Franciscan Feast of the Stigmata of Saint Francis

Readings for the Franciscan Feast of the Stigmata of Saint Francis

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? 

We must be reminded rather often of the two-edged sword which is the gospel;

Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

Medieval knights imagined they were fighting for the gospel with their cross-shaped broadswords, but the Roman sword had no guard between the blade and the hilt. Saint Paul would not have made the connection. When he spoke of the gospel, he addressed adults who understood his metaphor. The gospel was never an instrument of violence, nor an excuse for it. 

Today Franciscans throughout the world celebrate the stigmata of Saint Francis. His biographers tell us that he was blessed with these painful wounds on his hands, feet, and side two years before he died. He showed them to no one and only one other friar knew of them, the nurse who cared for him. However, upon his death, they were discovered and revealed to many people, especially to Saint Clare and the "Poor Ladies," before he was entombed in the basilica under construction. 

We regard the miracle as a sign of God's purpose to restore the cross to its central place within the heart of every Christian. At that time the most powerful institution in "Christendom" was the Roman Catholic Church; and lesser institutions civil and religious conformed to its appearance. She had political, economic, academic, and social prestige. Even the continual warfare of the middle ages was conducted in God's name, as if violence could serve the Gospel. 

The life  of Saint Francis with its heavenly seal of approval, the stigmata, reminded the ecclesial and secular authorities that righteousness belongs to the poor and humble of heart, and not to the violent. 

Should anyone suppose they serve the Lord by simply avoiding evil and doing good when it's convenient, they miss the cutting edge of the Gospel. Without personal sacrifice, without frequently pouring one's energy and resources into an apparent vacuum of futility, they can hardly expect they are living by the Gospel. 

Anyone who expects to "do well by doing good" courts disaster. The two-edged sword will not lead anyone to this world's prosperity. The gospel demands that we go the extra mile and give our shirts when they ask only for a jacket, We don't want or need success; rather, we want to hear the invitation of Matthew 25: 

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me....