Fighting Materialism and Secularization

As often happens, when evil seems to be flourishing and triumphant, God sends someone who is ideally suited to counter that particular evil. On February 24, 1209, Francis was attending Mass in the chapel of the Porziuncola, which he had recently restored from ruins. He heard the priest read the Gospel: “Provide yourselves with neither gold nor silver nor copper in your belts, no traveling bag, no change of shirt, no sandals, no walking staff. The workman, after all, is worth his keep.” (Mark 6:7-12, Luke 9:1-5 and 10:4) These words confirmed for Francis exactly what the Lord wanted him to do, and Francis was eager to obey. He took off his shoes, put down his stick, and exchanged his belt for a cord. Francis had already embraced poverty but in a hesitating and indecisive manner. Francis’s doubts probably stemmed from his lack of success in preaching poverty. After he left the bishop’s residence he went on to Gubbio. While the people there welcomed him, his message of poverty had little impact. He then returned to Assisi where he suffered the scorn of his father, brother, and others. At this Mass, he now fully understood the words which came from the San Damiano crucifix: “Francis, go and repair my house, which, as you see is falling into ruin.”

Shortly after Francis finally understood his vocation, a canon at the cathedral of San Rufino in Assisi had a dream. The city of Assisi appeared encircled by an immense, ferocious, black dragon. This dragon was like the dragon in the book of Daniel which marched through the city of Babylon. Assisi was being compared to ancient Babylon in the sense of rebelling against God and being immersed in every kind of sin. Out of the gates of the city marched a knight who had no armor but a torn tunic, no helmet but a patched hood, and no shield or lance. Out of his mouth came a cross of gold which rose to the sky. The arms of the cross stretched to the ends of the earth. He did not ride a horse but went forth on bare feet. The canon recognized this knight as Francis, who had begged some stones from him for the restoration of San Damiano. In the dream, Francis defeated the dragon and returned victorious to the city. 

This was a time when the wealth of Europe was increasing but with it came a corresponding increase in greed and a desire for material possessions. This even affected the Church and especially Bishop Guido of Assisi. This lust for material possessions led to continual war and feuding. Along with all this went the sin of pride and wars fought over wounded egos. Francis was surely not the only one to see the futility of all of this, but what do you do about it? The remedy was to teach not with words and sermons but by a way of life which could be easily seen as a better way. The way to fight materialism was with the “sword” of poverty. Pride could be fought with the “hammer” of humility. Lust and sexual sin could be fought with the “battering ram” of chastity. This is what Francis, by himself, and later with his followers did. 

The evils of our own day are not very different from those of the time of St. Francis. Again, an increase in wealth and prosperity seems to have led to an increase in materialism, consumerism, and self-indulgence. Perhaps we need to use the same weapons St. Francis used to fight these evils.

Jim Nugent

Francis' First Date with Lady Poverty

Most married people remember their first date with their spouse. Francis also had a “first date” with his spouse, Lady Poverty. This happened right after he gave everything, including his clothes, back to his father. Francis decided to leave Assisi and accept voluntarily the exile which his father wanted to impose on him as a punishment. He thus set out in March of 1207 on the road from Assisi to Gubbio which was a city that was friendly to Assisi. He left behind the rich velvet mantle put over him by the bishop of Assisi and wore instead a poor and torn cloak obtained from one of the bishop’s farmhands. Francis embraced the state of being poor and needy. Francis loved Lady Poverty because she was despised at that time and still is to this day.  As the Herald of the Great King, Francis sang joyfully in French to the Lord of the Lady (Lady Poverty) who always remained at the side of the Lord Jesus.

He sang, “Have mercy, sweet Jesus, have mercy on me and on our Lady Poverty. For her I languish. Because of her I have no peace, and you know, Jesus, that you love me because of her. Despised and obscure is now the one who was your spouse. And yet with you she shivered in the squalor of the manger. By your side she fought in the exhausting battle. Like a good squire she parried the blows that were directed to you. When your disciples abandoned you, when they denied your name, she stayed always at your side.”

“High, so very high was the cross, and Mary could not ascend it. But she, Poverty, our Lady, was there. More strongly than ever up there she united herself to you.”

“She did not see to it that the wood was smooth and well-finished or that there were many sharp and shining nails. Three of them alone she made ready for your martyrdom: course, rough, blunted, to aggravate your pain.”

“When you were in agony on the cross from your terrible thirst, she, because of her love, forbade you to have a sip of water. When your eyes closed, with a stronger embrace she held you close. When they put you in the tomb, the unguent that was sprinkled on your holy body, the sheet that enveloped you, belonged to another. The day of your resurrection, it was seen that she alone, abandoning every earthly thing, remained with you and followed you into heaven.”

“Thank you, sweet Jesus, for our love. Grant that for her I shall live, that in her and with her I can die.”

While the specific words of this song are now attributed to Thomas of Celano, one of Francis early biographers, they certainly express Francis’s sentiments for Lady Poverty which he lived out to his death almost twenty years later.

Lady Poverty did respond to Francis’s overtures.  On the road to Gubbio he was attacked and seized by armed robbers who asked him who he was. He replied “I am the Herald of the Great King.”  He then added “What is it to you.”  The robbers thought that Francis was making fun of them and threw him into a gully with snow and yelled at him “Die, miserable herald!”

Since he had nothing for them to take from him, the robbers left him stunned in the snow. When Francis finally got up, he felt cold and realized that he no longer had his ragged cloak.  He looked for it in the dark and could not find it.  There was Francis in the embrace of Lady Poverty, alone, cold, and half-naked.

Fortunately, he was near the monastery of Santa Maria di Valfabbrica.  He knocked on the monastery door, and after a long wait, he was finally let in.  The monk was puzzled by this strange visitor who was cold, almost naked, bruised, but with a face which radiated happiness.

The prior of the monastery showed Francis no concern or sympathy even upon hearing of his ambush at the hands of robbers who were certainly enemies of the monastery. Francis was then given a morsel of moldy bread and a sheet to cover himself on a bed of straw in the kitchen.  This was Francis’s first night with Lady Poverty. He was treated very badly at the monastery. He was ordered about doing the menial tasks such as splitting wood, washing dishes, and collecting garbage. He obeyed in silence. In the evening by the fire, Francis heard the monks speak only of worldly affairs, and he learned of their greed and hatred of their enemies.  Francis could not even dip his morsel of dried bread into the hot broth left over in the kitchen because that was to be given to the pigs. Francis wanted to leave the monastery immediately, but he could not since a nearby river overflowed its banks into the valley because of melting snow. As soon as the waters receded, he went on to Gubbio. Many years later, when Francis was famous, the prior asked pardon of Francis for the poor treatment he gave him.

Francis’s first “date” with Lady Poverty showed that his love for her was not just romantic infatuation. He was in this marriage for life and he was loyal to his spouse until death.

Jim Nugent

When Biological and Spiritual Families Conflict

“He was still speaking to the crowds when suddenly his mother and his brothers were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him.  But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother?   Who are my brothers?’  And stretching out his hand toward his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers.  Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother’” (Mt 12:46-50.)

This passage brings to mind the dramatic scene outside the bishop of Assisi’s residence early in 1207 when the conflict between Francis and his father was finally resolved.   Francis’s father, Pietro Bernadone, had accused Francis of squandering the family resources and was very angry with Francis.  He intended to have Francis tried before the authorities of Assisi and have him banished from the district and cut off from everyone. Francis escaped that fate by rightly claiming that the secular powers had no authority over him since he was a lay brother and subject only to the bishop.  Thus, Francis’s father was forced to confront Francis before the bishop.

Francis and his father appeared before Bishop Guido for trial in the piazza of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.   Pietro Bernadone spoke first and made his accusations against Francis to the bishop.  Bishop Guido asked Francis to give back his father’s money.  Francis immediately turned this money over to the bishop.   Francis then said to the bishop, “Lord Bishop, not only this money that I took from him do I wish to restore to him, with all good will, but even the clothes that he has given me.”   Then Francis went out and quickly returned naked with his clothes in his hands.  In this way all ties to Francis’s family were cut.  “No one who prefers father or mother to me is worthy of me.  No one who prefers son or daughter to me is worthy of me.  Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.  Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 10:37-39)  Francis had found his life.

Bishop Guido was a man who had extensive properties and possessions and yet he and those present were touched by what Francis had done.  He concluded the trial by taking off his own elaborate robe and putting it on the shoulders of Francis.  This rich, powerful, and worldly bishop was acting as Christ. “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mt 12:50.)

In doing this, Francis was following Christ.  “No one who prefers father or mother to me is worthy of me.”  (Mt 10:37)  Some conclude, however, that Jesus was teaching that the Commandment “Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.” (Ex 20:12) be violated.   Was Francis violating the Fourth commandment by leaving his father and family?   No, the Lord certainly did not abrogate Francis’s (and our) duties to parents and family.  He did realize, however, that His claims to absolute discipleship would be a cause of dissension.  “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but the sword.   For I have come to set son against father, daughter against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law; a person’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”  Mt 10:34-36)

By putting his own robe on Francis, Bishop Guido was acknowledging Francis’s membership in Christ’s new family, Christ’s new Israel, the Church.  It is very fortunate when the family based on blood and the family based on Christ coincides.  Unhappily, in the situation of Francis and often in our own situations, this is not always the case.  The Lord teaches us that His Family has priority.

Jim Nugent

School of Prayer

In our lives as Christians, prayer is, of course, essential.  We all should have our own personal, unique prayer to God which is a result of our prayer to the Father, with Christ, through the Holy Spirit.  In Rv 2:17 we read “Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: to those who prove victorious I will give some hidden manna and a white stone, with a new name written on it, known only to the person who receives it.”  God calls each of us by a name which is between ourselves and God only.

This is not, however, the totality of prayer.   We also need a “school of prayer” so that our personal, unique prayer does not become simply a reflection of ourselves.  There is always the problem that we “do not know how to pray properly” (Rm 8:26).  This is the function which our “vocal” prayers such as the Liturgy of the Hours can serve.  God has come to our aid by inspiring scriptural prayer such as the psalms which can be used to set out towards Him.  “Vocal” prayers such as the Liturgy of the Hours can serve as the “school” we need to learn how to really pray.  Of course, we are always to pray in the Holy Spirit and the words of the psalms are inspired by the Holy Spirit.  Normally, we think and then formulate our thoughts in words.  But, when we pray the psalms, the word goes first and then we follow with our minds.  This is even clearer when we consider the Our Father which was given to the apostles by the Lord.  Here the Lord allows us to enter into his own way of praying.  In Luke’s gospel, Jesus gives the disciples the Our Father in the context of His own prayer.

We can see how the “school of prayer” works in practice in the lives of the saints and especially in the life of Saint Francis.  He recited and had his friars recite the Divine Office.   This surely was the “school of prayer” for Saint Francis.  When Francis went to Mount La Verna in August 1224, he was so well versed in prayer and so united with Christ that he received the wounds of Christ in September.  Previously, however, Francis had written his own Office of the Passion of the Lord based on Sacred Scripture.  Just as Francis had spent Christmas at Greccio, he decided to also spend Easter at Greccio.   Starting with Holy Thursday, April 11, 1224, Francis recited with his brothers his own Office.   Using the prayers of the psalms, Francis was with Jesus during His agony in the Garden.   Then he continued to journey with Jesus through the Good Friday suffering and on to the joy of the Resurrection.  What Francis experienced in prayer during Lent in Greccio, he then experienced in a more intimate and physical way a few months later when he received the Stigmata on Mount La Verna.

It happened that on this Easter day in 1224 at Greccio, the brothers prepared a very elegant dinner because they were so happy that Francis was with them.  But when he saw this, Francis was not happy.  He slipped out and then knocked at the door as a beggar and asked for alms.   The friars were astonished when they saw that it was Francis.  He then scolded the friars saying “We should be mindful of the example of poverty of the Son of God more than other religious.   I saw the table prepared and decorated, and I knew it was not the table of poor men who beg from door to door.”   With this reproof, Francis showed the fruit of his prayer and union with Christ.

Jim Nugent

Wolf of Gubbio

In the Old Testament, the hope for the Messiah seems to be in two parts.  First there is the idea of a worldly paradise such as Is 11:6-9: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid …” Another part is the idea of the suffering servant, Is 52:13-53:12. Certainly the second part was fulfilled by the passion and death of the Lord.  There are those who reject Christ because the earthly paradise has not yet come. We do not see wolves living peacefully with lambs or swords hammered into plowshares (Is 2:4, Mi 4:3).

Yet, we can maintain that even the first part of the messianic hope was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. After Jesus was baptized, the gospel of Mark says that Jesus went and remained in the desert for forty days and was tempted by Satan. Mark also says (Mk 1:13) that “He was with the wild animals, and the angels looked after Him.” At that time in the desert there was peace among higher beings (angels), man (Jesus), and lower beings (the wild animals). Of course, there was not peace with Satan. Perhaps we can say that total peace cannot reign until Satan is finally defeated.

There is an even more literal fulfillment of the messianic hope in the life of St. Francis. The famous story of the Wolf of Gubbio gives us a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. There was a large and ferocious wolf which killed both animals and people and terrorized the people of the town so that they were afraid to go beyond the walls of the city.

Francis, however, was able to tame the wolf. When he approached the wolf, the wolf lunged toward Francis, but was stopped by the Sign of the Cross. The wolf submitted to Francis and Francis ordered the wolf in the Name of Christ not to be wicked. Francis then made a deal with the wolf.  If the wolf did not harm man or beast, no one, not even the dogs, would disturb the wolf, and the people of Gubbio would feed the wolf. The wolf gave a sign of agreement to the deal.  The wolf then followed Francis to the town to the utter amazement of the people.

The arrival of Francis with the wolf caused a large crowd to gather. Francis then gave a wonderful sermon in which he said that the wolf was permitted by God to terrorize them because of their sins, and they should fear damnation in hell much more than any animal which can only kill the body.  He then urged them to come to the Lord and do fitting penance so that the Lord will free them from the terror of the wolf in this world and eternal damnation in the next. He then told the people that the wolf had promised not to hurt anyone, but they must feed the wolf since it was hunger which drove the wolf to do the wicked deeds. The people gladly agreed to the deal, and the wolf gave clear signs that it also agreed.  The pact was kept by the wolf and the people until the wolf died two years later. And the dogs did not bark at the wolf.

In Gubbio, we see the prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled in a very striking manner (Is 11:6-9: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid …”). How did Saint Francis manage to tame the wolf? He certainly did not consult a book on wild animal training nor did he set up wild animal feeding stations to prevent wild animal attacks. Francis knew that the solution to the wolf problems of the people of Gubbio was God. Jesus Christ did not bring political programs for a peaceful world, but he did bring God to the world. Gubbio is a wonderful example of what happens when Christ is brought to people, and people really turn to God.  

Jim Nugent

Poverty of Spirit

In his book Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI speaks of the Lord’s Beatitudes in the context of the Sermon on the Mount.  In the course of commenting on the first Beatitude “How Blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Mt 5:3 or “How blessed are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours.” Lk 6:20, the Pope holds up Francis of Assisi as “the most intensely lived illustration of this Beatitude.”  The Pope states, “Francis of Assisi was gripped in an utterly radical way by the promise of the first Beatitude, to the point that he even gave away his garments and let himself be clothed anew by the bishop, the representative of God’s fatherly goodness, through which the lilies of the field were clad in robes finer than Solomon’s (Mt 6:28-29).”   The Pope goes on to note that this humility gave Francis freedom for mission, service, and the ultimate trust in God.  Earlier in his comments, the Pope maintains that the subject of the Beatitudes is Christ himself.  By living this Beatitude in such a radical way, Francis did eventually conform himself with Christ so well that he lived “totally in and from” Christ.  This fact was manifested externally by the stigmata.

How does this relate to ourselves who are not in the same time, place, or circumstances as Saint Francis of Assisi?   By asking Cardinal Hugolino to write the Rule of 1221, which is the basis of the Rule of the Confraternity of Penitents, “Francis did accept the distinction between radical commitment and the necessity of living in the world” as stated by Pope Benedict.  The Pope then goes on to assert, “The point of the Third Order is to accept with humility the task of one’s secular profession and its requirements, wherever one happens to be, while directing one’s whole life to that deep interior communion with Christ that Francis showed us.  ‘To own goods as if you owned nothing’ (cf.1 Cor 7:29ff.)­­­-to master this inner tension , which is perhaps the more difficult challenge, and, sustained by those pledged to follow Christ radically, truly to live it out ever anew-that is what the Third Orders are for.  And they open up for us what this Beatitude can mean for all.”

The living of this Beatitude and all the Beatitudes are for all who belong to Christ.  But how do you bring statements like “poor in spirit” down to the level of the concrete decisions we make in our everyday lives?  As the Pope asserts, the point of the original Rule of 1221, written by Cardinal Hugolino and given to Saint Francis, was designed to do just that. The current Rule of the Confraternity of Penitents is based on and adapted from that original Rule.  The various regulations for prayer, fasting, and dress are meant to help one to live a life united to Christ in the particular circumstances in life. In other words, the penitent needs to be “poor” in his or her own circumstances.   Obviously, there are many ways to live this Beatitude. One can live this rule or any other rule and still not be living the Beatitudes.  What is really needed is conversion.  Rules and guidelines can only help in the process of cooperating with God’s graces.  We all need to reflect on the Beatitudes to discern how we can live them in the concrete circumstances of our lives.

Jim Nugent

Indulgences and Saint Francis

One of the major locations associated with Saint Francis is the Porziuncola chapel. This humble medieval chapel, now located in the magnificent basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, is a place which certainly can be associated with the spirit of Saint Francis. The name “Porziuncola” means “little portion”. The chapel belonged to the Benedictines, but Francis did not want it given to him but only loaned to his Order.

The poverty and simplicity embodied by the Porziuncola and Saint Francis had a very long previous history and continues down to the present in people such as Mother Teresa. We can see even in the Old Testament God using the term “portion” to lay the groundwork for the coming of Christ and the Church He established. God gave to the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) the land of Canaan. Each tribe was given a portion of Canaan as their own. But the tribe of Levi was not given a portion. They were to live among the other tribes and serve in the worship of God, but their portion was to be God himself. As Ps 16:5-6 says “Lord, my allotted portion and my cup, you have made my destiny secure. Pleasant places were measured out for me; fair to me indeed is my inheritance.” This anticipated the “little portion” of Saint Francis.

The Porziuncola is also very much associated with repentance and grace. This arises from the famous Porziuncola Indulgence. This indulgence was surprisingly obtained by Saint Francis from the newly elected Pope Honorius III in July 1216.

When we receive absolution from a priest during the sacrament of Reconciliation, the forgiveness we receive does not come from the simple act of absolution. We must first have repented and really turned away from our sins. Forgiveness means that our repentance is accepted by God. The early Church recognized the essential connection between repentance and forgiveness with the lengthy public penances which were imposed on the sinner. Much of this was retained by the Church even at the time of Saint Francis where the main form of penance consisted in a pilgrimage to great centers such as Santiago, Rome, and especially Jerusalem.

What Saint Francis requested really was an “indulgence”--to say that a visit to the simple chapel of the Porziuncola could substitute for a long and dangerous pilgrimage to Jerusalem! In granting the indulgence, the Pope was not dispensing with the need for repentance and conversion. The life of Saint Francis and his followers caused the Pope to see that true conversion and repentance need not be manifested only by a pilgrimage. A life of prayer, penance, and conversion can fulfill the need for repentance, which is a prerequisite for forgiveness of sins. This was the start of the often misunderstood practice of indulgences. In fact, as history confirms, many abuses arose. But that should not cause us to lose sight of the greatness which was there at the beginning with Saint Francis.

In its current form, the Catholic faithful may gain a plenary indulgence on August 2, the feast of the Porziuncola, under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Pope), by devoutly visiting the parish church, and there reciting at least the Lord's Prayer and the Creed. To gain this, as with any plenary indulgence, one must be free from any attachment to sin, even venial sin. Where this entire detachment is missing, the indulgence is only partial.

In our own times, the “pilgrimage” requirement is much less stringent than in the time of Saint Francis, since one need only go to a parish Church. Yet the requirement for conversion, which was manifested by long public penances in the early Church and by pilgrimages during the time of Saint Francis, is certainly still there. Although Saint Francis did not make conversion any easier, perhaps he did make it more convenient.

Jim Nugent

In December 1221 Saint Francis was walking with Brother Leo on a cold, foggy, rainy, day along a muddy, snow covered road.   Francis described for Brother Leo perfect joy.   But first he told him what perfect joy is not.   “Brother Leo, even if the Friars Minor in every country give a great example of holiness and integrity and good edification, nevertheless write down and note carefully that perfect joy is not in that”. 

A little later Francis said “Brother Leo, even if a Friar Minor gives sight to the blind, heals the paralyzed, drives out devils, gives hearing back to the deaf, makes the lame walk, and restores speech to the dumb, and what is still more, brings back to life a man who has been dead four days, write that perfect joy is not in that.” 

Still later Francis said, “Brother Leo, if a Friar Minor knew all languages and all sciences and Scripture, if he also knew how to prophesy and to reveal not only the future but also the secrets of consciences and minds of others, write down and note carefully that perfect joy is not in that.”

Walking on further, Francis again said, “Brother Leo, Little Lamb of God, even if a Friar Minor could speak with the voice of an angel, and knew the courses of the stars and the powers of herbs, and knew all about the treasures of the earth, and if he knew the qualities of birds, fishes, animals, humans, roots, trees, rocks, and waters, write down and note carefully that true joy is not in that.”

Then again Francis said, “Brother Leo, even if a Friar Minor could preach so well that he should convert all infidels to the faith of Christ, write that perfect joy is not there.”

Finally, Brother Leo asked Francis, “Father, I beg you in God’s name to tell me where perfect joy is.”

Francis replied that if they come to their destination in the rain, snow, and cold and are refused admission, calumniated, and physically attacked and thrown down into the mud and snow, and if this all born patiently for the love of Christ, this would be perfect joy.  He goes on to say “And now hear the conclusion, Brother Leo. Above all the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ gives to His friends is that of conquering oneself and willingly enduring sufferings, insults, humiliations, and hardships for the love of Christ.  For we cannot glory in all those other marvelous gifts of God, as they are not ours but God’s, as the Apostle says: ‘What have you that you have not received?’ But we can glory in the cross of tribulations and afflictions, because that is ours, and so the Apostle says: ‘I will not glory save in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.’”

Francis is telling us that everything we have except our sins is the gift of the Lord.  The greatest gift we can receive is to bear patiently and for the Love of Christ the trials and tribulations which the Lord sends to us.  In Christ Jesus, these crosses become ours. The other gifts God gives us are not really ours and can be taken away. When we get resentful and upset at injustices and injuries inflicted on us, are we not refusing the greatest gift that the Lord gives to us? Are we not refusing the greatest glory of all, the glory of the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ? Saint Francis really understood the Cross of Our Lord.  Francis knew that we become like Jesus when we accept like Jesus what comes from the hand of the Father.  Let us learn from him.

Jim Nugent

The Last Word Is Joy

While poverty and penance were certainly central to Francis’s life, another aspect of his life, which surely cannot be separated from the first two, is joy.  Francis understood that one of the greatest enemies of the devil is holy joy.  He would say, “Then the devil rejoices most when he can snatch away spiritual joy from a servant of God.  He carries dust so that he can throw it into even the tiniest chinks of conscience and soil the candor of mind and purity of life.  But when spiritual joy fills hearts, . . . the serpent throws off his deadly poison in vain.  The devils cannot harm the servant of Christ when they see he is filled with holy joy.  When, however, the soul is wretched, desolate, and filled with sorrow, it is easily overwhelmed by its sorrow or else it turns to vain enjoyments.”

Francis was joyful even when he was preaching penance or weeping over the passion of Christ.  He also commanded his brothers not to be sad in public.  “It is not becoming for a servant of God to show himself sad or upset before men, but always he should show himself honorable.  Examine your offences in your room and weep and groan before your God. When you return to your brothers, put off your sorrow and conform yourself to the rest.”

Francis also maintained that the remedy for sadness was prayer.  He 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 unto him the joy of salvation.  For if he remains stupefied in sadness, the Babylonian stuff will increase, so that, unless it be at length driven out by tears, it will generate an abiding rust in the heart.”  The “Babylonian stuff” refers to Ezekiel 24:6 where the prophet describes Jerusalem, which was under siege by the Babylonians, as a rusty cooking pot.

For Francis, poverty led to joy because poverty is liberty.  Humility also led to joy because pride was most hurt by injuries.  Here Francis is pointing out for us the great benefits of poverty and humility.  Attachment to riches is a great source of sadness since we need to be constantly concerned about the preservation of our riches.  Anything which erodes our riches is going to be depressing for us.  The same goes for pride.  The injuries which hurt us most are those which dig at our pride.

Why is prayer the remedy for sadness?  We are sad when we focus exclusively on this world.  All our loved ones have or will eventually die and we ourselves will eventually die.  Yes, we can hide from this reality with “vain enjoyments”, as Francis referred to them, but they cannot overcome the reality that it all ends in death.  St. Paul gives us the answer in 1 Co 15:55, “Death, where is your victory?  Death, where is your sting?”  The victory of the Lord over death in the Resurrection is also our victory.  Francis understood this very well.  His life had much sadness and disappointment in it.  Yet prayer to the Lord put him back into contact with reality and he could see that the evils he experienced do not have the last word.  Francis knew, as we should know, that for those who know, love, and serve the Lord, the last word is joy.

Jim Nugent

The Desert Experience

By the year 1213, Francis’ reputation for sanctity was already starting to spread.  One who recognized his sanctity was a very rich and devout man named Count Orlando.   He met Francis at a festival and told him “Brother Francis, I have a mountain in Tuscany, which is very solitary and wild and perfectly suited for someone who wants to do penance in a place far from people or who wants to live a solitary life.   It is called La Verna.  If that mountain should please you and your companions, I would gladly give it to you for the salvation of my soul.”  Francis sent some friars to look at it and accepted the gift from Count Orlando.  He visited it several times; the last time was in 1224 when he stayed for an extended time and received the stigmata.

Why did St. Francis go to La Verna repeatedly and spend so much time there the last time he went (August 14 to September 30)?  Perhaps it was for the same reason that Jesus went into the desert for forty days.  He was led by the Holy Spirit.   In this context, what exactly is the “desert”?  Population centers are not built in deserts because of the lack of water needed to maintain human activities.  Pope Benedict XVI has written “The desert is the place of the absolute, the place of freedom, which sets man before the ultimate demands.  Not by chance is the desert the place where monotheism began.  In that sense it is a place of grace.  In putting aside all preoccupations man encounters his Creator.”   The “desert” is not just a place of very little precipitation or even a remote place like mount La Verna.  Wherever we can put all preoccupations aside we are in the “desert”. 

Pope Benedict goes on to say “Great things have their beginnings in the desert, in silence, in poverty.  It is not possible to share in the mission of Jesus, in the mission of the Gospel, without sharing in the desert experience, its poverty, its hunger.  That beautiful hunger for justice of which the Lord speaks in the Sermon on the Mount cannot be born in the fullness of satiety.”  St. Francis’s last trip to La Verna in 1224 certainly was his “desert experience”.  This “experience” culminated in the stigmata where the Lord did allow Francis to “share in the mission of Jesus.”

The desert, however, is not all sweetness and light.  It is also a place where the water we need for our biological life is lacking as well as the love and relationships we need to go on are also lacking.  Thus, it could also be called a place of death since we are not meant for self-sufficiency.  No doubt, in 1224, Francis could see his own death and the suffering which preceded it looming on the horizon.  This is another lesson which the desert can teach us.

When Jesus was in the desert he surely did encounter His Father very deeply.   He also encountered someone else, namely satan.   In other words, the desert is also a place of temptation.   We know from the gospels the temptations which the devil presented to Jesus. The devil was also surely present on Mount La Verna.   Perhaps Francis was tempted to die on that mountain.  That, however, was not the Will of the Lord.  Just like the Lord, he chose to fulfill the Will of the Father.  Francis did not run from evil or give in to it.   Yet even in the desert the Father is still there for that is were Francis received the stigmata.

In going into the desert, Jesus entered into the history of the salvation of the people of Israel. He was with them as they wandered for forty years in the desert.  He was with Moses for his forty days of fast and when Moses encountered God face to face on Mount Sinai.  He was also with Elijah as he journeyed for forty days to the mountain of the covenant and encountered God not in the earthquake or great wind or fire but in the tiny voice.  St. Francis also was with the suffering Jesus when Francis went up Mount La Verna.  This certainly was why he was given the grace of the stigmata.   We usually will not have our own mountain to go to in order to encounter God.   As Pope Benedict said, however, when we put “aside all preoccupations we encounter our Creator.”

Jim Nugent

Why Fast?

As is well known, fasting was a big part of the life of St. Francis.  He kept several special “Lents” in addition to the regular Lent.   These were forty days of fasting after Epiphany, before the Feast of St. Peter and Paul (June 29), from that feast to the Assumption, and from the Assumption to the Feast of St. Michael (September 29).  Later in his life he realized that his fasting may have been excessive, but that does not mean that it was wrong.  The other side of the same coin was feasting, and St. Francis also knew how to feast. 

Why did St. Francis fast and why does the Church still require fasting at times, right down to this day?  One indication can come from John 12:24-25, “unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest.  Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”  The Lord commands us to “die” and “hate” our life in this world.   This scripture does not command suicide or self hatred, yet it still has to mean something for us in a practical sense and not just in theory.  This is where fasting can serve as a means to help us “die” and “hate” our lives.  We know that we need food and other necessities to maintain our life in this world.  Yet these things do not bring us “eternal life”.  All they can do is postpone the inevitable physical death which is sure to come sooner or later.  In fact, moderate and rational fasting can help prolong our physical life, but that is not why we fast.  No, fasting is recognition that the good things of this world are manifestations of God’s love but they are not God.   We are choosing God over these things.   This is what St. Francis did during his whole life after his conversion.

St. Francis also knew how to feast.  When we fast we “die” to this world in Christ.  When we feast, which the Church commands us also to do, we are anticipating His Resurrection which cannot be separated from the Cross.  This can occur if we see our feasting and the enjoyment of all the good things in life as hopeful pointers to the unimaginable joy of the eternal presence of God.   If, however, we try to change the “pointer” into that to which it points, everything goes sour.  We are attempting to turn this life into something which it is not. 

St.  Francis definitely had the attitude of the psalmist in Psalm 17:14-15 where the psalmist says “You fill their bellies from your store, their children will have all they desire, and leave their surplus to their children.  But I in my uprightness will see your face, and when I awake I shall be filled with the vision of you.”  Here we see the difference in attitude between those who fast and those who do not.  Some seek material joys and possessions (full bellies), and like the psalmist, we should not begrudge it to them for we are seeking something different.  We are seeking the face of God.  As we enter Lent this month, let us be inspired by the joy which St. Francis derived from Lent. 

Jim Nugent