Salve, Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
Praised be Jesus and Mary.
Today we celebrate, of course, what for us Franciscans is a solemnity,
the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi.
And I think one could argue that St. Francis is the greatest saint in the history of the church.
I think it's arguable.
Based on the revelation given to St. Mary Magdalene,
when our Lord appeared to her as part of the revelations of his sacred heart,
and said, Behold, the saint who is closest to my sacred heart, dearest to my sacred heart,
and appeared there was St. Francis of Assisi.
And again, this is significant because St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
was not a poor Claire, was not a Franciscan.
She was a Byzantine sister.
And so St. Francis is dearest to our Lord's sacred heart.
There's also...
The tradition that St. Francis has taken the throne of Lucifer.
Lucifer, who was the highest among the angels,
after his rebellion was cast down from heaven,
and St. Francis has now taken his spot.
Lucifer falling because of his pride,
and his unwillingness to serve God.
And St. Francis exalted because of his humility
and his jus.
And St. Francis exalted because of his humility and his jus.
perfect service of his Lord. Indeed, St. Francis is like no other saint in the history of the
church. In fact, the friars at the time of St. Francis used to describe him as a man from another
world. He was totally unique, and this was the spirit that our Lord had given to him, a unique
heart made particularly for this saint of the 13th century. He loved God with his entire being. In
fact, his love for God, his burning love for God, and for this reason he's also called the
Seraphic Father, the Seraphic Saint, caused him to break out into song at one moment, singing
sometimes, not in his native tongue.
Singing in French, and also pretending to play the violin on his shoulder with a pair of sticks, and
then the very next moment, then breaking into tears, considering the passion and death of our
Lord. St. Francis, filled with great emotion and great affection for his God and Savior. St.
Francis, because of his love for God, he was able to break out into song at one moment, singing in
his native tongue. St. Francis, because of his love for God, spent nine months of the year in
solitude in a hermitage, alone, praying, and simply loving God. And because of his love for neighbor,
he would then go out the other three months to preach, to try and win over the conversion of
those who heard his words. St. Francis preached penance, simply preached penance, and he was able to
give an example of penance as well, by his own poor life. So, of course, the church, in canonizing the
saints, wants to present to all of the faithful an example of life, and wisdom in the words of the saints,
so that we might have a model to follow in their words, of course, to learn and to put into practice.
And so the same thing with St. Francis of Assisi. We have a perfect model to imitate in his love for
God. Of course, very few of us can spend nine months of the year in solitude and prayer, but
nevertheless, it's a lesson for us to step away from the world from time to time and absorb
ourselves in prayer and meditation, adoration of the blessed sacrament, silence and solitude.
As well, we can also take to heart St. Francis's exhortation to the faithful, his preaching of
penance, that we too, in order to be true Christians, must live a penitential life,
to be detached from the things of this world, to not get caught up in the materialism and consumerism
which is so popular and widespread in our day and age.
So today we implore the intercession of St. Francis on our Franciscan community and on all of the faithful
who come here to the friary, that we can grow in love for God and also for our neighbor.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Amen.