Everyone's Favorite Saint

I usually don't dwell too much in these reflections on things that are overtly religious. But today is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. He is probably the most universally loved of all saints in the world - even by non-religious folks.

People remember him as a lover of nature, especially animals and it is customary in many places to bring pets to church and have them blessed by a priest on this day each year.

Several years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Italy, and without doubt Assisi is my most favorite place in that whole country. To sit inside a church building where Francis himself prayed nearly 800 years ago was an awesome experience. Here in America we simply do not have structures that old.

We usually tend to think of saints as sort of untouchable people. We think they were so much holier than we could ever be. Many people think saints were always somber and solemn folks who never laughed at a joke, never enjoyed a good glass of beer, never had fun because they were so "close to God." But that's really not true. Every single saint was a person just like you and me. An enjoyable book called, Wit and Wisdom of the Saints has many great stories from the lives of saints that show them doing or saying things most people would never suspect of a "saint."

Here is an excerpt for October 4 - the feast of St. Francis:

On one of his trips to Rome, Francis stayed at the residence of Cardinal Leo. During the visit, Francis was beaten severely by devils. Rather than get over-excited, Francis simply stated: "This is my punishment for consorting with cardinals."

I guess there's a lesson there about who not to hang around with!

But St. Francis had an air of serenity about him no matter what calamities inflicted him. He did not worry about where his food would come from the next day, or where he would sleep that night. He had so much trust that God would provide for him. Francis was dirt poor because he gave away absolutely everything he had. Yet if he encountered another poor person, he felt obligated to share with them anything he could.

He must have been incredibly free as a result. . . and happy. Here's what he said (in the same book) about happiness and sharing with others:

"Jesus is happy to accompany us,
just as truth is happy to be spoken,
life is happy to be lived,
as a light is happy to be lit,
as love is happy to be loved,
as joy is happy to be shared,
and as peace is happy to be spread to others."

In honor of this humble man who lived so long ago, yet continues to inspire the world, let us be happy to share something - even something very little - with another.

(Wit and Wisdom of the Saints is by Judy Bauer, and can be obtained from Liguori Publications.)