Saint Francis of Assisi, one of our most beloved saints, is perhaps best known for his appreciation of nature and animals. He should however, be recognized even more for his love of Jesus in the Eucharist, as that was one of the most important aspects of his spirituality and a major theme of his writings.
Because of Saint Francis’ devotion to the Eucharist, he wanted churches to be clean, in good repair, and beautiful to honor Jesus. After his conversion, he donated money and sacred vessels to poor churches in honor of Jesus’ Presence there. He spent much of his time in prayer in the Church of San Damiano, and one of his early works of charity was to repair churches. Although he greatly valued poverty and did not spend money on himself, he wanted the best, most beautiful sacred vessels to be used in churches. He wrote in his Testament, “Above everything else, I want this most Holy Sacrament to be honored and venerated and reserved in places which are richly ornamented.”
Catholics may assume there was great reverence toward Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in the Middle Ages, but there were problems then as well. In his “Letter to All Clerics,” Saint Francis wrote that priests “should realize that the chalices, corporals, and altar linens where the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ are offered in Sacrifice should be completely suitable…” He spoke of the scandal of priests who “reserve the Blessed Sacrament in unsuitable places or carry It about irreverently, or receive It unworthily, or give It to all-comers without distinction…. Surely we cannot be left unmoved by loving sorrow for all this…” In Saint Francis’ “Letter to All Superiors of the Friars Minor,” he entreated them to ask the clergy “to have the greatest reverence for the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Saint Francis had great respect for
priests because they celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass, and give people Holy
Communion. He encouraged his brother friars and lay followers to honor priests,
and not to judge them, but leave their judgment to God. He tried to encourage
priests to be faithful and holy, and addressed them directly in two of his letters.
In his “Letter to a General Chapter, “he told the priests of the Franciscan
Order, “Remember your dignity, then, my friar-priests, you should make and keep
yourselves holy, because God is holy (Lev. 11:44). In this mystery God has
honored you above all other human beings, and so you must love, revere, and
honor him more than all others.”
Saint Francis was not a priest himself,
but was ordained as a deacon. He tried to attend Mass at least once a day,
whenever possible, and his biographer, Thomas of Celano, wrote that Saint
Francis received Holy Communion frequently, and “he did so with such devotion
that he made others also devout.” Saint Bonaventure wrote in his biography of
Saint Francis, “He burned with love for the Sacrament of our Lord’s Body with
all his heart, and was lost in wonder at the thought of such condescending
love, such loving condescension.”
Saint Francis wanted priests to
celebrate Mass with reverence and devotion. In his “Letter to a General Chapter”,
he asked friars who were priests, friars who would be ordained as priests, and
friars who wanted to become priests “…to be free from all earthly affection
when they say Mass, and offer single mindedly and with reverence the True
Sacrifice of the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, with a holy
and pure intention, not for any earthly gain or through human respect or love
for any human being, not serving to the
eye as pleasers of men (Eph. 6:6), with the help of God’s grace, their
whole intention should be fixed on Him with a will to please the most high Lord
alone, because it is He alone who accomplishes this marvel in his own way. He
told us, Do this in memory of me (Lk
22:19), and so the man who acts otherwise is a traitor like Judas, and he will be guilty of the body and blood of the
Lord (1 Cor. 11:27).”
Saint Francis was also concerned that all
Catholics should know and truly believe in Jesus’ Presence in the Blessed
Sacrament. In his “Admonitions”, he explained, “He shows himself to us in this
sacred bread just as he once appeared to his apostles in real flesh. With their
own eyes they saw only his flesh, but they believed that he was God, because
they contemplated him with the eyes of the spirt. We, too, with our own eyes,
see only bread and wine, but we must see further and firmly believe that this
is his most holy Body and blood, living and true. In this way, our Lord remains
continually with his followers, as he promised, Behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world. (Mt. 28:20).”
Saint Francis encouraged the friars to
receive Holy Communion worthily in his Rule of 1221. He wrote, “And when they have confessed their
sins with due contrition, they should receive the Body and Blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ with great humility and reverence, remembering the words of our
Lord himself, He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life everlasting
(Jn. 6:55), and, Do this is remembrance
of me (Lk. 22:19)” Saint Francis
gave similar guidance to all Catholics, advising them of the necessity of
receiving the Blessed Sacrament. In his “Letter to All the Faithful, Saint
Francis wrote: “…we should confess all our sins to a priest and receive from
him the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The man who does not eat his
flesh and drink his blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God (Jn. 6:54).”
It was Saint Francis’ intention that his
friars should preach devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist. He asked the superiors
of his order to do this in his letter to them. “In all your sermons you shall
tell the people of the need to do penance, impressing on them that no one can be
saved unless he receives the Body and Blood of our Lord. When the priest is
offering sacrifice at the altar or the Blessed Sacrament is being carried
about, everyone should kneel down and give praise, glory, and honor to our Lord
and God, living and true.”
Saint Francis of Assisi’s great love for Jesus and his understanding of the importance of the Eucharist in the lives of Catholics can inspire us to have greater love and reverence for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament too. We can also ask for Saint Francis’ intercession for priests in their celebration of Mass, and for all Catholics to truly believe in Jesus’ Presence in the Eucharist.
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