Francis of Assisi – 4 October: Francis of Assisi is a thirteenth-century Italian whose greatest honour was to be known as il Poverello, “the little poor one of Christ.” In 1208 he heard the commission which the risen Lord gave to his apostles, “Go, make all nations my disciples,” and knew that it was also addressed to him. Francis began to train his followers for the task of making Jesus truly known and loved among the ordinary people of Italy. Out of this movement developed the Order of the Lesser Brethren, commonly called the Franciscans.

One September day in 1224, he had a vision of the Crucified borne on the wings of a seraph. As the vision withdrew, the wounds of Jesus appeared in Francis’s own flesh — the scars like nail-wounds on his hands and feet, and in his right side a scar like a spear-wound. These marks, called the stigmata, remained on Francis’s body until his death two years later.

Prayer: Grant us, Almighty God, after the example of your holy servant Francis, to do what you would have us do, and always to desire what is pleasing in your sight, that cleansed by your love, enlightened by your truth, and kindled with the fire of your Holy Spirit, we may follow in the footsteps of your beloved Son and make our way to you, O God most High; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen 

On this last Sunday of the Season of Creation, we are reminded that (always) we worship with the entire universe. Cosmos refers to the entire universe, every dimension of time and space, spiritual and material. The cosmos is both the glittering galaxies that humans have begun to explore as well as distant domains far beyond our imagination. All creation is one sacred cosmos; a spiritual universe filled with God’s presence. We are conscious that the cosmos is a vast sacred space of which we humans on Earth are a small part. We celebrate the wondrous spiritual force called Wisdom that permeates, activates and unifies the web of worlds that is our cosmos.