By Fr. Niall O’ Brien mssc

Christmas belens – big and small –will appear everywhere to remind us in a simple way of birth of Jesus. The first to introduce this devotion was none other than Francis of Assisi whose story we tell below.

Town of Assisi

The little hill town of Assisi is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is a tourist destination but it’s always a special tourist who goes there. One who is at least half on pilgrimage because they are going to see the birth places of St. Francis and St. Clare. Not only the birth places but he places also where they lived their extraordinary lives, worked their miracles and died their holy deaths.

His biggest fear

St. Francis was born in Assisi in 1182. As a young man Francis wanted to become a knight in shining armor. He joined the battle between Assisi and Perugia only to be captured, ransomed back and get seriously sick. That illness was the beginning off a change in Francis’ life. Francis now turned towards God. One thing that Francis feared most of all was lepers. Whenever he saw a person with leprosy he kept his distance. Now that his heart was turning towards God he knew there was something wrong in the way he avoided them. So one day, as he was coming along the road he saw a leper. His first reaction was panic. But overcoming his panic, he walked up to the man and subduing his revulsion he embraced him and even kissed him. Francis looked into the leper’s eyes and said, “Peace and good.” And the leper replied, “Peace and good.” And that moment was a special moment in Francis’ journey towards God.

“Rebuild my Church”

Francis used to pray in a lonely quiet church called San Damiano outside Assisi. It was broken down and guarded by a priest who lived in a shack nearby. Francis loved the quietness and there he used to pray in front of a crucifix which hung over the altar. One day the figure on the crucifix spoke to him. Francis heard the voice saying, “As you can see, my church is in ruins. I want you to rebuild my church.” Francis took the message literally and began, in his own way, to rebuild the church. This got him into trouble with his father because he used the bales of cloth for his father’s warehouse. The result was a dramatic showdown between Francis and his father. His father felt that Francis was going mad, going around like a beggar collecting stones to rebuild old churches. Francis’s father felt he was letting down the family, most of all he was angry over him taking the bales of cloth. Francis father had him arraigned before the bishop and accused him of theft. That was dramatic encounter at which Francis took offal his clothes and handed them back to his father. He renounced his inheritance forever. The bishop’s gardener threw an old cloak over Francis. Francis drew a cross on it and walked away. With his inheritance gone, his ties broken, he was now free to serve God.

Peasant Garment

Francis restored many old churches but one day, after hearing the Gospel, he realized that what he was called to restore was the Church of God. At this time the Church was in a terrible state of decline, the result of the most scandalous excesses, luxurious living, and all sorts of misconduct practiced openly even among the high-ranking prelates of the Church. Francis decided that the way to answer the call of God was to live a life serving the poor, in joy and simplicity. Soon many followers gathered around him - the Brothers of St. Francis – they adopted a simple rough peasant garment with a rope instead of a belt as a girdle.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Francis had his own special spirituality, sometimes summed up in that picture of Francis preaching to the birds. Because he regarded all created things as related to him. You may recall the name of the famous movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon, the moon as his sister. He speaks with great respect for all creation. He sees God in everything. No wonder Pope John Paul II made him the patron saint of ecology and therefore of creation spirituality. One of the special moments in Francis’ life of course was the famous of course was the famous stigmata. Francis was the fist of a long line of saints to receive the wounds of Christ in his body. In September 14, 1224, something remarkable happened to Francis. Christ appeared to Francis in the sky and suddenly the wounds in Christ’s hands and feet and side of Francis. Francis felt the pain that Christ but also felt the love of Christ felt for us.

In His steps

Francis’ health declined and in the summer of 1226 he was moved to Assisi. The doctor told him he would die at the beginning of October. Francis said, “Welcome, Sister Death.” He asked his lesser brothers to sing the Canticle of the Sun, the poem he himself had written he asked to be laid on the ground and as he felt death coming on he said, “Sister Death, I welcome you for it is you who are going to introduce me to eternal life.” His brothers sang Psalms 41 and he died. Today thousands of is followers all over the world struggle to imitate him and through him, to imitate Jesus Christ by their service of the poor.