Francis begs God for Spiritual Treasure:

Light, Knowledge, and the Three Eternal Treasures!

God gives us light . . . if we ask for it. With light we can see what is, what can be and how we need to get there. But do we really need 'light'? We are all reasonable and knowledgeable people (and good and decent to boot!). Aren't we able to figure out problems, make a plan and resolve them?

Francis knew he needed light, His need for God's 'light' was so great that he begs for it in the prayer below - the FIRST thing he begs for (in this prayer). He asks for the ability to understand those things that God says are most important.

"O great God of glory, my Lord Jesus Christ, I entreat You, put light into the darkness of my mind. Give me the right faith, firm hope, and perfect charity. Help me learn to know You, O Lord, so well that in all things I may do everything in true keeping with your holy will."

Spiritual darkness is on a continuum but there are two primary states one can find oneself in: that of being spiritually lost and that of one who, though not lost, must work themselves out of darkness, toward the Light. The first state applies to those lacking in faith. 'Spiritual darkness' means being spiritually dead (separated from God), dominated by sin and utterly lost. The other is like it but not as fatal and applies to those who have a relationship with God - trusting in His mercy. Evil dwells in our heart (in our sinful nature) but does not (should not) absolutely control it. We walk with God but try to surrender more and more to Him everyday, inviting Him to become more of a living presence in every aspect of our lives. Living this way means that with each passing day, Light should illuminate our lives more completely - bringing with it joy, freedom, power and clarity.

Francis' mind still had spiritual darkness within it. Every time Francis interacted with God (which was most of the time!), He was aware of how 'far' away from God he truly was. God is pure, holy, good and loving but one cannot fully experience God except by walking with Him. How can you walk with Him if you work against Him (walking in sin, in rebellion and despising what He loves and loving what He hates)? This darkness in Francis' heart prevented him from walking with God - entering into God's goodness - and this greatly upset Francis!

Francis begs for the SECOND thing - the three great graces that St. Paul spoke of: faith, hope and love. Each one, though a great gift in itself, is also a step along the path towards unity with God - a step from darkness to greater Light. Francis asks that his FAITH be 'right' - based on truth and what is good. He knew he needed to trust God's faithful goodness and love. He asks that his HOPE be 'firm' - powerful in the face of trial, strong against those forces that would want to push him or draw Him away from experiencing God's love, including his own sinful and rebellious nature. Finally, he asks that his LOVE grow to be perfect - absolute - for God.

Francis begs for the THIRD thing: to know God so well that he is able to do everything right thereby always pleasing Him. Francis wants to understand God's mind and heart so well that he himself can think and feel in the same way. One who thinks and feels like God sees life and others as God Himself sees them. The one who sees like this, both acts and speaks like God - is perfect, having got rid of his own wicked heart (pride and selfishness) and taking on the mind of Christ.

Francis wanted to 'do everything in true keeping with Your will', God's will. The only way to act and speak like God is to understand what God loves and so love like God - to know what God feels is right and wrong and be able to choose what He chooses. If God is enthroned in your heart, is in control of every aspect of your life, you can be sure that He will lead you in the right way - to BE good and to DO good. You don't need to fear doing wrong (of hurting anyone or anything) and are free in peace and joy for, like Jesus, you are one who "goes around everywhere, doing good to all men."

Are you living in darkness? Do you struggle against your sinful impulses everyday? Be encouraged for Jesus already knows you are a sinner (and loves you anyway!) and wants you to fight the sinful tendencies of your heart that are so destructive. St Paul said, "Be confident of this fact: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!" Paul has no illusions about his own righteousness and says, "I am the worst sinner of all!" He later said, "Work out your faith with fear and trembling." He meant that we should make every effort to trust in God for mercy, receive grace to be faithful to Him and fight against the evil within. It is God who gives us His own righteousness but our job is to allow God to establish that righteousness within us.

We do this with 'fear and trembling' . If we feel we are 'good' then self-righteousness has set in and we will stop receiving God's grace because we have begun to rely on ourselves - our own goodness - to save us, rather than on God. Remember 'we are saved by faith, not by ourselves. Salvation is a gift from God'. We should fear ourselves because we know how easy it is for us to deceive ourselves in this way.

Therefore, it is ourselves - our sinful impulses - that we should fear - and not God. We only fear God after we realize that our willful sinfulness will cause Him to ultimately reject us - our unwillingness to repent (do penance) makes it impossible for Him to forgive us (since He won't force our free will). Though living in 'fear' and with 'trembling' sounds unpleasant, it is good medicine - sure to make us spiritually healthy and assure us of a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us happily take our medicine - it is the gift of life after all!

Do you live in sin? This means committing sins, without a thought or concern, every day. Walking in sin means that you are not sorry for the wrong you've done even though you know it hurts God and you will ultimately be punished for it. If you live in sins (even though, at the same time, you try to be good, go to church, serve the poor, etc.) then you are spiritually dead and are not recieving grace from God. You are in darkness - not knowing where you are going and likely to 'fall into a pit'.

Jesus said such people will be locked out "in the outer darkness, weeping and grinding their teeth." in pain. They will pound on the locked door crying out to Jesus to be let in and saying, "But you know us Lord! We ate and drank with You - You taught in our streets!" Some will even plead, "We cast out demons and healed people in Your name and did other miracles in Your name!" Jesus' response? "I never knew you! Leave me alone you evil-doers!" That spiritual darkness is great and the ultimate darkness (of hell) will be absolute - "Where the worm never dies and the fire never goes out", "Where the devil and his followers are destined to go."

We call ourselves friends of Francis, the 'little poor man'. We have promised God that we will walk in his footsteps - trying to live, speak, think and feel as he did. Francis worked out his salvation with 'fear and trembling'. With earnest prayer, vigils (throughout many nights), with fasting, mourning and weeping - he sought to run from death (spiritual darkness) toward life (the Light of God). This is the path that we have also chosen to run, so . . . let us pray VERY hard, let us fight EXTREMELY hard against our sinful natures and let us make sure to reach the paradise of knowing God and pleasing Him always, in all things! Then, in this life and the next, we will know the peace, joy and love God - wonderful things!