Since Francis had forsaken this temporal life for an eternal 'spiritual' life and had forsaken this world for the next, Francis loved only One Thing in this world - the Eucharist. He said, "There is nothing in this world that I see of our Lord Jesus Christ except the Body and Blood of Christ on the altar at Mass . . ."
Francis said, "Give us this day" '. . . so that we will remember, understand and respect the love He bore for us and all He said and did and endured for us . . .' "our daily bread" ' . . . Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.'
When Jesus taught us to pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread' He meant that we should freely ask our heavenly Father to provide what we need for the day. He wanted us to remember that God can and will provide and so we need not worry. He taught us to ask only for what we needed for the day because 'tomorrow will take care of itself . . .' and He will give us what we need at that time as well. Although this is a standard interpretation of Jesus' words, Francis does not seem to touch on it in his own meditation. God had another message for Francis (and for us) in these words.
St. Paul said, "Make good use of the time for the end is near!" Francis looked on the 'day' as being just that - a day. There is not much time in a day and, if some great work needs to be done, we must be careful to not waste even a moment! Francis felt that God was giving us only 'this day' to remember, understand and respect the love (Jesus) bore in His heart for us and come to know all He did, said and endured for us. This IS a lot of work for one day! (We are given today, and should be grateful for the opportunity it affords us, but are not promised tomorrow. Since we are God's servants we must be busy meeting our responsibilities to Him today - taking care of business here and NOW.)
Since none of us lived while Jesus walked the earth how can we 'remember the great love Jesus bore for us'? We remember by thinking about what those witnesses to Jesus' life (His Apostles and disciples - His constant companions - who sat at His feet while He spoke) told us about Him. God inspired them to put into writing both the deeds and words of Jesus and those writings were collected (about 500 A.D.) into one book: the New Testament.
It is in their words - their testimony as to their personal experience of Jesus - that we 'remember' Jesus; who He was, what He did and said. Jesus said, "If you stay in My words and My words live in your heart, then you can call yourselves My disciples." It is amazing that so many people consider themselves 'good' Catholics - true disciples of Jesus - and know so little of what He said and did! Some of us have tried to live out our faith for decades (going to Church and listening to scripture being read and explained) and yet have trouble quoting even a few of Jesus' words. This is a tragic state of affairs for us who call ourselves disciples of Jesus!
We are called by Jesus to be His disciples - His students. If Jesus is our 'teacher' then we must realize that our job as students is to learn from His lips. But, if we aren't reading and learning what He said, not trying to become familiar with His words or seeking to learn their deep meanings, how can we consider ourselves His disciples? (Each of us should have a daily routine in which we read scripture and meditate on it. Our morning meditation should carry us throughout the day, informing our experiences and guiding us in living the Gospel life - living like Jesus.)
Francis explained how a good disciple learns: she 'remembers' and as she remember she comes to 'understand' and, as she comes to understand, she then realizes she should 'respect' the 'love He bore' for her. What does Francis mean when he says respect? It could be defined as being able to appreciate, give true value to and treasure. A true disciple of Jesus 'remembers' by reading the Gospel and planting the words and deeds of Jesus in his memory. He then 'chews on' them in meditation and prayer and so comes to 'understand' their meaning (as well as coming to 'understand' Jesus' personality through them). And finally, he comes to appreciate, cherish and value how wonderful and profound Jesus' love is for us!
Francis says there are specific things we should delve into in our study of the Gospel: what Jesus did (His actions/behavior) during His early years and during His ministry, what He said (in his teachings and verbal exchanges with others) and what He 'endured' in terms of suffering - His passion.
Jesus' life and teachings are treasured by secular liberals as well as orthodox Christian believers. However, in terms of eternal significance, Christians know that what He did and taught during His years of ministry cannot be compared to what He 'endured' for us in His passion. Jesus didn't teach any profound 'truth', heal or raise the dead or perform any astounding 'miracle' during His passion. However, He accomplished the most profound thing ever: by laying down His life for us on the cross He reconciled all things to His loving Father.
The first 15 chapters of the Gospel of John tell us about the life and ministry of Jesus. However, the last 10 chapters focus exclusively on His last days and hours of life. This is true of the other Gospels as well. The greater part of them is focused on His passion. It is no accident that only the last hours (approximately 2 days) of Jesus' 36 years of earthly life (and approximately 1095 days of ministry!) are highlighted by the Gospel writers. For Christians, Jesus' sufferings, death and resurrection are the heart and soul of the Good News of salvation for He revealed to God, and all people, His infinite love for them through this horrible suffering.
Francis (and all the saints) spend a great deal of time meditating on Jesus' passion. It is no accident that Francis was given the gift of the Stigmata (his being literally crucified!) while at the foot of the cross during meditation. the Stigmata was a sign of affirmation from God as to Francis' great love and devotion to our crucified Lord and an indication of the many years he spent meditating, day and night, on our Lord's passion.
Our Church as well, the Catholic Church, has always held up Christ crucified for the world to see. It has always encouraged devotions like the Way of the Cross and the Holy Rosary. Our Church centers the religious year around the holy days of lent, including Good Friday and Easter. Finally and most importantly, in the Mass the Church promotes (on a daily basis) a recollection of the sufferings of Jesus. The Catholic Church puts, front and center "Christ and Him crucified".
What of Jesus, the man, is still present with us today? Francis knew that it was Jesus in our midst - Jesus in the Eucharist. It was the gift of the words and ritual of the Mass that made it possible for God to become 'incarnate' again and to join humanity in a very personal and physical way by not only coming into the gatherings of believers, but becoming 'one body' with us, with each of us. He does this by allowing us to 'eat His flesh and drink His blood' during the celebration of Holy Communion. During the Mass the blessed fruit of His terrible Passion can be experienced and enjoyed by all who believe - love eternal, filling all our hearts with bliss!
Francis loved the Mass and told his followers that, in the spirit, he was ever at the altar worshipping the Christ. He believed that Jesus was not only "the Bread of Life" but "our daily Bread". - the Bread God supplied everyday in our Masses, in our Churches, to give us 'life and life more abundantly'.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, it is through Your holy Gospel that we learn about You and come to know You. Give us an insatiable hunger for Your word and help us to be doers, not just listeners. Reveal Yourself, the humble gift of Yourself, to use when we partake of the Eucharist. Help us to truly appreciate You and Your blessings and praise, honor and glorify You both with our lives and our lips. Be exalted forever Lord for the great work of salvation You accomplished for love of us and may we be as devoted to You, Christ crucified, as our dear father Francis was. Be exalted forever Lord. Amen.
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