SEPTEMBER 17: Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis.
Saint Francis imitated Christ so perfectly that towards the end of his life our Lord wished to point him out to the world as the faithful imitator of the Crucified, by imprinting His five wounds upon his body.
Two years before his death, when, according to his custom, Saint Francis had repaired to Mt La Verna to spend the 40 days preceding the feast of St. Michael the Archangel in prayer and fasting, and there this wonderful event took place.
On the feast of the Stigmata of St Francis, 17 September 1983, St John Paul II came as a pilgrim to Mount La Verna in Tuscany. There in the holy place were Francis encountered the Crucified Christ in such a profound way, the Pope prayed this beautiful prayer:
O St Francis, stigmatized on La Verna, the world longs for you, that icon of the crucified Jesus. It has need of your heart, open to God and to others; of your bare, wounded feet, of your pierced hands raised in supplication. It longs for your voice so frail yet forceful with the power of the Gospel. Francis, help the people of this age to recognise the evil of sin and to seek purification from it in penance. Help them to become free from the very structures of sin that oppress today’s society. Rekindle in the consciousness of those in government an urgent need for peace between nations and peoples. Instil in young people your freshness of life that is capable of withstanding the snares of the many cultures of death. To those injured by every type of evil teach, O Francis, the joy of being able to forgive. To all those crucified by suffering, hunger and war, reopen the doors of hope. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, when the world was growing cold, in order to renew in our hearts the flame of love, imprinted the sacred marks of Thy Passion on the body of our blessed father Francis, mercifully grant that by his merits and prayers we may persevere in bearing the cross and may bring forth fruits worthy of penance, Thou Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
Lord, I ask you for two graces before I die: to experience in myself, as much as possible, the sufferings of your cruel Passion, and to feel for you the same love that drove you to sacrifice yourself for us.
My Lord Jesus Christ, I beg thee to grant me two graces before my death: first, that for the rest of my life I may experience in my soul and in my body, as much as possible, the same pain that you suffered, O sweet Jesus, during the time of thy most cruel Passion; and second, that I may feel in my heart, as much as possible, the same love which inflamed thee, the Son of God, and led thee to suffer thy passion gladly for us sinners. Amen.
