Today on the feast of the Seraphic Father, Pope Francis has made a pilgrimage to Assisi. The words of Pope Francis in His homily challenge us to live out the universal call to holiness and to serve the people of God according to our state in life. What is so beautiful about the New Evangelization is that its vigor and zeal transcend all times, nations and states of life. The call to be evangelized and to go forth to evangelize, to seek holiness and to bring others to holiness, to witness and to draw others to witness in the streets with the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy, whether you are a religious, priest, or lay person, is a call we have from the Lord every day. Both Francis's live this witness of their own lives.
From Pope Francis's Homily on St. Francis:
"What does Saint Francis's witness tell us today? What does he have to say to us, not merely with words - that is easy enough - but by his life?
"1. The first thing he tells us is this: that being a Christian means having a living relationship with the person of Jesus; it means putting on Christ, being conformed to him.
"Where did Francis's journey to Christ begin? It began with the gaze of the crucified Jesus. With letting Jesus look at us at the very moment that he gives his life for us and draws us to himself. Francis experienced this in a special way in the Church of San Damiano, as he prayed before the cross which I too will have an opportunity to venerate. On that cross, Jesus is depicted not as dead, but alive! Blood is flowing from his wounded hands, feet and side, but that blood speaks of life. Jesus' eyes are not closed but open, wide open: he looks at us in a way that touches our hearts. The cross does not speak to us about defeat and failure; paradoxically, it speaks to us about a death which is life, a death which gives life, for it speaks to us of love, the love of God incarnate, a love which does not die, but triumphs over evil and death. When we let the crucified Jesus gaze upon us, we are re-created, we become "a new creation". Everything else starts with this: the experience of transforming grace, the experience of being loved for no merits of our own, in spite of our being sinners. That is why Saint Francis could say with Saint Paul: "Far be it for me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6:14).
"We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you: Teach us to remain before the cross, to let the crucified Christ gaze upon us, to let ourselves be forgiven, and recreated by his love.
"2. In today's Gospel we heard these words: "Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Mt 11:28-29).
"This is the second witness that Francis gives us: that everyone who follows Christ receives true peace, the peace that Christ alone can give, a peace which the world cannot give. Many people, when they think of Saint Francis, think of peace; very few people however go deeper. What is the peace which Francis received, experienced, and lived, and which he passes on to us? It is the peace of Christ, which is born of the greatest love of all, the love of the cross. It is the peace which the Risen Jesus gave to his disciples when he stood in their midst (cf. Jn 20:19-20).
"Franciscan peace is not something saccharine. Hardly! That is not the real Saint Francis! Nor is it a kind of pantheistic harmony with forces of the cosmos... That is not Franciscan either! It is not Franciscan, but a notion that some people have invented! The peace of Saint Francis is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who "take up" their "yoke", namely, Christ's commandment: Love one another as I have loved you (cf. Jn 13:34: 15:12). This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride, but only with meekness and humbleness of heart.
"We turn you, Francis, and we ask you: Teach us to be "instruments of peace", of that peace which has its source in God, the peace which Jesus has brought us."
Let us heed the words of Pope Francis and seek to grow in our faith during these last weeks of the Year of Faith through a living relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church so that we may be fueled by the sacraments and become instruments of peace to the world and serve the souls around us who are in need of temporal assistance, healing, or longing to return to the folds of the flock.
Written by Nicolette
