If we leave out majority of people who take their religion seriously by observing all the rituals, prayers, visits to the holy places, we find two other categories of religious people who follow religion closely. These comprise the priestly class in all religions everywhere.
Among these two categories of “holy” or “religious” people, we find a stark contrast between those who build and live in pompous, richly adorned places or even “palaces” of worship and those who completely renounce the world wandering from place to place as mendicants and/or itinerant preachers.
Today Christians celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi who belonged to the second category of religious people. Francis or Francessco, as his father liked to call him, was the son of a rich cloth merchant in a small town of Assisi in Italy. It is said that once when he was selling expensive velvet cloth in the market, a beggar approached him for alms. After he had finished selling, Francis sought out the beggar and gave him all the money that he had in his pocket. As expected he received a thorough dressing down from his enraged father. The father-son conflict, thus begun, ended only when Francis, before a large gathering and in the presence of the local bishop, renounced everything of his father and walked away naked.
Once when his friends asked him about his marriage plans, he told them that he had already married, “lady poverty” who would remain his partner for the rest of his life. This was sometime in 1205 AD.
It is said of St. Francis that when he preached even the birds and animals would listen to him in rapt attention. The following prayer attributed to St. Francis expresses his deep spirituality: “Lord, make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.”
Though Francis lived eight centuries ago, he is still popular though more among the nuns, brothers and priests who try to emulate his spirituality with special emphasis on poverty and his love for nature. Francis of Assisi is also venerated as the patron saint of environment. A film made on him is titled Brother Sun and Sister Moon because this is how he addressed them as well as earth, water, air and so on.
Father Dominic Emmanuel is the director of communication of the Delhi Catholic Church. He was awarded the National Communal Harmony Award 2008 by the Government of India.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/father-dominic-emmanuel-614
