Thursday, October 02, 2014

Reflecting on the Passing of Saint Francis of Assisi

A Reflection for the Feast of Our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi
October 4&5, 2014
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
 
 
This Friday and Saturday all Franciscan Communities around the globe honor the feast of the passing or Transitus of St Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226)  for this earth to his heavenly abode. St. Francis is the Seraphic Father of the Franciscans of Divine Mercy just as he is to all Franciscan Communities.
The following is a brief reflection about the life of St. Francis and why our order tries to live up to the principals  St. Francis had when he founded the lesser Brothers, as he called what has become one of the largest religious communities of men and woman in the world now known as The Franciscan order.
 
It is very fitting that in the Gospel for this Sunday Jesus asks the chief Priests and the elders of the people “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful to behold” since the stones St. Francis started to use to rebuild that small broken down chapel, have turned into a powerful religious community of dedicated men and woman who have furthered the Good News of Salvation preached by Jesus Christ.
St. Francis was the son of a prosperous cloth merchant in Assisi. One day while Francis was praying before an ancient crucifix in the forsaken wayside chapel of St. Damian's below the town, he heard a voice coming from the crucifix saying: "Go, Francis, and repair my house which as you see is falling into ruin."
Today, in this day and age, another Francis is attempting to carry out that direction given to St. Francis, I refer of course to Pope Francis who chose the name Francis because of the dedication to the poor, outcasts of society and the Gospel that St. Francis of Assisi had.
Pope Francis has taken on the task of rebuilding the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church and he has asked his Bishops and Priests to live simple lives as the apostles and St. Francis did, giving up fancy clothes and residences and to get out among the people God has sent them to serve, just as Jesus served and healed all he encountered. Pope Francis has chosen to live in a simple studio apartment in a hotel rather than the palatial Palace of the Vatican, he wears a simple Iron cross and simple garments rather than the ermine and gold of previous popes just as St Francis discarded his fancy clothes.
When his father objected to having his goods sold without his consent to pay for the restoration of the chapel Francis heard the voice speaking from the cross which Francis believed to mean that he should rebuild the chapel, his father begged the bishop to commanded Francis to repay the money he had used to buy stones to rebuild the small chapel to him.
Francis not only returned the money but stripped himself of all his clothing which his father had paid for and tossed them at the feet of the father.  He also renounced his father. The Bishop quickly placed his cope on Francis to cover his nakedness.
He even later gave the few garments the people of the town clothed him with to a beggar and instead clothed himself in the coarse woolen rustic material of brown somewhat like that used for flour sacks making, as he named it, a tunic of "beast color".
 It was the kind of clothing then worn by the poorest of the Umbrian peasants, and tied it round him with a knotted rope, Francis went forth at once exhorting the people of the country-side to have penance for their sins,  to have brotherly love towards all, and find ways to achieve peace among the warring factions of the various towns of Italy.
Ten years later 5,000 men were wearing the simple clothing; a hundred years later Dante was buried in it because “it was more glorious than cloth of gold”.
This simple peasant garment is worn to this day by all Franciscan communities all over the globe and found in many different Christian Denominations. There are Franciscans not only in the Roman Church, but in the Anglican, Lutheran, Old Catholic like our Franciscans of Divine mercy, and there are Lay or third order communities as well.
Each year, on the Feast of St. Francis, all Franciscans renew  their commitment to live our lives for others rather than ourselves as Francis did, especially when performing official duties as a brother or priest.
We also wear the image of the Cross St. Francis heard talking to him, often called the San Damiano Crucifix, as a reminder that it is our mission to rebuild and strengthen the Universal church by preaching God’s infinite love for ALL His children since that was what Francis came to understand was the message he received. Francis often spoke out against the excesses practiced by the hierarchy and their failure to live the teachings of Christ, just as Pope Francis has on many occasions.
Francis began a life of perfect evangelical poverty, living by begging and even then only accepting the worst food that people had to give. Franciscans, even today, rely on donations to fulfill their missions work and often perform secular labor to supply their daily needs.
Francis preached to all the love of God and the love of the created world; because, he celebrated everything he received, or saw, or heard, as a gift from God who created everything for good and a purpose known only to God.
A rich man sold everything and joined him in living next to a leper colony; a canon from a neighboring church gave up his position and joined them also. They looked into the Gospel and saw the story of the rich young man whom Jesus told to sell everything; they saw Jesus telling his disciples to take nothing with them on their journey; they saw Jesus saying that his followers must also carry his cross. And on that basis they founded an order.
Francis went to Rome himself and persuaded the Pope to sanction it, though it must have seemed at once impractical and subversive, to set thousands of holy men wandering penniless round the towns and villages of Europe begging alms but that is what the rule St. Francis Drew up required them to do and we still go begging to fulfill the needs of our ministries.
There is too much to say about Francis to fit here.
 Francis died in 1226, having started a revolution. As I said in the beginning of this reflection, the Franciscans of Divine Mercy strive to continue the traditions of St. Francis by spreading God’s message of love to every person especially the poor, alienated and those who society rejects just as Francis did.
This week our ministry, Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus will also on the 7th of the month be celebrating the feast of our mission’s patron Saints.
Saints Sergius and Bacchus were two Christian Roman soldiers who were ordered to enter the Temple of Jupiter to participate in a sacrificial ceremony to the god, they refused.
For this act of defiance, the friends were stripped of their arms and badges of rank, dressed in women's clothing and led through the streets of Arabissus (near Comana in Cappadocia) which, for a Roman soldier, was abject humiliation.
Then they were sent to Resapha in Syria (Augusta Euphratesiae in Mesopotamia), where they were tortured.
Bacchus was whipped until his flesh was raw and he died October 1st AD290, confessing his faith in Christ
Sergius's faith faltered with the death of his best friend, but was reinforced when Bacchus appeared to him in a vision saying, "I am still with you in the bond of our union." Sergius kept the faith and after a great deal more of torture, he was beheaded on October 7 AD290. He died a martyr for the love of Christ.
The tomb of Saint Sergius at Resapha become a famous shrine and was honored by great gatherings of Christians because of the frequent miracles there.
Sergius and Bacchus became the heavenly protectors of the Byzantine army, with the two Theodores, Demetrius, Procopius and George.
Their "acts" are preserved in Latin, Greek and Syria.
In AD431, Bishop Alexander of Hierapolis built a magnificent church in Sergius’s honor.
In 434, the town of Resapha was raised to the rank of an episcopal see, was named Sergiopolis, and soon became one of the greatest pilgrimage centers of the East.
Many churches in many towns bore the name of Sergius (sometimes with Bacchus) and in the seventh century, a church was dedicated to them in Rome.
There have been two popes named after Saint Sergius.
During the middle Ages, the relationship of Sergius and Bacchus was considered an exemplar of compassionate union, and possibly even marriage, based on agape (brotherly love) and mutual respect.
In the East, Sergius and Bacchus were universally honored.
Since the seventh century they have had a celebrated church in Rome. Christian Art represents the two saints as soldiers in military garb with branches of palm in their hands.
I strongly recommend that all who love Christ and believe that he is our savior and redeemer take it upon themselves to read the many histories of the church, not just the Roman version, but the versions preceding the establishment of Rome as the “central” seat of the church.
What we now call the Eastern Orthodox churches were all, except for Russia, established before Rome and their historical records are more intact and open than those of Rome.
This week is a week of special feasts and a time for all who profess to love Christ, to begin or continue to live as Christ, St. Francis, and the martyrs Sergius & Bacchus did, giving their all for the love of God and serving all those in need as St. Francis of Assisi did with the lepers and as Pope Francis is asking us to care for the poor, homeless, sick, unemployed and the refugees from all the worn torn lands. Christ, St. Francis and Sergius & Bacchus all have shown us the way, let us follow the path of righteousness and by living in that way, achieve everlasting life with Almighty God and all the saints.

 

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