For the past couple of days, I’ve been blessed to be out in God’s great creation with the beautiful sun, blue skies, a gentle wind, and the return of green grass. The birds are chirping, finding their way back into my yard, and the mallard ducks are making a nest in the pond for new life. The Canadian geese are flying their V formations north, and there is a beautiful peace that warms my heart as the daffodils turn their heads to meet my gaze. All of these treasures are part of God’s promises for new life after a cold, harsh winter.
As I continue looking for courageously faithful stewards of our world, St. Francis of Assisi comes to mind amidst the beauty of spring’s return. He was born Giovanni Francesco Bernadone in 1182 in the medieval town of Assisi, Italy, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant and banker, and destined to give all of his wealth away to live and preach among the poor and unhappy people of the world. He took part in an uprising to clear out the nobles of the town, was captured and imprisoned by the Perugians, and began his conversion to Catholicism when a prisoner gave him an illegal copy of the Gospel.
After his farther disowned him for throwing away his wealth, St. Francis lived in the mountains, rebuilding the abandoned church of San Damiano and the Portiuncula. His friends gave away their things and joined him to continue with the reconstruction; as his followers grew in number, they journeyed to see Pope Innocent III in Rome to ask for his permission to become a free-range order of monks so that they could preach the Gospel throughout the world without the benefit of Church monies and rules. St. Francis said, “What good is a church that remains in one place and doesn’t do what Christ wanted His disciples to do?” The Pope hesitated with his answer because of the presence of the Cardinals in the hall, and he knew that his ruling would cause trouble among them. He responded, “I had a dream about you last night, and you were the humble man who would keep the pillars of the Church from crumbling.” The pope gave his blessing to St. Francis, knowing that the journey these poor monks would walk would be harsh and very dangerous.
St. Francis’ journey took him to many parts of the world, and he began to recognize that all of God’s creatures are our brothers and sisters. It seemed that when he sang praises to God for all of the birds of the sky, multitudes of birds would assemble around him and chirp answers to his melodies. When he returned to the rebuilt church, the monks were afraid of a wolf that walked into the church during a service. He simply said, “Do not be afraid of him; he is our brother.” In many accounts from his travels, a wolf often followed him much like a loving protective dog. With his health failing and his eye sight diminishing, St. Francis continued to preach wherever people would listen to him. He died in 1226 and was canonized two years later. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the mountains of southern Italy where he could be with his Creator and all of His creations. It is said that the same wolf that followed him in his journeys stayed with him at his grave site until God called him home as well.
As his sight was diminishing, St. Francis dictated his “Canticle of the Sun,” or Laudes Creaturarum, to one of his friends because he could no longer write; in 1278, a fresco using the words of the poem was painted on one of the walls of the Basilica San Francesco in memory of St. Francis and his love of animals. It is considered to be one of the first literary works written in the Italian language. The “Canticle” was used as the basis for the present day hymn of “All Creatures, Worship God Most High,” and it was composed in 1919 by William Henry Draper. The tune for the hymn is “Lasst uns erfreuen,” which was a part of “Geistliche Kirchengesange” in 1623.
In the “Canticle,” St. Francis called the sun, Brother sun, and the moon and the stars, Sister moon and stars. The wind was Brother wind that helped grow fruit and grains with the clouds and rain. Sister water was useful and clear. Brother fire was happy and strong and drove away the shadows. Mother earth was rich in caring. Sister death hushed our final breath as Christ led us through the dark night to our Eternal home. All creatures sang and praised God with a humble heart, and we all worshiped the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All of God’s creatures sang, “Alleluia!,” with grateful hearts and pure joy as a refrain throughout the poem.
As my eyes and ears welcome spring’s new life and my faith is made courageous by God’s love, I am thankful that He allows us to be re-born in the beauty of nature and in His Word. May we continue to receive His blessings so that our paths may be made easier and our hearts may be good stewards of His creations. In the words of St. Francis, “Bless us, O Lord, for Thy great and bountiful Creation!”
Anna Hartt
