Francis of Assisi was the privileged son of
a wealthy merchant and knew how to enjoy life, especially a good party. As a young man he went to fight for his
country, was captured and held prisoner for many months. His father paid to bring him home but he soon
became seriously ill. Francis recovered
but was left dissatisfied with himself and his life.
He started praying more and kept giving
stuff away. His father, who had seen him
through all these wild parties, ransomed him from prison, and got him through
his illness, started to get upset. His
Dad would give him a warm cloak, or a good pair of shoes and Francis would just
pass them on to the next beggar he met.
And basically Francis spent the rest of his life doing that: pissing everybody off by giving stuff
away. In his lifetime everybody knew,
and liked, him. He was charming and
travelled everywhere. He went west to
Spain, then through Eastern Europe and south to Egypt during the Crusade being
present at the capture of Dametietta. He
made friends with not just the Roman clergy that he met, but the Orthodox
churchmen in the east, with Moors, and mainly with ordinary folk. The Pope, priests, imams, and even his own
monks, loved him but couldn’t cope with his complete disinterest in every
material thing.
Francis’ generosity, his simple and
unaffected faith, his passionate devotion to God and man, his love of nature
and his deep humility have made him one of the most cherished saints of modern
times.
At St. Barnabas in Warrington we like,
every year, to remember St Francis and his love of animals, by bringing our
pets to church on the Sunday afternoon after his saints day. Well, maybe we just like to thank God for a
world that’s made much richer and much more fun by our animal friends.
If you’d like to join us, bring you pet
along at 2pm on Sunday 6th October.
Jeremy Nicoll, St Barnabas Church Warrington
