Today is Sunday.
In the Church’s calendar, the Sunday Mass comes first. The Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time takes the place of the memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Nothing is lost. October 4 is still his day. We can keep it quietly, right alongside the Lord’s Day.
It is also World Animal Day. That date was chosen because of Francis. In 1931, at a gathering in Florence, Italy, animal-protection leaders agreed to keep October 4 as World Animal Day, in honor of the saint who loved God’s creatures.
Many of us picture Francis with a bird on his hand. The stories about him and the animals are warm and well loved. But today I want to sit with something he actually wrote.
Near the end of his life, Francis was sick. His eyes were failing, and he was going blind. He was staying near the little church of San Damiano in Assisi.
He could hardly see the sun. And he wrote a song about it.
He wrote it in the everyday language of his own people. It is called the Canticle of the Creatures. Some call it the Canticle of Brother Sun.
Here is how one English translation begins the praise:
“Be praised, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is daylight, and by him You shed light on us.”
Then he goes on. Moon and stars. Wind and clouds. Fire that lights up the night.
And then there is this line about water:
“Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water, for she is very useful, humble, precious and pure.”
Useful. Humble. Precious.
Isn’t that a good thing to be? All three at once?
Water doesn’t ask for attention. It just does its quiet work. It fills the cup. It washes the dish. It waters the garden.
So much of what holds our days together is like that. A warm meal. A mended sock. A handmade gift. A phone call to check on someone.
Small things. Ordinary things. Precious things.
Francis also sings of “our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and rules us and produces varied fruits with many-colored flowers and plants.”
Notice what he does here. He doesn’t say “the sun” or “the water.” He says Brother and Sister.
Family words.
When the wind is your brother and the earth is your sister, you handle them gently. You don’t waste them. You say thank you.
The same is true for the animals he loved. And for the dog asleep by your chair.
Here is the part that moves me most. Francis was ill and nearly blind, and he still wrote a song of thanks. He didn’t wait until things were easy to praise God.
He died on the evening of October 3, 1226. The Church remembers him the very next day.
So today, in the middle of your Sunday, try this.
Name three ordinary things you are glad for. A cup of water. A patch of sunshine. A pet at your feet.
Then say thank you, the way Francis did.
What are the three small things you will thank God for today?
Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
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