This month St. John’s will celebrate the annual “feast day” of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the most well known and beloved saints of the Western Church. October 4th is his official day, but our Blessing of the Pets is usually on the Sunday closest to that date. St. Francis is well known as the saint who talked to the wild animals, those who witnessed this say the animals responded to his loving presence as if they were tame. But beyond his relationship with the animals, St. Francis was one of the most influential preachers and stewards of God’s church in the Middle Ages. The following is an excerpt from “The Life of St. Francis,” which shows his passion for the health of God’s Church; written by one of the contemporary members of his order, St. Bonaventure;
“One day when Francis went out to meditate in the fields, he walked beside the church of San Domingo which was threatening to collapse because of extreme age. Inspired by the Spirit, he went inside to pray. Prostrated before an image of the Crucified … he heard with his bodily ears a voice coming from the cross, telling him three times: “Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling completely into ruin.”
Francis did indeed rebuild that little church and he went on to preach to and inspire the Church throughout time and space as he modeled the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. St. Francis is a model of the Christian Spirit and devotion to Jesus, of a love and respect for all life forms and of one who cared passionately for God’s House and worked to keep the the churches alive to bless people throughout all generations. In each of these areas, I pray that we might follow in St. Francis’ footsteps and rebuild God’s Church and our community.
Peace,
Fr. Daniel