St. Francis of Assisi

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

In whose time the house of God was renovated, in whose days the temple was reinforced. In his time also the wall was built with powerful turrets for the temple precincts; In his time the reservoir was dug, the pool with a vastness like the sea's. He protected his people against brigands and strengthened his city against the enemy. How splendid he was as he appeared from the tent, as he came from within the veil! Like a star shining among the clouds, like the full moon at the holyday season; Like the sun shining upon the temple, like the rainbow appearing in the cloudy sky. . . (Sirach 50:1c-7)

This passage from the Book of Sirach is used as the first reading for Mass on the Solemnity of Our Holy Father St. Francis, October 4, by all members of the Franciscan Family. So while much of the Church is reading from the Book of Job, because of the solemnity of this day, we Franciscans use different readings.

I have always thought this passage was particularly beautiful; poetic imagery abounds in it. Jesus Ben Sira, the author of the book, was speaking of Simon, son of Jochanan, a figure that I confess I know little about. I am sure that it is used for the Feastday Liturgy because of an incident in Francis's life.

Francis had never intended to form a religious order, especially not the largest religious order of the Catholic Church. He saw himself as a penitent, making reparation for the sins of his youth. He was joined by some of his friends, young men who had reveled with him in the taverns of Assisi. Francis had been designated as the King of the Revelers by this group of friends. They were more than a little dismayed when he made the decision to give up the "party" lifestyle and to spend the rest of his days doing penance. Before he knew it, Francis' had attracted twelve young men to follow in his footsteps. The symbolism of that number was not lost upon Francis who decided at that point in his life that he needed guidance. He set off for Rome where he hoped to ask the Holy Father, Innocent III, for guidance. As you might imagine, he was not offered an audience with the Pope immediately. When he was finally allowed to approach the Pope, his appearance as a beggar put Innocent off almost at once. He dismissed the young man as another radical, wild-eyed reformer.

That night Innocent had a dream. He saw his Lateran basilica, then the mother church of Christendom, in his dream. The walls of the Church were beginning to crumble. Then a man who looked remarkably like the young beggar whom he had received that day, walked up to the church and, placing his hands on the wall, restored the basilica to its former beauty. Innocent woke up and immediately called for Francis to be brought to him. He then gave Francis permission to preach repentance throughout the Umbrian Valley. Thus the Franciscan Order was begun.

Throughout history the Franciscan Order has been one of the forces for renewal in the Church. The Rule of Life that St. Francis wrote is used by more men and women in the Church than any other. There is a punch line to a joke that says that even God doesn't know how many different incarnations of the Franciscan way of life there are in the Church. The purpose of the Order today is the same as it was when Francis first started preaching: renewal of the Church through a life of penance and by turning away from sin.

Happy Feastday to all my Franciscan brothers and sisters.