Saint Francis of Assisi’s Day

//Saint Francis of Assisi’s Day

Saint Francis of Assisi’s Day

Saint Francis of Assisi’s Day
Because he is the patronsaint of our church and our monks, because he walked on the path of holiness and deserved to be the closest to Jesus, we honor him today on his Day.
On this occasion, we congratulate our beloved monks and pray that they continue the procession started by our beloved saint to reach like him the highest levels of perfection.
We congratulate in particular Father Ibrahim Al-Sabbagh and Father Bassam Zaza, on the anniversary of their perpetual vows presenred on this day, with them we pray the prayer of our saint father : “Oh, sublime and glorious God lighten the darkness of my heart and give me honest faith, a firm hope, a perfect love, sensation and awareness.
Oh Lord, that I may fulfill your holy and true commandment ”
Hereunder a summary of Saint Francis of Assisi’s life:
He was born in 1182 for a rich family of Assisi merchants
In our mind, the image of St. Francis is linked to peace, the peace of Christ who says:” Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” and everyone who bears His yoke and becomes His disciple will be himeself an instrument of peace .
Francis was thinking of a project to build a church of poverty and humility, a church that does not only work for the poor but lives poverty and solidarity with them in their life and suffering .
The church demanded St. Francis to write a Rule for his Order, he refrained at first and said that the only Rule that must be followed is the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he finally aquiesced to the insistence of the church and wrote a Rule for the Franciscan Order in a book called : “Approved Rule” Which the church confirmed and approved. It appears from this book that the spirituality of St. Francis focuses on the Rule of Friars Minor and their lives : “observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience, without anything of our own and in chastity”
His teaching was very simple and he instructed that Man should stand devoid of everthing in front of the word of God that is given to him and that leads him to a life of virtue and away from vice, a life based on the teachings of the Holy Bible. St. Francis shows his strong relationship with the Bible where he wrote: The Bible is the Rule and the life of the Friars Minor, this Rule is to:
” Observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in living in obedience and without anything of our own and in chastity”
There is no other Rule and there is nothing other than the Gospel. Monks, as true Christians who dedicate their lives to the Lord, must keep Him and live Him while they live their vows. (Approved Rule)
He gave great importance to the acts of obedience and respect, he said: “Brother Francis promises obedience and respect to Pope Honorius and his legally elected successors and to the Catholic Church, and to obligate all the Brothers to offer obedience to Brother Francis and his successors.”
St.Francis abided to obey and respect the Pope, he didn’t declare that he will request his Brothers to do that, however he himself declared that I, Francis promise to obey and respect the Pope and his elected successors, and the whole Roman Church (Approved Rule)
St. Francis founded with Saint Clare
the Order of Poor Ladies (the Clares) in 1211, and also founded the Third Secular Order in 1223.
Pope Pius XII counted St. Frsncis among the Teachers of the Church and called him “the Evangelical Teacher ”
He traveled to the Holy Land in 1219 and met Sultan Al-Kamil Al-Ayyubi to discuss with him the cessation of hostilities. This meeting is considered the first of its kind in history as a symbol of interfaith dialogue.
St. Francis is considered the first to make a grotto similar to the grotto of Jesus’ birth in 1223.
He received the five wounds of Christ on his body in 1224.
He died on the third of October in 1226 in a family more wealthy than the family in which he was born , the family of God’s men and women, a family of Saints and Blessed for all ages.
The Franciscan Order offered the Catholic Church more than a hundred Saints and one hundred and forty-six Blessed.

2021-10-18T12:25:37+03:00 October 3rd, 2021|Media|0 Comments

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