The Franciscan Charism
Homily for the Solemnity of Our Holy Father St. Francis of Assisi
Today we celebrate not just a saint, but a way of life that challenges the world’s values. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron of so many different aspects of our human world. One might point to St. Francis’ radical life of simplicity. In a world obsessed with material possessions, his example of a life detached from the accumulation of wealth stands out as an example for us all. As many deny the effects of climate change, Francis stands as a warning to those who refuse to let go of their devastation of our natural resources. When so many refuse to hear the clarion call of the Gospel to the path of conversion, Francis calls us all to turn to the crucified Christ, who gave his life so that we could live forever. However, the charism that we seem to need even more than detachment, conservancy, and conversion may lie in his emphasis on a communal life grounded in charity for all of our brothers and sisters.
One of the stories that comes from a 13th Century biography of St. Francis, The Legend of the Three Companions, a compilation of stories put together by Brothers Leo, Ruffino, and Angelo, continues to impress. The story goes like this: “One day, when two of the brothers were walking along, they came across a fool who began to throw rocks at them. One of them, noticing that stones were being thrown at the other, ran directly in front of him, preferring that the stones strike him rather than his brother. Because of the mutual charity with which they burned, they were prepared to lay down their life in this way, one for the other.”
I’m sure that we all know of the acts of aggression in our society, particularly the presence of gun violence. In addition, each and every day we hear people denigrating one another verbally, calling others names or insulting them with vicious and foul language. As a young boy, I remember the prayer that was prayed at the celebration of Francis’s feast day. It thanked God for sending St. Francis to a world that had grown cold. I cannot help but think that if the world of the 13th century had grown cold, the world of the 21st century is entering an ice age. Common courtesy seems to have ceased to exist. We have turned a blind eye to people in need simply passing them in the street without so much as a kind word. Because it is possible to remain anonymous on our various social media platforms, one can say anything without fear of retaliation. Like the two brothers who walked together and encountered violence as a simpleton threw rocks at them, we must protect one another from violence, name calling, hate-filled speech, gossip and rumormongering which destroys the good name of our neighbor.
The primary charism of the Franciscan way of life is that of communal living. We are all brothers and sisters to one another. Community life must put the needs of others before our own. No matter how simply we live, no matter how ardently we live a life of poverty, no matter how zealous we are at preserving the created universe, nothing is so much needed in our own time as a spirit of fraternal love for one another. Life lived in community with others is, perhaps, the most sorely needed remedy that we can give our world.
It was Thaddée Matura, a Polish Franciscan Friar and Member of the Holy Spirit Province in Canada, who wrote that every reform of the Franciscan Order, from the days immediately following the death of St. Francis until the present day, was based on the vow of poverty. Everyone had an opinion about how that particular vow was to be lived. The controversy of how to live the gospel value of poverty has fractured the Order many times. Today, the popular joke about the Franciscan way of life is that our all-knowing God doesn’t really know how many different forms of Franciscan life there are. Matura chronicled these various divisions and pondered what the effect of the Franciscan Order would be on the world if just one such reform were about the charism of charity within the community.
As Francis lay dying, he prayed Psalm 142: “I cry to the Lord with my voice; to the Lord I make loud supplication.” He then asked the brothers to read aloud chapter thirteen of the Gospel of St. John, the story of Jesus washing the feet of the apostles. It was in this context that he said to them: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
It in the Gospel of St. Luke that Jesus says: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” It is the fire of love that the world needs today. Let us take every opportunity to show that we are the disciples of Jesus and followers of St. Francis by setting the world on fire with love.
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