Francis is ravished in love!

Love is the Beginning and End of all things . . . for God is Love.

When most of us think of 'love' we think of 'romantic' love, perhaps because it is so emotionally intoxicating. 'Romantic' love can strike us like lightning but besides leaving us momentarily stunned by it's power and suddeness, it often leaves us unchanged as a person. Romantic 'love', when compared to the love of God, could be described as not being love at all since it is often just superficial - here today, gone tomorrow. However, even the love of God (so deep and profound) has aspects of this exciting and beautiful thing we call romantic love .

A love for God is not something that just suddenly appears within us. We don't 'fall' into it by accident. True love is something that is deliberate, requiring understanding and rigorous persistent effort. It is easy to be the object of love (since it requires no effort on our part). Learning to love others . . . can require real work!

Loving God (though He is so wonderful, beautiful and good) also requires serious effort, especially after our 'infatuation' for Him passes. Infatuation serves it's purpose - getting our attention and moving us in the right direction. However, infatuation carries us only so far. Remember the parable of the sower - the seed in the rocky ground that withered when the sun came up because "it had no depth"? That is what spiritual infatuation is like. Francis, soon after beginning his journey to God, put aside spiritual infatuation and began working hard at truly loving God. He took the seed of the Gospel and allowed God to plant it deep within the "rich soil" of his heart where it grew and produced a hundred fold! We can get a glimpse of Francis' spiritual effort and his fervor in his prayer:

"Most holy Lord, I should like to love You! Dearest God, I should like to love You! O Lord God, I have given up to You all my heart and my body, and I yearn passionately to do still more for love of You if only I knew how! "

Francis' words burn with the fervor of spiritual passion! But what are we to gather from his words, "I would like to love You"? Does this mean that Francis didn't love God? At this point, Francis had given his 'heart and body' for God - forsaking everyone and everything as well as all expectations of a 'normal' life. It is clear he did truly and powerfully, love God. However, it is also apparent that he felt he didn't love God - at least not enough!

The problem was: what else did he have to give after seemingly giving all? How many of us (including priests, deacons, lay brothers and sisters) could say the same? Maybe some of us have sacrificed our bodies and lives (by forsaking the world for the 'religious' life) . However, have we truly sacrificed our souls (our personal goals and dreams in our personal and spiritual lives) for love of God? This is not something easy to do - even if one is a 'religious'! This is something Jesus tells us we must try to do everyday - "Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Me"

Jesus, of course, showed us how to do this. It is true that he showed us His love for mankind during His earthly ministry - teaching, healing, performing other miracles. However, it was when He endured the betrayal, desertion, arrest, illegal trial by, the torture and humiliation at the hands of the soldiers, the rejection by the people of Israel and, finally, the agony of His execution on the cross - that He revealed the depths of His love - for God and for us.

A good Franciscan friend once taught me what a 'serious business' 'Jesus' love was. "Have you ever burned yourself? Even the smallest burn is unbearably painful. Without even thinking about it our body recoils from pain. The pain Jesus went through was like someone who puts his hand in fire and, by force of will, keeps it in the flames even when when his body screams at him to pull it out! Jesus' love, His determination to help those He loved, reveals the same kind of determination - staying power - in the face of such unbearable pain."

Suffering for the good of others is hard enough but suffering for people who are arrogant, proud, presumptuous, ungrateful, selfish, petty, greed, hateful, judgmental, toward us makes it almost impossible! This was Jesuss situation during His sufferings. St. Paul said, "A man might risk death for a good man but God showed the depths of His love for us in that, while we were STILL sinners, Christ (with knowledge and determination) willed to die for us." (paraphrased).

Jesus loved His disciples totally - even while in the very midst of His agony. He loved them even though they had, just hours before, deserted Him, denied Him, and even betrayed Him. He loved men even as they spit on Him, slapped Him, beat and kicked Him, tore out the hair from His face and head and tore the flesh from His body during scourging. Jesus loved humanity even as He was seeing and experiencing, with His body and soul, the worst side of human nature - all that is evil and hateful in man.

Francis spent long hours meditating on the Gospel story of God's love. His understanding of God's love challenged him in love. Though Francis had given his body and soul to God he remained dissatisfied. Jesus had given so much for the love of Francis and, in Francis' eyes, all he had given in return was SO little. Francis thought that there had to be more that he could give to Christ. But what?!

Francis had only one more gift he could offer Jesus - his intense desire to more fully, more perfectly, surrender himself to God. His goal was to seek to know, love, honor and serve his good Lord - at all times and in all circumstances . His heart was ready for every opportunity God might provide, to sacrifice himself, for love. He was ready to do such menial tasks as clean toilets or such lofty (and painful ones) as offer his body in martyrdom - nothing was too low, or two hard, for Francis to do for Jesus. This determination of Francis' was gained through prayer and by seeking every day to walk in the footsteps of His Lord and Savior - Jesus, who said, "Ask and you SHALL recieve. Seek and you SHALL find. Knock and the door SHALL be opened for you,"

Jesus died for ALL men - including those who would ultimately push His love away immediately and without regret. Jesus proved His love for EACH OF US beyond a shadow of a doubt. He still loves us even though we, day after day, show Him how little we really appreciate it.

Francis often lamented, "Love is not loved!" Does his lament apply to you? We can, as followers of Jesus, cling to a weak and superficial infatuation for God or we can get serious (be mature) - determined (like Francis) to try to love God as He has loved us. Doing this doesn't require some special knowledge or spiritual power. Like Francis, all we need is the fervent desire, the earnest intention and determination, to open ourselves to His love and respond, with joy and gratitude, in love.

Jesus showed us how to love. He showed us how to love both God (by obediently serving and enduring in faith) and mankind (by forgiving and caring despite the evil men might heap on us). Francis aspired, fervently, to follow Jesus' example. We are also called to walk in Francis' steps, even as he sought to walk in Jesus'. We will succeed if we show the same holy and fervent determination.

You can be sure that Jesus will welcome and bless you for your efforts - making love spring up like a well of Living Water in your heart and life. His love is limitless, pure, refreshing and beautiful! Alleluia! Let us truly know His love and share that love with the world - with fervent desire and a determined heart. Amen!