This first week of October, we’ve had an interesting week in our daily masses in celebrating some important saints who have made significant contributions to our Catholic faith. Monday, we celebrated St Jerome, a hermit, theologian, and Scripture scholar from the 4th century. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, a translation that was the official translation of the Bible for our Church for many centuries. Tuesday, we recognized Therese of Lisieux, a 19th century Carmelite nun who died at the age of 24, but is now a Doctor of the Church and a patron saint of the missions. Wednesday we celebrated the Guardian Angels.
We end the week tomorrow with the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, one of the most popular and well-known saints in our Catholic Church. We think of St Francis as being that little stone statue we see in many of our gardens. Often, we tend to domesticate and tone down the saints, making them these quaint, pious examples of faith. When we look at the life of a saint, we tend to ignore their flaws, their true radical nature, and the true reality of their lives. It is well-known that Francis lived a very wealthy pampered life as a youth and young adult, but then his encounter with a leper changed his life and helped him look at God in a different way. He started giving away his worldly riches and proclaimed a very radical Christian message that tried to look at the heart of Christ’s teachings and of the traditions of the Early church. The way Francis saw God in all creation, the way he reached out to the poor, his love for animals and nature – many people of our modern world can relate to a Franciscan spirituality. In fact, in 1986, when Pope John Paul II called a peace conference of world religious leaders, he held it in Assisi, the hometown of Francis. In the Gospel today, Jesus sends his out his disciples as laborers to bring in the harvest. He proclaims that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few in number. As Christ’s disciples in the world today, we all called to spread Christ’s Good News, to build up his kingdom, and to take care of God’s creation here on earth - his kingdom in our present reality. We recognize that if we do not see ourselves as stewards of the earth’s resources, if we don't recognize God in the beauty of creation, a message that was carried by Francis of Assisi, then we are truly not recognizing the presence of God that is with us here on earth.
When Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina became pope back in 2013, he had a special place in his heart and his ministry for the poor, for the disenfranchised, for those living on the fringes and facing injustice, which is why he chose his name for pope after Francis of Assisi. For so many throughout the world, both Catholics and non-Catholics alike, the name of Francis of Assisi symbolizes poverty, humility, simplicity and a rebuilding the Church. We have a lot to learn from Francis of Assisi. We celebrate him today in this vigil mass before his feast day as we bless all of our animals that are present with us today.
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