Franciscan Feast of the Portiuncula

Readings for the Franciscan Feast of the Portiuncula


In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. Galatians 4:3

The Roman liturgical calendar determines most days of the year and Catholic dioceses and parishes observe it closely. Centuries ago we agreed upon the date of Christmas and the movable feast of Easter, with its attendant forty days of Lent and fifty days until Pentecost. The Roman calendar determines most of the saints' feast days as well as when to commemorate the dedication of churches. Although that calendar is universal, there are exceptions. Some dioceses celebrate local saints with their own feast days; and, throughout the world, religious communities -- Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, and others -- mark their own particular events.

On August 2, Franciscans celebrate the "Little Portion," a small tract of land below Assisi where the Order was born. Saint Francis lived there for many years; and died there. The enthusiastic young man and his disciples had adopted the ancient, ruined chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels as their solitary place of prayer.

At the time it had all the charm of an interstate overpass, but in its derelict state Francis sensed the courtroom of the Queen of Angels. Seated on her throne, Mary received the petitions of supplicants; from there she dispatched the Lord's messengers to care for her people.

Francis insisted that his friars should live there, welcoming pilgrims until the end of time. He also asked the Holy Father to grant a particular indulgence for those who were repenting grave sin. Whereas the penalty for murder, adultery or apostasy might have been to go on crusade to Jerusalem or to plead for mercy in distant Rome, sinners could  be  reconciled to the sacraments if they visited a shrine closer to home, namely Assisi. (Eventually, the privilege was extended to every Franciscan church, and then every Catholic church in the world.)

The traditions of indulgences, plenary and partial, and of reparation for sins are not often discussed nowadays. People suppose that God Is So Good that he must immediately forgive repentant sinners; and that His Church also should welcome them into full communion immediately. They might even denounce their wickedness before the congregation and announce their readiness to leave sin behind. Nor should they worry about repairing the damage they have done. God's atonement is complete and perfect! If they volunteer to give back that's great, but it doesn't matter since they are saved simply by asking for it.

But there are problems with this system of free passes for repentance. Does God's mercy cancel his justice? Can God be reconciled to evil simply by ignoring it? We mortals have certainly not found that to be so! If nothing else our ever popular horror stories remind us that the blood of long-dead victims still thirst for judgement on the wicked. 

Every human act leaves its mark, and children often suffer the sins of their parents well into their latter years. We're always glad to see violent criminals repent of their ways but their victims must still cope with trauma. Many sexual predators cannot even remember their victims' names; how will they atone for their crimes? Will their victims enjoy the reward of the perpetrator's late-discovered virtue? 

Although the World Wars of the twentieth century seem like ancient history they're still alive in the VA hospital. Some aging adults still wonder why their war-ravaged parents could never show their love.

In the last half-century we have begun to hear the cry of victims. We realize that a justice which would be merciful must not only forgive the criminal, it must atone for the crime. Even those crimes which seem like ancient history -- chattel slavery in the United States; the oppression, exploitation and genocide of Native Americans -- don't go away because they're not taught in school.

Even as we remember the sins of our ancestors we have to wonder how will our children remember us. Will they forgive us for driving carbon-spewing automobiles and clearing rain forests to raise cattle? For watching polar ice melt and islands disappear? Will they understand that our children, (their parents), could not resist the lure of our tobacco and opioid industries?

As Robert Penn Warren wrote, “Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something!" (All The King's Men)

There is always something but we cannot let the sins of our ancestors weigh against us forever. Shrines like the Portiuncula, Rome, Lourdes, Guadalupe and our parish churches call us to penance and atonement even as they assure us that the Lord still lives among us and takes delight in our company. He does not remember our sins forever.

We turn to Jesus who has atoned for our sins past, present, and future; who teaches us to live gracefully in this sinful world. We believe his Kingdom will finally be free of sin, that the history of sin and Salvation History will be reconciled into a chiaroscuro of astonishing beauty.

It is I, I, who wipe out,

for my own sake, your offenses;

your sins I remember no more.