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26 CatholicOutlook August 2010
St Francis of Assisi:
Living the spirit of minority
This month we begin a new series on spirituality by Rev Paschal Corby
OFM Conv, Assistant Priest at Our Lady of the Rosary, Kellyville.
In this issue, Fr Paschal reflects on the spirituality of minority,
which is foundational to the Franciscan charism.
National Vocations Awareness Week
8 August - 15 August 2010
If you have ever had the grace of visiting
Assisi, the heartland of Franciscan spirituality,
you would have been inevitably drawn to
the basilica of St Francis.
This great monument to the life of the saint
is filled with the frescoes of Giotto, Cimabue
and Lorenzetti, and the oldest stained glass
windows in Italy.
Among these is a curious window in the
nave of the upper church. The window, in
two panels, depicts on one side the Blessed
Virgin holding the Christ child, while in the
adjoining panel, the adult Christ is seen holding
St Francis – not Francis as a child, but
an adult Francis, bearded and habited, made
small to be ‘like’ a child.
On gazing upon this image, immediately
the words of our Lord in Sacred Scripture
come to mind: “Unless you become as little
children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of
Heaven.” (Mt 18:3).
Within this image is contained the spirituality
of minority, which is foundational to the
Franciscan charism. In founding his Order,
Francis wanted his followers to be identified
as friars minor, ‘lesser brothers’, who modelled
themselves on the humility of Christ.
It is not by chance, therefore, that the
image of St Francis in the stained glass is set
in proximity to the image of the Virgin and
Child, since for St Francis, minority only
made sense if modelled on the humility of
Christ – who “though he was in the form of
God, did not count equality with God a thing
to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the
form of a servant, being born in the likeness
of men. And being found in human form he
humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:6-8).
This self-emptying of Christ, mirrored in
the events of the Incarnation and the Cross,
so consumed St Francis that Thomas of
Celano notes, “so thoroughly did the humility
of the Incarnation and the charity of the
Passion occupy his memory that he scarcely
wanted to think of anything else.” 1
And so to capture the reality of the mystery
of the Incarnation, Francis assembled the
first Christmas crib at the mountain hermitage
at Greccio, so that he could see with his
own eyes the wonder of God made man.
The mystery of the cross, likewise, was
always before him, such that it became
imprinted on his own body. Towards the
end of his life, while contemplating the
mystery of our salvation on La Verna,
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Francis personally experienced the passion
of Christ, and himself became a living
sacrament, an icon, of the crucified, being
branded with the wounds of Christ’s passion,
the sacred stigmata.
Living the spirit of minority allowed St
Francis to unite himself to Christ in a
remarkable way. Minority also allowed him
to perceive God’s saving grace made present
through the simple signs of the sacraments.
It was especially in the blessed Eucharist
that St Francis encountered the humble,
self-emptying love of the Lord. For St
Francis, the Mass was not only the re-presentation
of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary,
but also the continuation of the humility of
His Incarnation.
“Behold, each day He humbles Himself as
when He came from the royal throne into
the Virgin’s womb,” he wrote. “Each day He
Himself comes to us, appearing humbly;
each day He comes down from the bosom
The parish community of Our Lady of the Rosary, Kellyville, is in
the pastoral care of the Conventual Franciscan Friars
of the Father upon the altar in the hands of
a priest.” 2
Through the profession of the evangelical
counsels, to live in obedience, in chastity
and without anything of their own, the friars
throughout history have strived to imitate
the humility and minority of Christ – to
acknowledge their nothingness before the
majesty of God, to identify with the lowly,
to be lesser brothers in harmony with all of
God’s creation.
A friar exists to serve God and his Church
in humility, simplicity, and with gladness of
heart. In this way he endeavours to be faithful
to the example of his father Francis, who
followed Christ on his path of descent, making
himself small and humble so that God
might exalt him (cf. Mt 23:12).
1
Thomas of Celano, The Life of St Francis.
Francis of Assisi, Early Documents. Volume 1.
(New York: New City Press, 1999), 254.
2
Francis of Assisi, ‘Admonition 1’. FAED1, 129.
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Marriage Sunday
12 September 2010
HOLY SPRIT MISSIONARY SISTERS
P.O. Box 129 Aspley, Qld. 4034
Phone 07 32630328
email mccooke@msn.com
www: holyspiritsisters.org.au
The Diocese of Parramatta has designated Sunday
12 September as Marriage Sunday. This provides the faith
community with an opportunity to highlight the vocation of Marriage
and to celebrate and acknowledge the married members of parishes.
Centacare Catholic Social Services, Parramatta on behalf of the Diocesan
Pre-Marriage Advisory Committee, has provided a resource kit to each
parish. This kit contains material to assist parishes to highlight the day.
Check with your local parish team for information about
how your parish will be acknowledging and affirming
marriage on Sunday 12 September 2010