Fr Steve Rodrigues
On October 4 every year, we celebrate the feast of St Francis of Assisi. The figure of Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) has always captured the imagination of people from all walks of life ~ Christians and Muslims, royalty and prime ministers, rich and poor, intellectuals and workers, philosophers and theologians, poets and novelists, artists and filmmakers, historians and sociologists, peacemakers and environmentalists, people of all religions.
Today more biographies exist of the Little Man of Assisi than of any other saint and new studies appear every year. Now, for the first time, we have a pope that has chosen the name ‘Francis.’ Why do so many people go after St Francis of Assisi today?
Born into a rich merchant family, Francis left his material wealth to seek wealth with the Lord. Taking the Gospels as his way of life, Francis worked and lived with the poor. Part of his charisma is his very ordinariness, his closeness and accessibility to the average person. His influence spread, and soon followers came to be with him, to live as he did. These we call Franciscans. Today, and in today’s world, they try to re-live the life of St Francis who was a rich witness to the life of Christ.
This radical Christian lived a simple, humble and poor life yet the effect of his life on others and his impact on society and the church was extraordinary.
Francis, one of the best known saints of the world, was very much a man of action. He gave away all his worldly possessions and lived a life of radical penance, manifesting itself in a deep spirit of poverty, simplicity and humility. His life of penance was evangelical in its fervour and purpose, namely, to lead people to God in Christ. For Francis, a life of penance was a way of life, involving a radical self-emptying and self-surrender; open to constant change under the daily guidance of the Divine. It was also a life of service to the poor, the disabled, and the marginalized in society. Francis believed that deeds were more important than creeds.
Part of Francis’ love for and appreciation of the environment was such that he saw himself as part of the ecosystem. He talked lovingly and personally to the stars, trees, birds and animals etc, and referred to all creatures and created things as “brothers” and “sisters” and therefore all of the environment is worthy of respect.
In 1979, Francis was proclaimed by Pope John Paul II as the patron of ecology, as was cited by the Pope as “an example of genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation.”
The new Pope, like St Francis, is a man of reform calling the church “back to basics,” and back to the Gospel. He reminds the church and the world ‘not to forget the poor,’ and to be vibrant ministers of mercy and compassion. Surprising the world by taking the name of St Francis of Assisi, the name which symbolizes poverty, humility, simplicity, peace, love for creation and rebuilding the Catholic Church, the pope of surprises and genuineness, reminds the church and the world of today to follow the model of humble and joyful St Francis to ‘repair the church’ and to heal the broken world.
