St. Francis of Assisi has always been numbered amongst my favourite saints and continues to be so as a man of the Church who was inspired by the gospels, by the apostolate, by the wonder of God’s creation and by a most literal and heroic poverty, also maintaining his fidelity to the Church of Rome and further understanding the importance of divine worship and that the worship and temple of God should itself not be impoverished.
St. Francis, as with other saints, has much to teach us today. The Holy Father reminded us in an audience earlier this year about St. Francis and his own context:
“Three times the crucified Christ came to life and said to him: “Go, Francis, and repair my Church in ruins.” This simple event of the Word of the Lord heard in the church of San Damiano hides a profound symbolism. Immediately, St. Francis is called to repair this little church, but the ruinous state of this building is a symbol of the tragic and disturbing situation of the Church itself… More at New Liturgical Movement.
Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi, Assisi
