St. Francis of Assisi - an Imitator of Christ, a Fool in the World but Blessed by the Lord

On October 4, the Roman Catholic Church honors the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

God sure blesses those who are foolish in the eyes of the world but radically obedient to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. One of such fools is St. Francis of Assisi.

What, then, makes Francis fool from a worldly standpoint but exalted by God?

It is his choice to embrace poverty, which Francis called “Lady Poverty”, for the sake of Christ on the Cross, to be like him, though he was the privileged heir of a wealthy merchant, Pietro di Bernardone. Francis was destine to inherit his father’s affluence. He could have kept his privileged life of pleasure, as he used to. But he denounced all of his privileges and chose to embrace Lady Poverty and to “boast in the Cross”(Galatians 6:14a).

Francis’ choice to embrace Lacy Poverty follows the way Christ, as Paul encourages to do so in these words:

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

The First Reading (Galatians 6:14-18) sounds like Francis encouraging his fellow friars to follow him in choosing to embrace Lady Poverty so that they can also boast in the Cross, as living in poverty also means humility. But this humility demands them to crucify themselves, as the world is crucified, meaning that we are made nothing in the world, as the world is made so, by the Cross, on which Christ died for us.

The text of the First Reading is:

Brothers and sisters:
May I never boast except in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
For neither does circumcision mean anything,
nor does uncircumcision,
but only a new creation.
Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule
and to the Israel of God.

From now on, let no one make troubles for me;
for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.  

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
brothers and sisters. Amen.

By boasting in the Cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14a), Francis is also boasting in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:31; cf. Jeremiah 9:24).  It is to glorify Christ and him on the Cross, rather than ourselves and our earthly possessions, such as wealth and statuses. Therefore, it is humility. In a way, boasting in the Cross, boasting in Christ, is like Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), which begins with Mary’s words of joyfully glorifying God, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Luke 1:46-47).

The above passage of the First Reading also reflects Francis’ primacy of Christ. So he is calling his friars to live a Christ-centered life, upon crucifying themselves to the Cross, so that Christ is living in them (Galatians 2:20), thus, being a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15).

For Francis, being in a new creation means being all worldly things stripped out, including carnal desires. This was radically symbolized when he took all his cloths in denouncing a worldly life and his privilege to inherit his father’s wealth, as well as, severing his earthly family tie. And by putting on a rag, given by a bishop, he became a new creation, detaching himself from the worldly matter and concerns. Therefore, he attained freedom from worldly and carnal matters that became obstacles to the closeness to Christ.

By embracing Lady Poverty, upon denouncing all of his earthly privileges, Francis became a new creation. This also means his conversion. But his transformation from an old creation began while he was still living in a privilege life, pursuing carnal desires. Francis always not only had compassion but also acted on it by helping the poor. So, he often gave to them by giving away nice cloths of his, given by his father. He also used his family’s money to give to the poor. As his act of charity escalated, it drew unfavorable attention from his father, because it was ultimately out of his expenses. And this led to a conflict between Francis and his father. For Francis to reconcile with his father, it would mean to remain in his privileged life, being obedient to him. But Francis chose to be obedient to Christ, who called him in vision, “Francis, Francis, go and repair my house, which as you can see, is falling into ruins!”, while gazing upon him in the Crucifix at San Damiano Church, which was nearly abandoned and in ruin.

In following this call of Christ, at first, Francis took it literally. So, he began to repair this neglected Church through his carpentry work, one brick at a time, by himself. Later other men joined him to repair San Damiano Church near Assisi. This is how the Franciscan order began.

But Francis’ radical embrace of Lady Poverty was a real way to repair the Church, which had already lost herself to worldly concerns and affairs, for having been an imperial institution, infested with power struggles among clergies. Unlike the Protestant Reformation, Francis did not leave the Church to start his own movement. Rather, he made a radical return to the original Apostolic Church, in which all members embraced poverty and obedience. The question is: Does the Church today really follows the way St. Francis of Assisi imitated Christ by embracing Lady Poverty as a way of living with the virtue of humility and obedience to Christ? At least, this is what Pope Francis tries, as his papacy is inspired by him, as he confesses in his first encyclical, Laudato Si (10-12).

So, Pope Francis wants the Church to serve as a field hospital to those whose souls are wounded by sins as a result of living a worldly life of carnal desires. And this field-hospital-like Church is a compassionately welcoming home to the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the marginalized, and so forth. Not a club house for the privileged.

In the Gospel Reading (Matthew 11:25-30), Jesus is speaking of and to Francis:

I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for your selves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

One of such little ones, to whom the Lord reveal what is kept from the worldly wise is Francis, for being a fool in a worldly sense to be radically faithful to Christ the Lord, embracing Lady Poverty and living a life of the Primacy of Christ, as reflected in the First Reading.  So, Jesus takes care of Francis, by letting him have his yoke, not the worldly one, by being one with him. This way, Francis enjoys the peace that only Christ can give (i.e. John 14:27).

Now the question is: Are you willing to be a fool, like St. Francis of Assisi, by giving up all your worldly privileges and embracing the Lady Poverty, to repair today’s Church, mired with power struggles and secularism, misunderstanding of “aggiornamento” ? This question is especially for those who are called to be priests, though Francis chose not to be a priest, remaining to serve as a deacon, freeing himself from Church’s politics, which was like the disciples arguing who among them was the greatest (Matthew 18:1-4//Mark 9:33-36//Luke 9:46-47).