800th Anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi: A call for Renewed commitment to human solidarity.
St. Francis : A unique saint who loved the Crucified Christ intimately, who bacame the channel of grace and peace for humanity.
A very happy feast of St. Francis
The unique historical context today.
We are almost at the close of the 800th anniversary celebration of St. Francis, our founder. The event is being celebrated around the world in varying levels starting from the opening of the tomb of St. Francis at Assisi to various conferences at universities and other Franciscan initiatives. In Rome there is a statue of St. Francis and his friars looking at the Lataran Basilica, which was made on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of St. Francis. It stands even to this day unaffected by two world wars that destroyed most parts of Rome. Now the point here is not to create yet another statue of Francis, rather to think about what do we take ahead other than opening of our churches for a year offering indulgences to the people offered by the mercy of Pope Leo?
Any memorial celebration, along with the commemoration of the past reality should also be the start of something new in the direction of the foundational inspiration, at least for those who follow the founder. It is here that we need to reflect on what we plan or what do we offer for the future other than these opening ceremonies that are going to be closed at the end of the year. Is there any new evolutionary leap happening in the Franciscan world?
We can claim authentically the legacy of St. Francis only if we are moved by his vision and continue his mission. As per the data 58 wars are happening in the world today. Pope Leo is inviting the whole humanity to stand for peace and nonviolence as mighty and powerful countries are involved in war directly and indirectly. Two million people are either killed or seriously damaged only in the Ukraine and Russia war alone and continues without any sign of end. This context calls to follow the path of St. Francis who went directly into places like Arezzo, Bolonga to end the violence and war. Anyone who loves Francis cannot ignore the cry of the poor and the marginalized and celebrate his memory unaffected by the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth as told to us by our late Pope Francis. Let this memorial celebration be a moment of renewed commitment to human fraternity and ecological stewardship with a heightened sense of God. Let us love all with the heart of Francis enveloped in divine love.
An Interview with John Corriveau, previous Minister General of the Capuchins Part 1
FEAST OF CREATION
September 1st has emerged as an important day of Christian celebration of Creation. It goes by various names: Feast of Creation, Creation Day, World Day of Prayer for Creation, and so on. Pope Francis’ Laudato Si and the ever-growing ecological crisis has given greater significance to the feast
of creation.
It is important to note that the feast has much deeper meaning than the Earth Day or Environment Day. Pope Francis, the modern champion of integral ecology has explained the deeper divine significance of the feast. It refers both to God’s mysterious act and the consequent gift of creation.Now the question is what the humanity is doing with this divine gift of creation? The Pope Leo has made a serious observation on the feast of creation.
The Pope rightly observes that the disruption to the harmonious balance of creation is accelerating. ( Pope Leo, Message for the 11th World Day of Prayer for the care of creation 2026). The immediate effect of this disruption is the growing violence and never-ending wars, which claims lives, tears families and forces millions to flee their homes.
St Francis was physically blind when he wrote the beautiful poem on creation, the canticle of creation. However, he was able to see both the beauty of creation and the mystery of God in creation. A wounded humanity is the place where we need to start the work of rebuilding a new creation. A new heaven and earth can be built again if we are willing to “beat swords into ploughshares” (Is. 2.4).
Feast of creation is the proper occasion to build a new perspective on creation. On the one hand we need to regain the ‘mystery or the wonder’ aspect of creation. At the same time, we also have to hold high our responsibility to care for the world. This calls us to start a new Anno Domini, the year of the Lord, in collaboration with the ever-renewing spirit of the Lord who guides us safely even through heavy tempests.