October 4—St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon and Religious

 

What would happen if you took the Gospel literally?  Would you “sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor” (Lk. 18:22)?  You might argue that Jesus does not call all of us to that state and you would be right.  But there are some who are called to living a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience.  St. Francis of Assisi was called to that life and he embraced it with wide open arms, even to the point of giving up the clothes that he received from his earthly father.  

St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals and ecology.  He founded three Franciscan orders; one for men, one for women, and one for the laity.  He was a deacon.  He was a stigmatist.  He tried to become a martyr when he went to Egypt during the Fifth Crusade and even spoke to the Caliph, but that grace was denied to him.  Instead, he ended up doing what he heard a voice telling him:  “Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down.”  He originally thought that meant for him to put stones and mortar together to build up a church building that had fallen into ruins.  Rather, he ended up building up the whole Church in the 13^th century with his orders and his example of loving Lady Poverty.

St. Francis embraced poverty as his role in the Body of Christ.  We each need to embrace our role.  It may not be poverty, but it may mean donating food, clothing, time, talent, and treasure for the sake of the poor.  There are homeless shelters we can serve at.  There are thrift stores we can contribute to.  There are scholarship funds we can donate to so we can help families provide their children with a better education.  There are single mothers we can befriend, encourage, and assist so they don’t have abortions.  Though we are not always called to follow the Gospel literally, we can take one line at its word:  “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt. 16:24).