Tuesday, October 10, 2006
St. Francis of Assisi
This afternoon a friend and I were discussing the early monastics. St. Francis of Assisi was mentioned -- neither of us could recall whether St. Francis was a priest. I did some research and came up with the following in a note to my friend:
It appears that St. Francis was not a priest; I've looked at several sources and none of them mention his ordination. There are a lot of references to his preaching, but none about him celebrating Mass. It is personally humbling for me to recognize this since I miss serving a parish -- but then, look at all that St. Francis accomplished by taking an oath of poverty and simply preaching Christ! -- all without the accoutrements of a priest!
Some of St. Francis' sayings:
It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.
It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.
Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.
It appears that St. Francis was not a priest; I've looked at several sources and none of them mention his ordination. There are a lot of references to his preaching, but none about him celebrating Mass. It is personally humbling for me to recognize this since I miss serving a parish -- but then, look at all that St. Francis accomplished by taking an oath of poverty and simply preaching Christ! -- all without the accoutrements of a priest!
Some of St. Francis' sayings:
It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.
It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.
Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.
