J
JReducation
Guest
This Sunday is very special to the entire Franciscan family and our friends. It is the Solemnity of our Holy Father Francis. But this is also the 800th birthday of the Franciscan Order. As I reflect on my own life as a Franciscan, I come away with a sense of gratitude and humility. God has called me to follow this most wonderful teacher, this most holy man, this mirror of perfection. Few people have ever imitated our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as literally as our holy Father Francis.
Yet, this celebration is not only about his passing into Glory, but also about Christ’s love. Our holy Father once asked Jesus to grant him two favors before his death. First, he wanted to feel in his body the sufferings of Christ on the cross. Shortly after the Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a seraph appeared to Francis. And in the middle of the wings, Francis saw Jesus Christ crucified. He was still alive, bleeding and suffering. But most importantly, Jesus was loving. As Francis spoke with our Lord, the Lord made him a promise using the same words that God has spoken to Abraham, “I will make you the father of many children and your sons and daughters will be greater than the stars in heaven, and your order will survive until I come again.”
Francis wept with joy at the sight of our Lord, all loving and all merciful. But he also wept with joy at the promise of protection that Jesus had made to his order, which at that time was in crisis, surrounded by a Church that was also in crisis. Then Francis made his second request of the Lord, “Grant me the grace to love you as much as you loved me from the cross.” Christ granted him that grace. For Francis there was no other love in this world that could tempt him or even arouse his curiosity, than the love for Christ on the cross. Again, Francis cried. This time he cried, because he sympathized with the sufferings of the crucified savior of the world. Francis proclaimed to his brothers and sisters, “Love is not loved.” And he commissioned us to bring this message to the world, not by words, but by our way of life.
Shortly thereafter, Francis met with his sons and daughters. These included friars, cloistered nuns, the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, who later came to be known at the first Third Order in the history of the Church, today it is often referred to by a much shorter name, the Secular Franciscan Order. But to all three orders Francis commanded that we live for love and that we love as Christ loved us from the cross.
So as I approach this day, I not only give thanks to God for 800 years of Franciscan life in the Church, but for the grace of being called to love as I have been loved… This solemnity is really about Christ. It is about his love for us and how we are to love him. It is for all men and women, not just Franciscans. As the Church reminds us, “all are called to holiness“ and “all are called to the perfection of charity“. Francis is simply the teacher. But sometimes we must remember the teacher first, in order to remember the lesson. The lesson of the Solemnity of St. Francis is a lesson in love for Christ on the Cross, as he loved us first.
I know that the feast of St. Francis is not a solemnity for the universal Church, only for the Franciscan family. But it is a special day for all who are Catholic. Because Francis serves as a model of a truly Catholic man who loved Christ, the Church and his brothers and sisters as Christ loved. We all need role models in our lives. There are many saints in the Church. This is not a competition between saints. That would be a sin against the Holy Spirit. This is simply a day when a family of brothers and sisters proudly proclaim to the world the influence of their father in their lives. All of us who have had good fathers should honor them, during life and after their entry into Glory. “Thou shall honor they father and they mother.”
Br. JR, OSF
Brothers of Life of the Order of St. Francis
Yet, this celebration is not only about his passing into Glory, but also about Christ’s love. Our holy Father once asked Jesus to grant him two favors before his death. First, he wanted to feel in his body the sufferings of Christ on the cross. Shortly after the Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a seraph appeared to Francis. And in the middle of the wings, Francis saw Jesus Christ crucified. He was still alive, bleeding and suffering. But most importantly, Jesus was loving. As Francis spoke with our Lord, the Lord made him a promise using the same words that God has spoken to Abraham, “I will make you the father of many children and your sons and daughters will be greater than the stars in heaven, and your order will survive until I come again.”
Francis wept with joy at the sight of our Lord, all loving and all merciful. But he also wept with joy at the promise of protection that Jesus had made to his order, which at that time was in crisis, surrounded by a Church that was also in crisis. Then Francis made his second request of the Lord, “Grant me the grace to love you as much as you loved me from the cross.” Christ granted him that grace. For Francis there was no other love in this world that could tempt him or even arouse his curiosity, than the love for Christ on the cross. Again, Francis cried. This time he cried, because he sympathized with the sufferings of the crucified savior of the world. Francis proclaimed to his brothers and sisters, “Love is not loved.” And he commissioned us to bring this message to the world, not by words, but by our way of life.
Shortly thereafter, Francis met with his sons and daughters. These included friars, cloistered nuns, the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, who later came to be known at the first Third Order in the history of the Church, today it is often referred to by a much shorter name, the Secular Franciscan Order. But to all three orders Francis commanded that we live for love and that we love as Christ loved us from the cross.
So as I approach this day, I not only give thanks to God for 800 years of Franciscan life in the Church, but for the grace of being called to love as I have been loved… This solemnity is really about Christ. It is about his love for us and how we are to love him. It is for all men and women, not just Franciscans. As the Church reminds us, “all are called to holiness“ and “all are called to the perfection of charity“. Francis is simply the teacher. But sometimes we must remember the teacher first, in order to remember the lesson. The lesson of the Solemnity of St. Francis is a lesson in love for Christ on the Cross, as he loved us first.
I know that the feast of St. Francis is not a solemnity for the universal Church, only for the Franciscan family. But it is a special day for all who are Catholic. Because Francis serves as a model of a truly Catholic man who loved Christ, the Church and his brothers and sisters as Christ loved. We all need role models in our lives. There are many saints in the Church. This is not a competition between saints. That would be a sin against the Holy Spirit. This is simply a day when a family of brothers and sisters proudly proclaim to the world the influence of their father in their lives. All of us who have had good fathers should honor them, during life and after their entry into Glory. “Thou shall honor they father and they mother.”
Br. JR, OSF
Brothers of Life of the Order of St. Francis
