“The rule and life of
the Secular Franciscans is this: to
observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of Saint
Francis of Assisi,
who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and
people.” (Art. 4, SFO Rule)
A story in The Little
Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi has Brother Masseo asking St. Francis,
“Say, why it is that all the world comes after you, and everybody desires to
see you, and to hear you, and to obey you?”
Almost 800 years later, the question still has relevance. Why is it that the world is still attracted
to the figure of St. Francis? For many,
they attracted to the image of St. Francis, the man who was connected to
nature, to whom animals and birds came to readily. For others, it is the image of Francis, the
servant of the poor, the forgotten. And
there are those who see in Francis, a perfect person of prayer and contemplation.
Why are we attracted to this little poor man of Assisi? For me, Francis shows me how an ordinary
person can live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by being a person of prayer, by
giving up those things that distract me from loving God, and emptying myself in
the service of others. Francis provides
the inspiration for me, and for many others, to find the path that Jesus wishes
each of us to take to the Kingdom.
We can all still learn from Francis what it means to live
the Gospel life. It means that we need
to learn more about him, read and reflect on his words. Each of us should try to read the early
biographies of his life, written by authors who were still close to him or to
those who knew him. Feel the excitement
and the power of his presence that those early biographers felt, and open our
hearts and our minds to feel it also. Then we will come to know the answer to
Brother Masseo’s question, “Why after you?”
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