As the whole church celebrates the Feast of St Francis today (4 October), I want to take the opportunity to share with you why the church honours and celebrates saints. I want to reflect with you what the saints have to teach us about our calling to be Jesus' followers, our faith in God, and our discipleship in the world.
Today, several coincidences also connected me personally to St. Francis and his feast day. This said the message is about what the saints have to teach us. To get to this message, let me first say what the coincidences are connecting me to St Francis and get me out of the way of the message.
I hope you remember my message a few Sundays ago, in which I shared my story of wanting to be a Franciscan Friar. It was precisely 44 years ago that I entered the Junior Novitiate with twenty-three other boys my age.
In 1980, it was the Feast Day of St Francis. Today is the 44th anniversary of my being a postulant at the junior novitiate along with my partner, postulant Darshan.
Since 4 October was a Saturday in 1980, I rang Brother Darshan yesterday on the eve of the Feast of St Francis to wish him a happy Feast Day and catch up. We spoke for almost two hours, using free WhatsApp telephone calls.
Out of the two hours we spoke, it may have taken about ten minutes to bring us up to speed on mundane matters. The rest of the time, we spoke heart-to-heart, reflecting on St Francis’s life and what he has to say to us at present while the world is still a long way from recovering from the COVID pandemic.
Although we may seem to live quite far away from the epicentres of the world where the impact of the pandemic is felt, we know that the virus's re-emergence is creating havoc on many fronts of life in places we may not even imagine.
On Tuesday and Thursday last week, I appeared on two community radio programs, sharing how people in our communities have been affected by the pandemic. Personal, emotional, and social breakdowns are rampant.
For the first time during our interview with the host, all four of us realised that we, too, have been, invariably, working as “first respondents” since March this year. Together, we also acknowledged the strain that had started taking on us and how our faiths have provided us with anchors and beacons of hope. (A remarkably exciting exchange of ideas, which I will share with you on another occasion)
I know that all of us can share personal experiences of the cost of the pandemic to our families and ourselves. The sheer isolation and emotional distance we are experiencing are real.
Darshan and I reflected on St Francis’ message to a stressed and tired world. To our conversation and sharing, Darshan also added two other names. The first name was St. Padre Pio. We talked about him because his life and witness to Jesus had influenced our lives since our novitiate days. I will tell you how he influenced our lives a little later.
The other important person we spoke about was Venerable Carlo Acutis, a young person who is on his way to being made a saint. I think he is the youngest person in the last twenty years who is being made a saint.
St Francis, St Padre Pio, and Venerable Carlo Acutis are interconnected and bring a message we need to hear now. Let me briefly share information about these people with you.
Francis was born in 1181, the son of a prosperous cloth merchant of Assisi. Although christened John, he was always known as Francis (the Frenchman) because his mother was from Provence.
As a young man, Francis took an active part in the city's social life. He also saw service in a petty war with nearby Perugia, which led to a spell as a prisoner of war. On his release, he turned his back on warfare. He continued to be involved in the social life of Assisi, but now a strain of seriousness became increasingly apparent.
As he was feeling his way towards his new vocation, he knelt before a Byzantine-style crucifix in the half-ruined church of San Damiano and prayed. The crucifix seemed to speak to him, “Francis, go and rebuild my church, which you see is in ruins.” With typical compulsiveness, he sold some goods belonging to his father to pay for the church's repairs and went to live with the priest of San Damiano.
A long and bitter altercation with his father culminated in the famous scene before the Bishop of Assisi. Francis renounced his earthly father and all his wealth, even to the clothes he was then wearing. Dressed in a grey-brown peasant’s smock that the bishop gave him and with a piece of rope for a belt, Francis began a life of poverty, preaching the love of Christ.
Francis's life after his conversion is inextricably entangled with the development of the Order of Friars Minor, which he founded. At first, he lived alone but then was joined by a small group of disciples.
They lived near a leper colony at Portiuncula, three kilometres from Assisi. In 1210, a simple rule was approved. The order grew beyond all expectations, becoming part of the wider church.
Besides his work among the poor, Francis’ life was spent in contemplation and prayer. Many miracles are attributed to Francis, most of which involve his ability to communicate with animals and influence nature.
Francis is said to have preached a sermon to the bird,s after which the birds began to sing. On another occasion, Francis pacified a wolf that had been killing livestock so that it never bothered people again.
Saint Francis of Assisi also performed miracles for people. Several of his miracles involved curing people of both physical and mental diseases. He also convinced many criminals to repent and reconcile with the church. In one instance, he convinced three robbers who had stolen from him to return what they had taken and join the Franciscan order.
In 1224, it was said that he had a vision of the crucified Lord at prayers. Following the vision, Francis himself received in his body the marking of Christ's wounds, known as stigmata. That is the experience of showing body marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the described body marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, such as the hands, wrists, and feet. Francis bore these marks till his death two years later. He was canonised in 1228.
The stories of healing continued after Francis’ death when pilgrims to the sites containing his holy relics were also healed. A little bit later, I will tell something incredibly important about people experiencing miracles after Francis’ death.
Today, St Francis is chiefly thought of as an animal and nature lover, but this, though a strand of his spirituality, is much less than the whole. His rejection of material possessions and security, his deep love of the by-no-means perfect church of his day, his missionary zeal, his deep devotion to the passion of his master, whom he strove so closely to follow.
St. Padre Pio was born on 25 May 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy. At birth, he was named Francesco after St. Francis and shared the same nationality. Later, Francesco also joined the Order St Francis had established.
His parents were peasant farmers. As a child, he was very religious. By the age of five, he reportedly decided to dedicate his life to God. Fortunately, his parents were also very religious and supported his faith development. His family attended church every day.
Francisco served as an altar boy at his local parish. From his tender age, Francisco had a peculiar ability. He could see guardian angels, spoke with Jesus and Mother Mary. This was not something taught to him but occurred so naturally that he assumed other people could see them too.
Francisco’s family was very poor, which required him to work. As a child, he spent many years tending to a small flock of sheep owned by his family. Unfortunately, the work meant he could not attend school regularly, so he quickly fell behind other kids his age.
1897, after three years of schooling, Francisco expressed to his parents that he wanted to become a friar. His parents travelled to a nearby community of monks and asked if Francesco could join them. Despite his young age, he was evaluated and told that he needed more education before he could join.
To prepare Francesco, his parents decided to hire a private tutor. To pay the tutor's fee, Francesco’s father travelled to America to find work and sent the money home.
At the age of 15, Francisco was finally ready. He entered the novitiate of the Capuchin friars at Morcone (Capuchins were founded as an offshoot of the Order of St Francis 302 years after Francis’ death). Francisco took the name of “Pio”. (This is the second coincidence Darshan and I share with Padre Pio; we were aged 15 when we entered the novitiate).
At the age of 17, Brother Pio became extremely ill and could only digest milk and cheese. He was sent to the mountain for better air, and when this did not work, he was sent home to his family. Amid all this, he continued to study for the priesthood.
Brother Pio became a priest in 1910 but was permitted to remain at home because of his poor health.
On 20 September 1916, Padre Pio was hearing confessions when he felt pain in his hands and feet. He noticed the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, appearing on his hands and feet. The experience was painful. Bleeding occurred. The wounds smelled of roses, and although they continued to weep, they never became infected. Doctors who later examined the stigmata were amazed at their perfectly round shape. This is the fourth aspect that Padre Pio came to share with St. Francis.
For fifty years, Padre Pio bore the stigmata. From 1918 until just before he died in 1968, he experienced the stigmata. Despite being examined multiple times, there was no adequate explanation for the wounds. The stigmata are unlike normal wounds or lesions: they would not heal.
By 1919, word about Padre Pio’s stigmata began to spread, and people came from far away to examine him.
Padre Pio became popular with the people he encountered and soon began attributing supernatural occurrences to him. The miracles attributed to Padre Pio go into many hundreds, and they are well-documented. These miracles include healings of many diseases, his ability to bilocate (showing up in two locations at the same time), levitate, speak in languages he never knew, appear in people’s dreams with messages and recall people’s unrepented sins during confessions and offer God’s forgives if people repent.
During the nine months I was at the Franciscan novitiate, we received detailed lessons about the miracles attributed to Padre Pio. We also had the opportunity to meet a few older friars who had met Padre Pio personally in his hometown, Pietrelcina, and witnessed some of the miracles firsthand.
Perhaps you could imagine the impression these accounts would make on the minds of us youngsters. The friars who had met Padre Pio weren’t Friars when they met him. They were young adults in the 1940s and 50s.
One famous miracle on record is Fr. Karol Wojtyla, who visited Padre Pio. According to Fr Karol, Padre Pio prophetically told him that he would rise to the highest post in the church. As we know, Fr. Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II in 1978.
Padre Pio became internationally famous. He was known for his piety, charity, and the quality of his preaching. He famously told people, "Pray, hope and don’t worry.”
Padre Pio died on 23 September 1968 and has remained the most celebrated saint of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Carlo Acutis is a special young boy in whom Darshan and I have been interested since 2006. I was particularly interested in Carlo because he was only six months older than our son, Ruwanmal. Carlos was born in London on 3 May 1991. Soon after his birth, his parents returned to Italy and settled in Milan.
Since his early years as a growing child, he has shown remarkable devotion to his faith and the church. Soon after being admitted to Holy Communion at the age of seven, he became a frequent communicant at his church, confessed his sins once a week, and prayed in front of the tabernacle before or after receiving Holy Communion.
Among the saints of the church the saints he took Saint Francis of Assisi and
Saint Bernadette Soubirous was a model and guide for his life.
Although young, Carlos was worried about his friends whose parents were divorcing. He would invite those friends to his home to support them. He defended the rights of the disabled and defended disabled peers at school when bullies mocked them. He loved travelling but loved to visit Assisi more than other places.
Carlo was a “computer genius” who loved all things technological. Sadly, he contracted leukemia and again did something beyond his age. When the doctor treating him asked him if he was suffering much pain, he responded, “There are people who suffer much more than me.” He offered his pain for the universal church and said, “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord and the Church.”
With profound devotion to Holy Communion and its power to save us, Carlos developed a passion for going on pilgrimages to the sites around the world where miracles of the Eucharist had taken place. He had asked his parents to take him on a tour of these sites. Although his worsening health had prevented him from visiting all the sites, with his genius computer skills, he started a special project cataloguing all the miracles from around the world related to Holy Communion, the Eucharistic. He was only 11 years old when he began and completed this project in 2005.
On the website, Carlos catalogued the miracles of the Eucharist. He said, " The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.” He also expressed the mission of his life thus: “To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan.”
Carlos died on 12 October 2006 and was buried in Assisi following his wishes. Following a proven miracle after his death, he was considered a servant of God, and the church determined that the young Carlo had lived a life of heroic virtue. In 2018, he was granted the title of Venerable. He is due to be beatified on 10 October, that is, next Saturday. Then, he will be known as Blessed Carlos Acutis.
Aren’t the lives of these three persons remarkable? St Francis of Assisi, the saint from the twelfth century; Padre Pio from the twentieth century, the century during which most of us were born; and Venerable Carlos, a young boy old enough to be a great-grandson or grandson or a son or a brother to all of us.
I see all three of them, in their ways, having drawn our attention to the “parallel universe” or the divine life that overlaps, if not present to us in the immediate. Their virtuous, godly and exemplary lives draw our attention to the care God has for all His creation, the miracles that God is doing in our lives, the pain He bares for all of us, the love that He is giving us so freely, the invitation He is giving to all of us to repent of our wrongs and be forgiven by His grace; His offer for us to receive Jesus wholly and entirely in the Eucharist; and recognise His unfurled arms waiting to embrace us.
Yes, we are, indeed, going through a very challenging time. Everything said and done about the isolation and emotional pain we are experiencing on every front of our lives, are we side-tracked by the drama? Like you, I know firsthand how the world is collapsing, especially on the most vulnerable in our families and the community. We understand how tragic and heartbreaking it is for those who have lost their income, jobs, businesses, sanity and even families.
Because of the lockdown, more than ever before, like you, I have the time to think through – and, at times, live through – all of the above our community and we are experiencing.
However, I cannot help but hear, see, and feel, deep down in my heart, what God is saying to us through the lives of His saints.
As Darshan and I talked last evening, he said something about making saints, which I had not previously registered with me. It is the fact that the church declares someone a servant of God and thus a Venerable, a Blessed and a Saint, not because of the miracles that were witnessed during their lifetime. Darshan reminded me and made it very clear that a person is called a Venerable, a Blessed and a Saint ONLY after miracles are mediated to us after their death. He said this confirms to the church that these persons are close to Jesus and God after death as well as were in this life.
Darshan, who often expresses his displeasure about me leaving the novitiate, says that I have a strong Protestant streak, which prevents me from recognising the place of saints in our belief system. So, after we had talked about Saints Francis, Padre Pio, and Venerable Carlo, he asked me to take down all the fifteen references in the Book of Revelation in which God praises the service and prayers of the saints.
For our records, here are the three references that specifically mention the “golden bowls of incense”, which are the prayers of the saints (Rev 5:8; 8:3 & 8:4) -- I will have all the other references in our pew sheet next week.
May the exemplary lives of the saints help us always be close to Jesus and make it our life’s plan. Amen
Let us pray:
Gracious and merciful God, you kindled in the heart of Francis (and all your saints) such flames of love
that they became wholly yours. Increase in us a wholehearted trust in you and a humble love of all your creatures so that we may know the joy the gospel brings through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen
