Lessons from Francis

On Monday, the Church celebrated the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, one of our more "popular" saints. He's well-known as a symbol of simplicity in a world of excess through his commitment to the poorest of the poor.

The interesting thing about him is that he came from a background that was the complete opposite of the one that he would take on for the rest of his life. Really, that is why we declare people saints -- there is nothing terribly out of the ordinary about any of them. They all had jobs and families and ordinary responsibilities as all of us do, but what has set them apart is the degree to which they chose to follow God. That's it.

Ironically, Francis was a party boy. He came from a very well-respected and wealthy family. He was always a bit disillusioned with the "good life," however, and when he realized that everything that he had gained in the world wasn't going with him after death, he literally shed it all. In the presence of his parents and friends at one of the family's parties, Francis stripped naked and declared that he was going to follow Christ. And, true to the Gospel, he gave up everything he had in order to do so.

Growing up, I'll admit that I knew very little about St. Francis. One thing that does stick out to me is his particular love for animals; this compassion would lead him to be known as the patron saint of animals. At my church, it's been a long-standing tradition to bring our pets out to receive a blessing each year on his feast day, Oct. 4.

A lot of paintings and other images of Francis depict him with some sort of woodland creature, so it can almost be difficult to remember him as more than a sensitive Snow White-esque figure. His legacy is one that is still growing in the present day, though, as he became the founder and spiritual father for the monastic order named after him, the Franciscans.

These priests, religious brothers and sisters all work with a particular focus on service to the poor. They are perhaps best known for their brown habits (a habit is more or less a uniform for religious orders) and their simple way of living. There's a lot of wisdom in living just like the people you want to reach most.

There is so much in this world that we concern ourselves with -- money, food, work, love, success -- but what we can learn most from St. Francis is that the greatest things in life are faith and charity, or as their motto says, "pax et bonum," peace and goodness.

You may recognize this prayer, one that is attributed to Francis himself:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.