The Prophetic Words Of Saint Francis Of Assisi

"Let all of us, brothers, consider the Good Shepherd Who bore the suffering of the cross to save His sheep.

"The Lord's sheep followed Him in tribulation and persecution, in shame and hunger, in weakness and temptation, and in other ways; and for these things they received eternal life from the Lord.

"Therefore, it is a great shame for us, the servants of God, that the saints have accomplished great things and we want only to receive glory and honor by recounting them." [1]

These words were by Francis of Assisi before he was declared a saint.  How prophetic those words have become for the current pope who named himself after the holy saint.

In the first paragraph, Francis of Assisi wrote to his followers that they should be mindful of Christ's suffering, not Christ's incessant forgiveness like Pope Francis had told his audience.  In the next paragraph, Francis of Assisi told those who followed Christ in His trials and sufferings in life would be with God in heaven after death.  In the last paragraph, Francis of Assisi castigated men of cloth who paid only lip-service to (i..e., recounted) the lessons taught by the saints but desired all of the glory and honor given to them.  Little did Francis of Assisi know, or perhaps he knew from seeing it in a vision, that one day there would be a pope who would choose to be named after him, Francis of Assisi, the saint, and who would want "only to receive glory and honor by recounting" the great accomplishments of Saint Francis of Assisi without following Christ in His "tribulation and persecution, in shame and hunger, in weakness and in temptation, and in other ways" in the same manner that Saint Francis of Assisi had.




[1]  Armstrong, Regis J. O.F.M. Cap. et.al. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volume I, The Saint. Page 131. New York: New York City Press, 2000.