Faith

The best way to remember and honor Francis's legacy is to understand how he found renewal. The Lord wants all of us to see the beauty and power of the cross.

Archbishop Richard G.
Henning

St. Francis stopped at the Church of San Damiano in the fields outside his home city of Assisi, and he prayed before a beautifully painted crucifix. While praying, he heard a voice say, "Francis, go repair my house, which is falling into ruins." Looking around himself at the crumbling old church, he imagined that God wanted him to repair the building. He returned to Assisi and sold some materials from his father's cloth business to buy the mortar and stone for the repair of the church.
Francis's father was enraged at the sale of the goods, and his anger set off a confrontation and crisis that saw the young Francis renounce worldly goods and begin a journey of radical dependence upon God and devotion to the faith. Francis would come to understand that the call of the Lord was not really about a building at all -- rather the Lord wanted renewal for the Body of Christ. At a moment when the Church suffered cynicism and a spiritual malaise, Francis's embrace of Gospel charity and divine love, and the wonder of Creation had a transformational effect upon the communion of the Church in his home city of Assisi and beyond. The joy he radiated and the love he demonstrated drew others into his project, and the Church began to be restored one living stone at a time.

We are in the midst of a Holy Year of St. Francis. It has been 800 years since his death, and Pope Leo has summoned us to that same kind of transformation experienced by Francis. The Holy Father has invited us to open our hearts to the call of the Lord, to embrace humility, poverty, and the beauty of Creation.
This Sunday, Oct. 4, is the Feast of St. Francis. As the date falls on a Sunday, the Sunday celebration takes precedence (except in Franciscan communities where the date is a solemnity). On the one hand, I regret that the Sunday precedence takes place during this commemorative and holy year. On the other hand, I suspect that the famously humble St. Francis prefers that the emphasis remain on the Lord Jesus. Matters of liturgical law aside, we will have every reason to celebrate the unique power of Francis of Assisi's witness this weekend. His joyful faith and Gospel-inspired compassion continue to affect our own time. Franciscan communities stretch across the globe, and Christians of every generation continue to pray Francis's prayers and imitate his humble faith.
The Lord wanted Francis to turn from the repair of stones to the renewal of persons. The Lord transformed Francis himself, drawing him to trust in divine providence rather than worldly wealth and to live for others. In imitation of the Lord, Francis embraced the leper and counted himself among the poor.
The best way to remember and honor Francis's legacy is to understand how he found renewal. The Lord wants all of us to see the beauty and power of the cross. The Lord longs for us to know him in the gift of the Eucharist and the summons of the Gospel. The Lord calls us to live the same compassion that He has poured out so generously upon us. The Lord wants all of us to "rebuild His Church!"

- Archbishop Richard G. Henning is the Archbishop of Boston

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