us only if we are poor in spirit. It is not what we do that brings about His Kingdom but what we embrace, that God might dwell among us.
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Assisi is an enclosed city, hidden behind a wall of protection, just as we hide behind walls of our own making. Only through love can we help people find an opening in those walls. The lepers were always forced to live outside the walls of Assisi and you had to pass by armed guards in order to go to them and embrace them. Likewise, you and I have to come out from behind our defenses and risk embracing what heretofore seemed repulsive and dangerous. Only then will there be any peace...and only love can make that happen.
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We must all roll back the stones from our hearts and arise from the cave of "self" forever. The treasure we seek in that cave is finally ours!
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No one can go around begging stones and dressing like a beggar without attracting attention; and when that someone was once a very prosperous businessman, that attention naturally turns to ridicule and scorn.
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St. Augustine of Hippo summed it up this way: "In Vetere Novum lateat, et in Novo Vetus pateat."
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St. Francis would say, "If the servant of God, as may happen, is disturbed in any way, he should rise immediately to pray and he should remain in the presence of the heavenly Father until he restores the joy of salvation."
(December 1, 1931 – January 7, 2017)
St. Francis spoke thus because the harvest of souls which the friars desire to gather is more readily obtained by working in harmony with the clergy, thereby helping both them and the people, than by antagonizing them, even though they may win the people.
When St. Francis went to preach at Celano after his return from overseas, a knight begged him insistently to come to dinner, Francis was reluctant, but his host almost forced him to come, in his devotion to him. Before they sat to eat, the saint offered praise and prayers to God as usual, like the truly spiritual man he was. There he learned in the spirit that his host must die in the very near future, and he remained standing with his mind fixed of God and his eyes raised to heaven. When he had finished praying, he drew his host aside and told him that he was going to die soon, advising him to go to confession and encouraging him to do what good he could. The knight took his advice and confessed all his sins to the saint's companion. He put his affairs in order and entrusted himself to God's mercy, doing everything he could to prepare for death. They were all beginning their meal when the knight, who seemed quite strong and well, suddenly passed away, as the saint had foretold.
