Francis of Assisi and His Connection to Creation

Homily for the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi

The French influence on Giovanni Bernardone, better known as Francis of Assisi, was something of a happenstance. St. Francis was born while his father was away from home on a business trip to France. His mother had him baptized in the Church of San Rufino as "Giovanni," or John. When his father returned from a very successful business trip, he renamed his son Francesco, which can be translated as "Frenchie" or "Francis."

St. Francis is probably best known for his love of God's created universe. Who of us has not seen a bird bath being supported by St. Francis of Assisi. Throughout the world, people will bring their pets and livestock to the parish priest today for a blessing. In Chicago, the people who run Franciscan Outreach will sponsor a "Pooch Walk" around this time of year as a fund raiser for their ministry to the homeless people of Chicago. Franz Liszt immortalized the tale of St. Francis preaching to the birds in a musical composition. One of the more popular hymns of the Church is "All Creatures of our God and King," the words of which are taken from the "Canticle of the Creatures." This poem, written by St. Francis, is the oldest poetry in the Italian language.

While the poem is called the "Canticle of the Creatures," it might be better named the "Canticle of the Four Elements." In the 12th century, long before microscopes and scientific investigation named the various elements of the periodic chart, medieval scientists taught that the universe was made of four basic elements: water, air, fire, and earth. A careful reading of the Francis's canticle will reveal that these are the four elements through which he praises God. He did so for a very specific reason.

The 12th century was marked by a particular heretical group known as the Cathari. These people believed that all of the natural world was corrupt, that all material things were evil. They taught that the only good parts of creation were the spiritual parts. Unfortunately, they took one step too far in their reasoning and stated that God, who was all good, could not have created anything corrupt; consequently, the material world was created not by God but by Satan. They not only taught this heresy, they tried to live it out by repudiating anything that was material in their lives, casting off all material possessions.

When St. Francis of Assisi started to live a life of radical Gospel poverty, he was thought to be a Catharist. The Church, which had branded Catharists as heretics, regarded St. Francis with suspicion. It took a personal visit to the Pope in order to clear up this misunderstanding. St. Francis assured the Holy Father that he did not regard material possessions as evil while he also wanted to be utterly dependent upon God for everything. His Canticle of the Creatures is part of that legacy. He wrote it to demonstrate that God's created order was, as the Book of Genesis teaches us, good. As time went on, other verses were added to the canticle as St. Francis ran into other situations and other errors. However, the basic composition is in praise of water, air, fire and earth.

As we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis today and bring the Season of Creation to a close, let us also praise God for our universe, imperfect home that it is, and remember that we are part of that creation, stewards of God's creative energy and fellow gardeners in Paradise.