Francis often prayed short, impromptu fervent prayers that he shot like arrows of love into the heart of God!
Most of us pray on a daily basis and try to be aware and focused in our prayers. We often use the standard prayers taught by the Church - the Lord's Prayer, the 'Hail Mary', the 'Glory be' , the Office and other devotional prayers that are profound and inspiring - good for every spiritual purpose, in our devotional life. Francis used them all and used them all, often.
However, Francis did not limit his prayer life to them and often his own heart exploded with impromptu prayers filled with fervor, joy and exultation. Francis was asked by one of his most faithful brothers and constant companions (brother Leo) to write some 'praises of God' for him. Francis joyfully and willingly did!
Francis prayed: "You are what is good, all that is good, the Sovereign Good! The Lord God, true and living! You are all the wealth desirable! You are refreshment! You are our great relish! Savior, merciful!"
Many people these days don't like 'traditional' religion - have no use for it. They subscribe to "New Age" beliefs and perspectives - the 'flavor of the day' in spirituality. You often hear them say, "Traditional religion is so negative! All those rules - 'Don't do this! Don't do that!' and all that negativity about sin and death, punishment and damnation, and hell . . . What about being free, happy, laughing and other good stuff?" etc.
They often focus exclusively on sin and punishment (definite negatives!) and regrettably, many traditional religious people do as well! They don't consider or understand the wonder of God's love as revealed both in scripture and in the lives of those who believe in God with all of their hearts.
Jesus revealed the depths of this love in the amazing and generous sacrifice of Himself on the cross. Their focus on God's judgment as opposed to considering God's great patience, mercy and goodness, shows a basic misunderstanding of who God is, His good plan and the love He offers that can give meaning to every experience we have in life.
Francis nearly shouts out in his prayer (with fervency and enthusiasm) about what is 'good' - which is God! God is all that is good. God is the 'sovereign good' - the good above all others. But what is good in this world? Well, everything that came from God is good. God Himself declared this truth with joy, for after each 'day' (epoch or period) of creation at the beginning of time. He said, "It is good!" And, when He had finished creating humanity He said, "It is good. It is very good!" Our God is the God of "Yes" - of affirming the true value of all things! And remember, He said that humanity was "Very good!" That means you and me!
Francis heard, saw and felt the goodness of God - everywhere, all around him (and even within him). He recognized that He was speaking to God, Who is the "Lord God - true and living". He is God - the One that made all things. He is 'true' - the One who is most faithful, dependable and honest. He makes the most amazing promises to His children, promises that He will fulfill as surely as He exists. "As surely as I Am so you can be sure that I will fulfill them", He said. God is a person who thinks, feels and is infinitely more active and creative than any earthly person - all of our creativity actually originates in Him. He not only lives but is the source of all life - the One who sustains all life.
Francis truly appreciates what he finds in God. "You are all the wealth imaginable!" Francis treasured God. He cherished God for he saw Him as being not only the source of all that is good but the essence of goodness within all things - that which made those things 'good'. If you took this essence of God's goodness out of all things then those things would lose their goodness. God is the repository of all that is good and when things are destroyed or creatures die that goodness that was in them is not lost but returns to Him! One who has God has all that is good. Francis had all that was good and knew it! He celebrated this fact, nearly beside himself with joy in his words of praise for God.
God is refreshment! To be 'refreshed' means that one is made new, given a fresh start, has, once again, the first bloom of life. The Psalmist said, "You (God) renew the face of the earth!" St. Paul, talked about the work of salvation God did in His children when he said, "You are a new creation in Christ!" We recall that Jesus said, "You must be born again."
We know of Jesus' appreciation for children and His injunction, "If you would enter the Kingdom of Heaven you must become like little children". Francis was not only a child of God - he had become a child in God, a child like God, "For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven made up". Francis was 'refreshed' - made new - and that is why Francis was so child-like, so pure. That is why his joy was so lively and his love so pure.
To relish something is to savor it. To relish God is to 'taste and see that the Lord is good!' How do we relish God? Through meditating on Him - considering all He did and said, from the beginning of time (through prayer and meditation and with God's word) and continually realizing that God loves YOU and did all of this with YOU in mind and is so wonderful, so over the top in His love and goodness, that Your heart threatens to explode with joy. This is how Francis 'relished' God!
His last words are brief but contain so much truth. Francis, in his mind, goes back to when he lived in darkness, "without hope and without God". He remembered how sad and meaningless his life had been. He remembered all of his sins; how he had failed God, his family and friends and himself by choosing what was wrong, over and over again. He remembered how, in shame and with regret, he had learned to expect only death, judgment and damnation.
However, his thoughts didn't end at that dismal point. He also revisited the crucified Lord on Golgotha. He remembered how Jesus revealed to the world the depths of His love for humanity and, specifically, revealed His love for Francis, by willingly enduring the agony of the cross for our sins.
Francis didn't look back with sorrow at what Jesus had done for love but rather, his wonder reached new heights. You can almost read his mind: "God did this for love of me!?!" Francis knew that Jesus was his Savior - the One who saved him from a miserable life and a painful end. It was Jesus - merciful, understanding, patient, forgiving, kind, tender - who loved, died and then rose again for Francis. Francis' joy and wonder were limitless at this moment! It appears he might have gone into a spiritual ecstasy at this point - something that often happened to Francis when he thought of these things!
Jesus not only saved Francis' life (eternally) but gave him a new life - new meaning and purpose, a new understanding of who he was and what he should be about - all good and all wonderful, from the hand of God Almighty. Francis' prayer, even the end of it, was filled with limitless wonder and joy!
Are you making time in your prayer life for 'impromptu' and informal prayer? Throughout the day do you take time to remind yourself of God's goodness and generosity to you, feeling grateful and giving Him thanks for all of His many blessings? Do you feel excitement, wonder, joy and love when you pray? Francis' prayer, powerful and fervent, used few words but those words ring in your heart, right? I know they rang in God's heart. We must strive to make God's heart ring with prayers of fervent love and gratitude just like our father Francis did - throughout each day and for eternity!
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