Learning to Love like St. Francis

We know St. Francis of Assisi to be a great saint, a radical imitator of the Gospel, a converted “party boy,” and a lover of animals and creation. But what we less commonly hear about is how much this man embodied the essence of love.

G.K. Chesterton describes St. Francis as a lover: a lover of Jesus. Someone who was so captivated in God’s love that it transformed him into the image and likeness of Christ, and ultimately a saint.

What attracts me to St. Francis is the depth of his love for Jesus that pours over into his love of creation, others, and the poor and suffering in his midst. He’s a mirror reflecting Christ to the world. The best example, in my opinion, of how Christ lived and wanted us to live …

• In love with Him and our neighbor.
• Detached from the world.
• In solidarity and brotherly love with the poor and suffering.
• With poverty of spirit.
• In a spirit of penance.
• With a zeal to preach the Gospel.

“His mouth spoke out of the abundance of his heart, and the fountain of enlightened love that filled his whole being bubbled forth outwardly. Indeed, he was always occupied with Jesus; Jesus he bore in his heart, Jesus in his mouth, Jesus in his ears, Jesus in his eyes, Jesus in his hands, Jesus in the rest of his members. O how often, when he sat down to eat, hearing or speaking or thinking of Jesus, he forgot bodily food…”

--on St. Francis of Assisi from Celano - First Life

Imagine forgetting the food you are eating because you are so consumed with Jesus. Imagine being so in love with Christ that your love bubbles over into everything you do. Imagine Jesus being everywhere in you.

When I read the paragraph above in Celano’s work as part of my ongoing formation for the Franciscan Third Order Secular, my heart whispered:

I want to be like that, but I’m not yet like that. Lord, make me like that. Fill every crevice of my being with Jesus.

I’m learning to love like Francis did. And what a great example of love he is for all of us.