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Hillside Parish Magazine

October 2009

From the Vicar – October 2009

Francis of Assisi, a very modern saint?

What on earth can St.Francis, born in Umbria in Italy in 1182, have to say to us today? Well, quite a lot really! In the early part of his life Francis was a “bit of a lad”. His father was a merchant in Assisi and, much indulged by his parents, he wore fine clothes and shared a lively social life with the sons of nobles and the other rich young men of the city. He was always generous, both to his friends and to the poor, but his life changed after he was captured during a skirmish with soldiers from the rival city of Perugia. He spent a year in prison and came home in a different frame of mind.

From then on he turned more and more to a life of simplicity and service, even selling his father’s horse and some expensive cloth in order to give money to the church. His father tried to stop all this by locking him up at home but it did not work. Eventually he disowned Francis who, by then, was happy to embrace poverty and to live the life of a poor monk. However his preaching and his simple lifestyle were so attractive that many hundreds came to join him. Many women came too and a separate womens’ order was established by St.Clare.

Francis travelled widely, preaching the good news of the gospel in Italy and Spain and even in the Holy Land. He died in Assisi in on October 4th 1226 and such was his transparent holiness that he was made a saint only two years later. But what was it that was so attractive about him then and which continues to be relevant today?

First of all he had a clear and simple love for God. He knew that God is close to each one of us and he spent much time in prayer and contemplation, an example for others to follow. Francis expressed God’s presence in the whole of his being and he used to say to the brothers “Preach the gospel at all times; even use words if you have to!”

Next he realised that not only can material things never satisfy all our longings, they also have the potential to get in the way of our relationship with God and with one another. For himself he embraced poverty and he urged that all of us should try to follow a simple lifestyle, uncluttered by attachment to too many possessions. That can help us to keep our feet on the ground (and our hands in our pockets!) in a culture that is always urging us to buy more than we need and to change things that have not worn out in order to have the latest model.

Thirdly he recognised that everything in creation comes from God and is interdependent. He expressed this relationship by talking about Brother Sun and Sister Moon. He even called the wolf brother and death sister and he had a special care for all living things. (The hymn “All Creatures of our God and King” is based on the “Canticle of the Sun” which was written by St.Francis.) Through our awareness of things like the workings of the global economy and the process of changing climates we are slowly rediscovering what Francis knew seven hundred years ago.

With my prayers

Ian Houghton