Francesco

ON THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS, (October 4) the monks and nuns of the New Skete Orthodox Monastery in Cambridge, N.Y. sing this hymn:

Like Anthony the Great and Paul of Thebes, you re-established harmony between humanity and the beast, recovering the lost intimacy between creation and its creator. For in your presence, the wolf of Gubbio became like a lamb, placing its paw in your hand as a sign of peace, while the birds delighted in your preaching, as you sought to awaken in these creatures devoid of reason a conscious praise for the Lord, a praise in the name of all creatures like themselves. O Holy Father Francis, beg Christ our God to grant us his peace.

This is lovely, seeing in Francis a reconciler and restorer of  blessings lost in the human story (which story is the fall of Adam and Eve.) Remember the Advent reading from the Prophet Isaiah (11:6-9).

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra' den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair,
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,
as water covers the sea.

We might ask: if we can hope that even the wild animals are capable of learning to live peacefully,  as in paradise, why can't we? But for all of the attention we pay to Francis of the animals (and sometimes we reduce Francis and consign him to the birdbath, which is to do him a great injustice) there is a part of the Francis story that is even more telling of who he is and how needed today.

Assisi, the home town of Francis, like so many Italian towns, is built up high on a mountain. An approaching enemy army could be seen that way and floods would remain safely below. And as the son of a comfortable cloth merchant, who apparently stocked very fine and imported fabrics, Francis had a buck in his pocket. I don't know if the Franciscan scholars would say as much, but perhaps we might say of Francis that he was a party boy, a carouser or lounging rich boy. 

At any rate, at some point after his encounter with the Crucifix of San Damiano and the repair of that church, Francis descended from the top of Assisi to Rivortorto, which means Twisted River, to where the leper-outcasts "lived". The descent was of course, much more than just a geographic re-location, it was a descent from his socio-economic ladder, a descent down into love. And at Rivertorto, Francis became friend and brother to the forgotten and despised ones. 

There's an incident in the life of Dorothy Day, a contemporary model of gospel justice, who when a gushing admirer said to her, "Oh Dorothy, you're a living saint," Dorothy responded, "Don't dismiss me so easily." We do that to saints - we make statues and sanitized pictures of them to admire on the wall. But we're supposed to be saints, not admirers of saints. Pope Francis said in his interview that the Church is not a little chapel where only a few can enter or a nest for mediocrity..." The real Francis of Assisi is a threat to that chapel-nest kind of Christian community.

A priest asked me once, "Stephen, who's your favorite saint?" I answered, "St. Benedict Joseph Labre," wanderer-pilgrim saint. The priest answered immediately, "But you wouldn't even go near him, he smelled so badly." I'm sorry to say, the priest was very likely right, though I was indignant at hearing it.

The Crucifix at San Damiano

Having heard the call
of the Risen Christ
in the half ruined church
of San Damiano,
you raised up the place
using mortar and stone.
And rekindling the lamp
that burns through the night
you dropped out of Assisi
as a woman giving birth,
through the rivertorto
among the
rejected and decayed.
O illumimed Francis,
whisper to God for
the brightening of hearts.

Francis with lepers at the Rivertorto

Sunday Intercessions ~ Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

El Greco ~ Saint Francis Meditating

Pope Paul the 6th spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on October 4th, 1965./ He said, "War never again; never again war."/ We pray boldly/ asking God for the conversion of human hearts to the things of justice,/ which creates peace./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray to stop blaming others for the threats to marriage and family life./ We pray rather,/ that we would know ourselves interiorly/ and set out to find healing where selfishness tires,/ strains and ruins family relationships./ We pray to the Lord.

The Feast of Saint Francis is this Friday./ Francis would be more readily found with lepers than with birds./ We pray to understand the saints rightly/ asking for new and brave hearts that follow Jesus more deeply,/ We pray to the Lord.

We ask for that true religious freedom which is interior./ For freedom from self-pity,/ addictions,/ ingratitude,/ hurtful impatience,/ and those actions which leave others lonely and unattended./ We pray to the Lord.

We ask God for the good health we need to do our work and to love our families./ We pray in solidarity with the sick,/ the wounded,/ the dying/and those with special needs and challenges./ We pray to the Lord.

We remember the dead/ asking Jesus to welcome them into the heavenly banquet/ which is reflected here at Mass today./ We pray in a particular way for those who have died this week in wars/ by violence or catastrophe./ We pray to the Lord.

Jesus and Mary of Ethiopia

An icon invites us to pray with our eyes

ETHIOPIA IS SUCH A TERRIBLY POOR COUNTRY its icons are more likely to be painted on sheets of cardboard than wood. Still, despite the crushing poverty, the images of this ancient Oriental Church reflect a brilliantly colored, exuberant, bright joy. Mary looks a little surprised here. What has Jesus just confided to her? Perhaps the news of the Resurrection and the secret of eternal life? Perhaps the role she will play as Mother of the new humanity whose fundamental invitation will be compassionate and merciful love?

Jesus looks playful here, doesn't he? He's got his book of teachings, but the book  is closed. At present he is more interested in bestowing his blessing and smile. Is this the "fragrance of the Gospel" Pope Francis had in mind when he gave his recent  interview which has gotten so much attention?

One of the most striking features of this icon is the nimbus around the heads of Jesus and Mary. A nimbus is usually golden or ochre, but these are highly decorated and even layered. Why the nimbus?

Theology distinguishes faith of two kinds. First there is the faith which simply and freely believes the doctrines or teachings of the Church: the teaching of God as Creator, that of the Blessed Trinity and the Incarnation, the teachings regarding the Seven Sacraments and the moral teachings.

The second and higher kind of faith is possessed by those who have been illumined (enlightened) by God's energies and knowledge. This is the faith spoken of in the Letter to the Hebrews:

The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

The first kind of faith, which is higher than simply human knowledge of a scientific or academic kind, is still merely believing. The second belongs to the person who can say from a personal place, I see, however that personal knowledge of the mysteries is still partial, like the dark glass St. Paul refers to in 1 Cor. 9-12.

The nimbus around the heads of Jesus, Mary, the saints and angels, symbolizes this second faith of illumination - the higher knowledge of heavenly things and personal holiness and even one's living in the Pascal Mystery of the Lord's dying and the victory of his rising. Isn't this the faith symbolized by the lighted candle given to us at Baptism?

I would add that while illumination may refer to knowledge of the heavenly mysteries (not at all the same as knowing a lot about religion) illumination also speaks to knowledge of human things as they are suffused with God's presence.

I was recently speaking with a contractor of home improvements and repairs who told me about the marvelous workers who form his team, almost all of whom are young men here legally from Mexico. He related that at times he is told by customers, "I don't want those people working in my house." Clearly there's no inner illumination in this kind of person - no knowledge of divine and deeply human things - and for all the church-going and even weekly professing of the Nicene Creed - maybe not even much of the simpler just believing kind of faith.


Young Jesus,
Divine,
Ethiopian Christ,
turn your bright face
toward me -
the blaze of your
nimbus
to penetrate my mind,
gifting
that
alive light -
the joy of
confident resting
in you -
the inner balance
of my emotions
like the autumn equinox -
the light of knowing
none of us brings God anywhere
nor to anyone,
but that God is already there.