To study the lives of the saints arouses within us a response, a desire to imitate real examples of holiness. The good news is we don’t have to be another St. Francis or another St. Clare. We simply need to become the saints we were uniquely created to be. And in a hundred years, it will not matter if we are in a book of “official” saints.
— From filmmaker, writer and Catholic activist Gerry Straub at “Gerry Straub’s Blog.”
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS, CHECK OUT ANYTHING BY THE YOUNG AND DYNAMIC FRANCISCAN WRITER AND BLOGGER DANIEL P. HORAN.
Many people’s only image of St. Francis is that image of a gentle little monk who loved animals and nature and the sun and the moon.
Many of those same people have the popular statues of the great saint in their gardens, oblivious to what a radical, Christ-like courageous little man Francis was–a hometown party boy from a wealthy family who spent a year in prison in his warrior days, only to convert to a life marked by a long list of radical acts that included his embracing a leper and living a life of poverty, and later venturing out into hostile territory, at great risk, to make peace with Muslims.
To my way of thinking, Francis is one of the most fascinating people in world history, and is also high on my list of faith heroes. He, along with heroes like Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, MLK Jr. and Henri Nouwen, Tolstoy (whose writings on radical Christian love and nonviolence heavily influenced and inspired Gandhi and MLK Jr.) and Albert Schweitzer and, from my own faith tradition the Methodism founder John Wesley, and a few others who keep me inspired, are the kinds of Christians who boldly devoted themselves to the radical ways of the radical Christ Jesus our Lord.
The one thing these faith heroes have in common is their radical love of God and neighbor, and their reaching out to the poor and marginalized. That, and their commitments to justice and to the nonviolence that Christ himself calls all Christians to live out, and not just to read in about in the Bible.
Here’s a link to an article from Father Daniel P. Horan, a dynamic young Franciscan who blogs at “Dating God.” “Dating God” is the title of one of his fine and mighty fine books. Check him out.
And below is a word on Francis from my friend the filmmaker Gerry Straub, who ventures into places inhabited by the poorest of the poor and puts their stories to film.
Gerry is also a terrific writer and a devout Catholic who knows his theology.
His blog is here so check out the whole enchilada.
And have a peaceful St. Francis Feastday.
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“Francis: An Icon of Holiness”
He was a soldier, eager to win glory in battle; yet, he became a true ambassador of peace, introducing the bold concept of nonviolence to an aggressively violent society.
He was a fun-loving, wealthy playboy who loved to party; yet, he became a pious man of prayer
who favored the company of the poor.
He was the son of a successful silk and fabric merchant; yet, he preferred to dress in rags.
He was devoted to the Church; yet, he respected those whose faith differed from his.
He was a holy man who did not preach very often but when he did preach, his words were on fire and stirred people to respond. But he was more comfortable speaking to birds, taming wild animals and embracing lepers.
His education was limited, yet his vision was unlimited; he saw harmony in all of creation, calling the sun his brother and the moon his sister.
He was a man of deep contemplation, spending months alone in remote areas that were conducive to the solitude he treasured. Yet he was a man of courageous action. He was captured during a fierce battle and spent a year in prison. He walked barefoot over the Pyrenees. He was shipwrecked during a storm at sea. And during the Fifth Crusade, he ventured into enemy territory in Egypt in order to make peace with the Muslims.
The rich, the famous and the powerful, all sought his advice; yet he sought the company of the rejected and the outcasts his society.
He was St. Francis of Assisi, the most popular and most loved saint of all time.
The story of St. Francis is a dramatic tale of epic proportions, filled with triumphs and failures, heroic deeds and unimaginable acts of charity. And what does this saint from 13th century Italy have to say to the world at the dawn of the 21st century? He speaks to our growing interest in mysticism, our concern for the ecology, our desire for simplicity, our search for alternatives to violence, our anxiety over the harsh plight the poor…St. Francis speaks to our hunger for God.
His story is the timeless story of transformation.
Somewhere deep inside of each of us, there is, I believe, a desire to be holy. We can quibble about what being holy means, but essentially it means being really, really good…even when no one is watching. For a Christian, the essential meaning of holiness is more precise: it means being like Christ. But the manifest goodness on full display in the lives of the saints grows out of love. Their love of God is so strong, so deep that their lives pulsate with God’s love and goodness.
Saints are icons of holiness. Saints make holiness real; they show us holiness is possible. Saints are also fully human. They make mistakes and have their share of failures. They cry and they laugh. And they endure illnesses and disappointments. They fight long and hard to overcome doubts and insecurities. They often experience rejection and scorn from family and friends. They struggle with spiritual growth as they attempt to follow a path they hope and pray leads to God. Saints are ordinary people whose passion to emulate the self-emptying love of Christ is extraordinary. Saints are flesh and blood, not pious plastic statues. They are not perfect; but they allowed the love of Christ to transform their weaknesses and imperfections into something beautiful.
To study the lives of the saints arouses within us a response, a desire to imitate real examples of holiness. The good news is we don’t have to be another St. Francis or another St. Clare. We simply need to become the saints we were uniquely created to be. And in a hundred years, it will not matter if we are in a book of “official” saints. Even today, there are countless everyday saints living holy lives of prayer and service who are virtually invisible. But God sees them, sees all of them. I’ve met a few of them. Men and women living the Gospel, sacrificing everything as they serve the poor in Haiti, Kenya, Uganda, India, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador and the Philippines. They too have inspired me.
Each of us is called to become a saint in our own quiet way.
We celebrate the feast of St. Francis on October 4th. Let’s make that day a day to pray about finding our own quiet way to sainthood.
“LORD, MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF YOUR PEACE.”
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