26th Week, Wednesday, Oct 4th, Saint Francis of Assisi
Nehemiah 2:1-8 / Luke 9:57-62
Nehemiah makes a request; I prayed to God before speaking.
The first person to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, was faced with a big decision about flying when he was only 15 years old. A friend of his crashed in a small plane and died in Neil's arms. This caused Neil to rethink his own goal to get his pilot's license when he turned 16. Neil's parents both agreed that the decision had to be their son's. Later, in an article called "Neil Armstrong's Boyhood Crisis," the astronaut's mother revealed how her son went about deciding. She wrote: "In Neil's hour of decision... he turned to Jesus for guidance."
Nehemiah does something similar to this in today's reading. He prays to God before answering the king.
***
How often do we turn to God for guidance? "I would rather walk with God in the dark, than go alone in the light." Mary Brainard
***
An employee is entitled a certain number of days of annual
leave. If those days are taken up and the employee still needs more leave, then
the employee may request for unpaid leave and it is up to the company to grant.
But given the tight job market today, requesting for unpaid leave is certainly
quite risky and it will affect the appraisal of the employee, to say the least.
In the 1st reading, we heard that Nehemiah, a Jew who was the wine-cup bearer of the Persian king Artaxerxes, requested to take leave of his services to the king so as to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down by the enemies. More than just asking to take leave, he also asked for the letters of authorisation and even for supplies to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Certainly, it was a very bold request for a mere servant to ask of his king. But before making the request, Nehemiah called on the God of heaven and then made reply to the king and made the request. And the king granted Nehemiah's request. And that shows us once again, how wonderful it is when we put our needs first into the hands of God and to ask for His blessings. And more so when we take this direction in our work, then we will find joy and meaning in our work and through our work we will give glory to God.
***
On His way to Jerusalem Jesus teaches about the cost of discipleship as He meets with three potential disciples. He advises them to consider carefully what their decision to follow Him will entail. His disciples must sacrifice personal comfort and the security of a home. They must be willing to forego all their personal plans, even the sacred duty of burying their parents; nothing should hinder or delay the pursuit of discipleship. They must give total dedication to discipleship like a farmer who must plough with undivided attention to make a straight furrow. These conditions show the radical nature of Christian discipleship. St Francis of Assisi, whose feast we celebrate today, understood clearly the radical nature of Christian discipleship.
***
Saint Francis of Assisi
Feast Day October 4
We speak much today of poverty and or returning to the true values of the Gospel. What St. Francis of Assisi (1181?82-1226) undertook in the 13th century might very well inspire our times. Today’s society threatens to destroy itself in many parts of the world by its own philosophy and prosperity; even in developing countries, artificial needs are forced on people, to the loss of the deeper values of God and people. What we need is not only talk about poverty and evangelical living, but responsible Christian living according to the values of the Gospel.
***
The popular image of St. Francis of Assisi is warped with romantic notions. Many see him as a sweet simpleton who picked flowers and talked with animals. Francis was gentle and loved God’s creation, but he was not naive. Just the opposite. As a youth he went to war eagerly, patiently endured imprisonment and illnesses, embraced Lady Poverty as his bride, and gave up everything to follow Christ. The real St. Francis of Assisi was a courageous spiritual warrior.
Francis’s vocation cost him dearly. Decision by decision he stripped himself of attachments so as to be more like Jesus. Once en route to a war in southern Italy, Francis heard a divine voice invite him to stop serving the servant and dedicate himself to the master. He responded by committing himself to live for God alone. In his early twenties, Francis decided to become like the poor he met in Assisi’s back streets and took “Lady Poverty” as his bride. Then one day when Francis was praying in the dilapidated church of St. Damian, he heard a voice from the crucifix say, “Go and repair my church.” At first Francis literally worked to fix the building, but later understood that his real call was to renew people spiritually. From that day Francis devoted himself to Christ crucified. Francis’s father took him to the bishop’s court, demanding that his son repay the money he had used to repair St. Damian’s church building. The saint submitted but then stripped naked, returning his clothes to his father as a sign that he forsook his family and his inheritance.
Then Francis began his itinerant ministry in central Italy, attracting young followers as he went. Once in 1209 at Mass he heard the gospel about Jesus sending his disciples to preach, to heal, and to do spiritual warfare. He took it literally as a life pattern for him and his band of men (see Matthew 10:7–10). In 1210, Francis got formal approval for his community of Friars Minor from Pope Innocent III, and by 1221 he had hundreds of brothers and had established friaries all over Europe. In 1224 at his retreat on Mount Alvernia, Francis had a vision of a seraph, a great angel, nailed to a cross. As he watched, Francis himself received the stigmata. Replicas of the Savior’s wounds appeared in his hands and side, acknowledging the saint’s intimacy with Christ. The movement Francis launched has reverberated through the centuries, touching millions of souls. He died in 1226.
***
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, it is a pleasure for us to celebrate today your gentle and loveable saint, Francis of Assisi. Let us go through life like him one with you, one with nature, one with all that is good and kind-hearted. Make us humble and peaceful like him. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
