Memorial of St.
Francis of Assisi — October 4, 2014 — "Humble Rebuilders"
Deacon Jeffrey “Skip”
Thompson, MSA, (aggregated under the OFM)
Luke 10:17-24 “The
seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in
your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do
not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your
names are written in heaven.”
In that same hour he
rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and
revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things
have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the
Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses
to reveal him.”
Then turning to the
disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you
see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you
see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Pietro Bernadone was a
rich cloth merchant from Italy with dealings in France. He married Pica, a
French woman, who bore him a son Giovanni in 1182. Giovani’s mother taught him
French and his family’s French proclivities combined to fit him with the
nickname: Francesco. Today, we know Giovanni better as:
St. Francis of Assisi.
From an early age
Francesco had a soft spot in his heart for the poor. He usually gave money to those
who asked. Once, after he had turned down a beggar, his conscience
objected mightily. He ran after the man and gave him the money he
needed. And from that time on, Francesco resolved never to refuse those
in need.
Francesco had a short
career as a soldier. He was captured in battle against the neighboring
town of Perugia. This episode, followed later by a protracted illness, moved
him in a profound way to repent, seek the Lord, and follow him
wholeheartedly. After his decision, Franceso constantly sought solitude
and prayer. One day, while praying in the delapidated Church of San
Damiano, he was stunned to hear Christ on the Crucifix say to
him, three times: “Francis, go and repair my house, which
you see falling.”
Francis immediately thought
to repair the church of San Damiano. He took some of his father’s
merchandise, sold it, and brought the proceeds to the old priest at the church,
who, wisely, refused it and remained outside the family
squabble. When his enraged father came to get him, Francis set the money
on a window sill and hid himself. His father found his money and returned
home.
Several days later
Francis returned to Assisi in rags. His father, still angry, imprisoned
him at home; but his mother released him. Free again, Francis returned to San
Damiano. And again, his father tracked him down, and ordered
him to come home…or else be disinheritedbefore the Bishop.
Francis accepted the latter option.
As his renunciation
document was drafted, the future Saint Francis became
impatient; so he stripped himself naked — and gave his clothes to his father,
saying: “I have called you, father on earth; but now I say with more
confidence, ‘Our Father who art in heaven, in whom I place all my hope and
treasure.”
Francis was 25 in the
year 1206 when he embraced Sister Poverty. She was his
freedom to follow Christ fully, with child-like simplicity: like his literal
take on the voice that asked him to, “Repair My house.” In four
short years, so many disciples followed him, that in 1210, Pope Innocent III
approved Francis’ new foundation of mendicant friars. He ordained him a Deacon,
but he was never a priest. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Our Gospel gives us a
fascinating insight into what makes Jesus rejoice. “I thank
thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thou hast hidden these things from the
wise and understanding, and revealed them to babes…” The verse
just before our reading gives more insight for our understanding of the
significance of this declaration, Luke 10:16. Jesus had just stated: “He
who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects
me…rejects him who sent me.” This is clear divine authority delegated
by Jesus to His Apostolic Church. But more importantly, He considers a greater
cause for rejoicing than his bestowal of divine
authority, the fact that “your names are written in heaven.”
The Gospel then notes that Jesus turned to His disciples and said privately,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many
prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear
what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Jesus chose common
men, poor men, to whom to reveal the Father. They were simple
men, children in the ways of the world, with docile hearts, which were
responsive to God and to their fellow man; like Francis who at a tender age
resolved not to ignore the poor. Humility opens us to divine insights and
power and St. Francis epitomizes humility. The little ones, the poor in
spirit, receive from Our Lord; and he rejoices. To these, not the
high and mighty, he gives power and spiritual authority to defeat the
enemy whom he saw, “fall like lightning.”
St. Francis died on
this day in 1226 — but his mission continues. The Lord called him then — and
us now — to repair, reform and renew. And the
Church today is, more than ever, in need of repair. She
is externally assaulted by a culture of death, a militant
atheism and a dictatorship of relativism that surrounds and
confounds her. She is internally torn by dissent,
born of comfortable apathy, that regards the teachings of the
Church as hard and the truth as intolerant.
Dictated by today’s political
correctness, dissent is more acceptable. Why?
Because it is easier. Evil is rarely obvious,
but it is always, easier. The truth is never popular to those who prefer
the “nice and easy.” Pontius Pilate crucified the
Truth Incarnate because it was politically easier.
Spiritual forces and
immaterial powers threaten our souls. These are the “serpents and
scorpions” that can wound or kill our faith. But, Jesus gives us
power over them just as he did his disciples. Our power is Jesus’
truth and His authority, given us for
the sake of His sheep. Christ’s words given to St. Francis
are words also given to us: “Go and repair my house.”
This is the goal of the New Evangelization.
Each of us must give
account to God for how we spend our lives… a sobering thought. But it
also confirms the value of our calling. What we do, matters to
God, because it sets our trajectory for eternity. Remember
David’s acknowledgment of God in Ps. 62:12: “You repay a man according to
his work.” God grant us soft hearts, to hear and act, upon the truths
of the Gospel and preach it, as Francis did…to invest our lives and risk it
all…for the sake of Your Kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven. St.
Francis pray for us.
