One thing I love about St. Francis is that he shows me how to live a crucified life. Over the years I’ve also been blessed with many living examples of St. Francis in my own life. One beautiful example is a friend and brother, Br. Saul, who lived a joyful life in the Lord and was recently called home to the Father.
Br. Saul died suddenly in the midst, it seemed, of a life full of promise. But what he showed me, both by his life and through his death, is that, as St. Paul says, “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
Br. Saul lived a joyful life of love for Jesus and of service to others, and when Jesus called him home to the Father, he was ready. Today is the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis (when Franciscans celebrate Francis receiving the wounds of Christ in his very flesh). The liturgy of the day reminds us that as Francis was branded with the sacred stigmata, we were given the image of the Crucified Jesus the Lord.
In the flesh of Francis, and specifically in his flesh wounded and suffering, we are able to see Christ. In a similar way, in the suffering and death of my brother in Christ, the very image of the crucified Jesus was made more present to me and to the world. And this image, though it bears the marks of pain and suffering, also glows with the hope of what comes in and through those wounds – life on high with the Father.
(The picture above of Br. Saul was used on the holy cards that were passed out at his funeral mass.)
Sr. Anna Rose Ciarrone, T.O.R.
