What a profound honor to live during the 800th anniversary of the stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi! That a man like St. Francis would so love God as to receive Our Lord’s marks from the cross on his body — dear Lord, I am constantly amazed by your love! I want to share the joy of St. Francis and his followers around the time of Sept. 14, 1224, on seeing this blessing imparted to their founder, St. Francis, a man who gave it all to emulate the life of Christ.

Let’s share an account of the stigmata written by Brothers Leo, Angelo and Rufino, men who knew Francis during his lifetime. I can hear their excitement and strong faith as they relate how the stigmata happened to St. Francis:

One morning, around the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, while he was absorbed in prayer on a slope of Mount LaVerna, two years before his death, a seraph with six wings appeared to him. Within its six wings there was the form of a very beautiful, crucified man, whose hands and feet were extended after the manner of a cross, and whose features were clearly those of the Lord Jesus. Two wings covered his head, two the rest of his body down to the feet, and two were extended as if for flight.

St. Francis’ companions then relate what took place next:

When the vision disappeared, a marvelous glow of love remained in his soul, but, even more marvelous, an impression of the stigmata of our Lord Jesus Christ appeared in his flesh. Until his death, the man of God, unwilling to divulge God’s sacrament, concealed it to the best of his ability, although he was unable to cover it completely since it became known to at least his intimate companions.

After his most happy passing, all the brothers who were present, as well as many seculars, clearly saw his body unmistakably adorned with the wounds of Christ. They saw in his hands and feet, not just the holes of the nails, but the nails themselves formed by his own flesh, taking shape from it, and showing the dark color of iron. His right side appeared as if pierced with a lance, covered with a red scar from a very real and very visible wound, which, even while he was living, frequently poured out sacred blood.

Love is sacrifice. St. Francis of Assisi loved our Lord so much that he lived the most basic Gospel life. And yet the ultimate honor of living like Christ was to share even a small part of his Passion and Death. We live in a world today that more and more seems to want to run from suffering. And yet, even if we can accept tragedy, we as humans are utterly dismayed by the level of violence or sadness unfolding.

For us all, St. Francis shows us by his acceptance of the stigmata that being a Christian involves pain, sometimes of the most unimaginable intensity. But through this sorrow, God can bring good out of anything as exemplified by the miracles which occurred after St. Francis’ death. Concerning the stigmata, Leo, Angelo and Rufino relate:

The undeniable truth of those stigmata appeared most brilliantly through sight and contact not only in his life and in death, but also after his death, the Lord revealed their truth even more brilliantly by many miracles shown in different parts of the world. Through these miracles, the hearts of many who did not look kindly on the man of God and doubted the stigmata were also moved to a great assurance of faith.

Let’s go forward into this next year living in the love and joy of Christ no matter the circumstances. For God will allow many miracles to unfold in response to our acts of faith and will let us be His witnesses to the triumph of the good and the conversion of many.

St. Francis of Assisi, pray that we can be true examples of Jesus here on earth as you were for our Lord with love for all!