St Francis
Recently I gave a tour of our church to an Orthodox visitor. As I described a number of icons in the narthex he suddenly pointed to the icon of St Francis and said, “But he’s not Orthodox!” I couldn’t help the response that came instantaneously, “Shh, don’t say that too loudly.” He blushed, but continued, “Seriously, I’m surprised that you nave an icon of St Francis of Assisi in your church.” I explained our community’s early history to him, how we had come out of a Byzantine rite Franciscan community and how many of the brothers still had a strong devotion to St Francis. But then I decided that a bit of boldness was called for. “But actually that’s not the real reason. Francis may not have a spot on the Orthodox liturgical calendar, but he is certainly a saint of the universal church and deserves appropriate honor and respect.” Indeed, I think one would be hard pressed to find a more universally revered saint, one beloved by Christians and non-Christians alike. Something about Francis cuts through everything that divides us: cultural barriers, prejudice, fear... What is that?
Surprisingly, I don’t think that it is Francis’ poverty, nor his love of animals and nature, nor his stigmata. Rather, I think the clues are found in the two icons we have here in church. In the first, in the narthex, we see Francis flanked by Brother Sun and Sister Moon. For me, this is deeply symbolic of the whole scope of human emotions and experiences that comprise our lives: the light and the dark, the warm and the cold, what is revealed and what is in shadow. Francis was able to find God in and through it all. In the second icon in the back of church, we see Francis reaching out and clasping Clare’s hand, a sign of utterly chaste love. At the same time, it also reflects for me the perfect integration of the masculine and feminine. This is the source of his joy -- holding these two forces in balance. This is what makes Francis a truly catholic saint, a saint for us all. For Francis the key to holiness was integration, recognizing Christ’s presence in all things. The power of Francis’ “Canticle to Brother Sun” is precisely this: its ability to welcome God in all things. “Be praised O Lord for Brother Sun, for Sister Moon, for Brother Wind and Air, for Sister Water, for Brother Fire...”
It seems to me that really there is no such thing as ‘eastern’ or ‘western’ saints. There are only saints of the universal church whose example of holiness we can all learn from and be inspired by. By their very nature saints belong to the whole church. There won’t be an Orthodox section or a Roman Catholic section in the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead, the example of Francis cuts through the dead end of narrow confessionalism, of triumphalism, of spiritual blindness and pettiness; it encourages us to recognize Christ and his body. And while we may indeed have to live with the reality of division in the Church, we can always be mindful, as Francis was, of the deeper unity of which we are a part, and work to affirm that at every opportunity. |
