Every year we
celebrate the feast of all time popular and famous Man St. Francis of Assisi.
Many books, articles and blogs are written to mark his feast. There are men and
women who make their commitment on this great day to mark their entry into
religious life. It is heartening and consoling for all the sons and daughters
of St. Francis to know that he is loved and accepted in an age, which is marked
by positive development, and a world that is divided on the basis of religion
and economic progress. On the other hand the world is experiencing a sharp
divide among the nations, the gap between developed and underdeveloped is
widening day by day. We are also witnessing a global unrest due to the
indiscrimination on many fronts.
The present crisis of refugees flocking to
Europe due to civil war in Syria is placing a tremendous stress and tension on
the European government. Thought the Europeans would be glad to receive them
and look after them but due to the on going economic crisis does not allow them
to do so. As I was reflecting to write this blog, the situation of Francis of
Assisi came to my mind. It was more or less similar and the society and church
was experiencing a radical change. The society was undergoing an economic
transformation and the Church was also undergoing a spiritual transformation
and change. Francis saw and experienced this transformation and changed with
his own eyes. He belonged to a privileged group as far as the economic life was
concerned and he had everything at his beck and call.
As mentioned
above, the faithful were longing for a spiritual renewal in the church. The
desire was becoming stronger as many groups of faithful wished to live the same
life of the early Christians. They wanted a change in the Church’s liturgical and spiritual atmosphere. As
it is today, people longed for priests and religious who lived their call in a
authentic way. And those who lived holy and spiritual life were well sought
after. The Laity in general were aware of the sins committed by the responsible
people including them. There was a need of someone who could lead them on to
the path renewal and conversion.
Young Francis,
full of life and promises, his rich father could afford everything for him was
chosen and called by the Lord to fulfill the desire of the church and the
faithful. He was not only called to preach but to live what he preached. The
conversion process was dramatic and effective in his life. The call to rebuild
the church was not understood by him properly but the grace of the Almighty revealed
everything in due course of time. The spiritual repair work of the Church
needed many souls, which he got due to his simple, humble and poor life style.
Christ called him to build the Body of Christ by preaching and living an
authentic Christian life. The faithful who were waiting and longing to see this
example flocked to him in a great numbers. Francis was a person of deep prayer and radical
conformity to Christ, which is seen in the stigmata—the wounds of Christ—on his
body. Francis believed that the most important way to preach was to witness to
the Gospel by the way one lived. He used to tell his followers, “Preach the
Gospel with your life; if necessary, use words.”
Francis lived 800
years ago and his world and ours are profoundly different. But we can make many
connections. His life shows us the unity of prayer and action. His critique of
the economic injustice of his time through preaching poverty challenges us
today to denounce injustice and oppression and build structures of equity and
peace.
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