The impact of St. Francis of Assisi on the Church cannot be overstated. Throughout the history of the Church, there are times when the Holy Spirit inspires certain men and women to assist him in the work of reform. The word “reformation” often has a bad rap among Catholics ever since the Protestant Reformation. Yet, reform is always a good and necessary thing. The very constitution of the Catholic Church as the Bride of Christ and the Body of Christ is indefectibly holy, yet she is composed of human beings who are sinners. When speaking about reform, I find it helpful to think of the analogy of the potter and the clay in the writings of the prophet Jeremiah. The potter, who represents God, shapes a piece of pottery out of clay. As the shape of his work begins to degrade, he reworks the clay with his hands to restore what had been lost. We are like the clay that is being shaped by the hands of the Holy Spirit. While we are living this earthly life, it is wise to avoid rigidity and remain malleable so that the Holy Spirit can continually form and reshape us into a more perfect likeness of Jesus Christ. If we become too rigid and set in our ways, we risk developing a permanent spiritual deformity that must be broken rather than reformed leading us to greater suffering.
St. Francis is a reformer who was truly needed at his time. We might think of a reformer to be typically a notable figure, perhaps highly educated and from a higher, nobler class of society. A reformer might be expected to implement a complex system designed to address every facet of the Church’s structure and operation. The Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation included such intellectual and spiritual giants as Sts. Charles Borromeo, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, and Vincent de Paul. St. Francis of Assisi was indeed a charismatic and passionate figure, but we do not usually think of him in terms of his intellectual contributions or for implementing a highly organized plan of reform. St. Francis is known primarily for his endearing simplicity. When he prays before the famous San Damiano crucifix and hears the words of Christ speaking to him and calling on him to rebuild His Church, which he sees is in ruin, St. Francis does not suddenly develop delusions of grandeur and seek to become the savior of the Church at his time. His initial understanding of Our Lord’s words is quite literal as he sets himself on the task of rebuilding that little church of San Damiano before proceeding to rebuild two other churches that had fallen into disrepair. It is not until later that Francis realizes the larger task to which Christ is truly calling him. Our Lord was not referring to any temporal church building in disrepair but to the universal Church of Christ.
Yet, even after Francis comes to understand the broader implications of Our Lord’s words, he knows that reform is a gradual process that takes many years to accomplish. His work of repairing those three church buildings helps him to see that reconstruction requires the painstaking work of setting in place one brick at a time. Each brick must be polished and remolded so that it fits nicely into the completed edifice of the Church. Francis knows that reform does not begin with pointing the finger of blame and telling other people their faults and sins, but rather with removing first the wooden beam from his own eye. The work of reform in the Church of any age always requires each brick to take upon themselves the work of personal reform through acknowledgement of our own contributions to the Church’s woes, followed by repentance, conversion, making reparation, and performing works of charity and mercy. It does no good for us to point the finger of blame at other people unless we have sufficiently addressed our own sins and spiritual blindness. St. Francis could perceive very clearly that reform in the Church begins with reforming oneself. This is the task to which Francis dedicates the rest of his life.
In his beautiful simplicity, St. Francis knows that any authentic reform must begin with the pure Gospel message. He desired to live his life in complete conformity with the life of Jesus Christ. He set out to imitate Our Blessed Lord in every aspect of his life, especially in his poverty, humility, and simplicity of life. Francis did not wish to be corrupted by anything in this world and so he renounced having a natural family of his own, his possessions and wealth, and his own will. This decision to dedicate himself entirely to living the Gospel message even meant that he had to sever ties with his own earthly father, who strongly disapproved of his son’s decision to renounce his wealth.
Francis’ closeness to his heavenly Father inspired his immense love for all of God’s creation. Francis not only grew exponentially in the virtue of charity towards his neighbor, but he also developed a deeper love and appreciation for nature. He could easily perceive how all of creation sings the glory of God. His love helped him to overcome his previous aversions to other people, especially to poor lepers. Before his conversion, he would go out of his way to avoid going near lepers wherever he spotted them. Yet, it was his encounter with Christ that granted him the spiritual vision to see Christ in every human being. He overcame his aversion towards lepers by willingly approaching and embracing them. As he says in his Testament: “When I was in sin, the sight of lepers nauseated me beyond measure; but then God himself led me into their company, and I had pity on them. When I became acquainted with them, what had previously nauseated me became the source of spiritual and physical consolation for me.” St. Francis did not only embrace a leper on one occasion, but he initiated a continual ministry to lepers. He and his fellow friars would go outside the city walls to care for the leper colony and kiss their wounds. St. Francis thus teaches all of us, his spiritual children, to experience the sweetness of Christ’s love by embracing all people, especially the marginalized and those who “nauseate” us the most. He challenges us to see the face of Christ in others and to embrace him in them the best we can.
He did not initially set out to establish a religious order, rather his order developed organically from his way of life. Other people saw the little poor man as he conducted himself in such a poor and humble way and they were drawn to his holiness. He attracted both men and women to come and live in a similar manner to him, most notably St. Clare. St. Francis comments in his Testament on this phenomenon of attracting followers saying: “And after the Lord gave me some brothers, no one showed me what I had to do, but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the pattern of the Holy Gospel.” The program of reform initiated by St. Francis has thus extended to an ever-increasing number of people attracted by his sanctity. His three orders eventually became a force of reform in the Church throughout the world for men, women, laity, priests, and religious. They have inspired countless offshoots of religious communities all stemming from the same Franciscan roots.
And so today, we honor this holy, humble man of Assisi who has taught the Church valuable lessons concerning the nature of true reform. Not only does reform begin with each one of us by turning away from our own sin, but it also involves a radical reorientation towards the authentic Gospel message. Every person who strives to become a follower of St. Francis will naturally seek to imitate him in his life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The three Franciscan orders are a testament to the fact that the Gospel is accessible to every person according to their state in life. St. Francis shows us a way to imitate Christ in simplicity and purity of heart. May the spirit of St. Francis enlighten us and strengthen us on this day and throughout our lives, that we might continually strive to reform ourselves by the light and grace of the Holy Spirit and unite ourselves more firmly to Jesus Christ.
– Fr. Matthew Mary, MFVA