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Few
saints have walked this earth as filled with joy as St. Francis of Assisi.
Rooted in God, he exulted in His glory
mirrored in all creation.Francis recognized that:
There
is a solidarity among all creatures
arising from the fact that all have the same Creator
and all are ordered to His glory:
May
You be praised, O Lord, in all Your creatures,
especially Brother Sun, by whom You give us light for the day;
he is beautiful, radiating great splendor and offering us
a symbol of You, the Most High…
May You be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble, precious and chaste….
Praise and bless my Lord,
give thanks and serve Him in all humility.
(CATECHISM
344, quoting the CANTICLE OF THE CREATURES)
Faithful
to praising God in life, St. Francis was equally faithful to praising Him
as death drew near. For by
faith Francis knew that
Death
is the end of man’s earthly pilgrimage,
of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him
so as to work our his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan,
and to decide his ultimate destiny:
Praised
are You, my Lord, for our Sister bodily Death,
from whom no living man can escape.
Woe on those who die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they who will be found in Your most holy will,
for the second death will not harm them.
(CATECHISM
1013, 1014, quoting the CANTICLE OF THE CREATURES)
May
St. Francis help us to live and die as he did, praising the Maker of all
beauty as we look forward to the unending beauty of eternal life!
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