"Praised be you, my Lord,
through those who give pardon for Your Love,
And bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
For by You, Most High, they shall be crowned."

These words, written by St. Francis of Assisi shortly before he died, were the final verse of his now famous Canticle of Brother Sun. He wrote them because he was aware of a bitter feud between the bishop and the mayor of Assisi. The bishop had excommunicated the mayor and the mayor had publicly denounced the bishop, telling the people they were not to do any business with him.

After writing these lines, Francis called one of his companions and sent him to say to the mayor, "On my behalf, go to the bishop’s residence and bring with you the city’s magistrates and as many others as you can". Then he sent two of his other companions to the bishop and asked them to sing the Canticle before the bishop and the mayor and the others gathered together. Since both of these men respected and trusted Francis, they did as he asked. When the mayor heard the above stanza, he went in tears and knelt before the bishop. He said, "Look, I am ready to make amends to you for everything as it pleases you, for the love of Our Lord, Jesus Christ and his servant, Francis." The bishop took his hands and stood up, saying, "Because of my office humility is expected of me, but because I am naturally prone to anger, you must forgive me." And so they embraced and kissed each other.

Perhaps this story, taken from The Assisi Compilation, sounds a bit "far-fetched" to you, but it actually happened. Francis had a way about him that brought people to forgiveness and reconciliation. It was because he was so in love with God and all God’s creatures himself that he could draw others into reconciliation and peace.

Doesn’t it make you wonder, when you think of the wars and violence in our world today if we humans have learned anything in eight centuries? It also makes me wish that St. Francis were still around to call people to forgiveness instead of the retaliation that governments think is necessary. What would Francis say or do if he were living in our times? The answer, I am sure, is that he would intervene in the same way he did 800 years ago, using his simple and direct approach to call people and nations to forgiveness and reconciliation. Francis had been involved in war as a knight and knew that it solved nothing. He knew that aggression only causes more aggression in the form of retaliation. He would urge us to be peacemakers, beginning in our own homes and in our work and to urge our government leaders to seek peace.

As we celebrate the feast of St. Francis on October 4^th, let us pray:

Lord, make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.

By Sister Maryalice