Celebrating St. Francis: Love for Nature, the Poor, and the Enemy

By The Rev. Matthew Simpson, Deacon

As the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi approaches on October 4, it bears remembering some profound things this saint can teach us. St. Francis is best known in modern times as the Saint of Nature. This is true, but why was the love of Nature such a profound belief?

In Francis’ time, the wilderness was not seen as a good and holy thing as it is today. Rather, the wilderness was seen as a place of darkness, chaos, and danger. After all, the wilderness was where outlaws and bandits lived, where dangerous beasts preyed on humans, and where witches did their ceremonies.

Yet, despite all this fear, St. Francis, seeing the hand of God in nature, took another approach. He believed nature to be holy and sacred. His saintly legacy is that where humans saw God’s nature as something to exploit, dominate, or fear, Francis saw it as something sacred to treasure. He was able to see the sacred in the profane.

I imagine Deacon Francis would not be too upset with our praise of him over his love of nature. However, I do think he would be horrified that we neglect to remember his love and devotion to the poor and outcast when we remember his feast day. The Church’s neglect of remembering the poor when honoring St. Francis is an offense to his name.

St. Francis devoted his life to and made his home with the people that the Church and Society had labeled as unlovable and unclean. Where people saw curse and disease in the leper, Francis saw a Child of God. In the untouchables of society, Francis saw the sacred in the profane.

Lastly, I want to mention his quest to broker peace between the Christians and the Muslims during the Crusades. Where Christians saw heathens and children of the devil, Deacon Francis saw the possibility that these humans were made in the Divine Image. He learned from the Muslims, and our monastic prayer times reflect the legacy of this learning. Again, in loving the enemy of Christendom, Francis once again saw the sacred in the profane.

The lesson from St. Francis on his feast day for us as a Church is to continually look for God in unexpected places. St. Francis believed the sacred could be found in the profane. Maybe we should pray for the grace to have our eyes opened to see the same.

St. Francis, pray for us in the Name of Jesus: that we may seek and find Christ in Nature, in the Outcast, and in our Enemies. AMEN.