I’ve been thinking about St. Francis of Assisi throughout this past weekend. As you may know, this year is the 800th anniversary of his passing. St. Francis was a very charismatic character that most people would not even have acknowledged. After all, he lived the life of a beggar as did his followers. Simplicity and poverty were the rules of his life.
And yet in that simple, impoverished life, he rocked the world and changed the Church. Service became paramount to many after they met him and reflected upon his life. That powerful dynamo of a man drew from the Lord Himself as his source of strength, humility, and comfort.
Francis had such an intimate relationship with Jesus that, a couple of years before his death, Francis received the stigmata, the holy wounds of Christ. In pain, he continued to serve the Lord and his Lady Poverty.
Would that we could be more simple in our own lives.
Francis “marrying” the three theological virtues:
Faith, Hope, & Charity
