St. Francis of Assisi was a radical saint. He didn’t do anything halfway or partial in any form. And thus, when he retired to the mountains knowing that he was ill, he went into deep and profound prayer.
St. Francis of Assisi Asks to Imitate Christ in Prayer
Unbeknownst to St. Francis of Assisi, Brother Leo had disobeyed some instructions given him to not pass beyond a certain point on the mountain where St. Francis was staying due to his illness. Brother Leo overheard St. Francis praying “Who are You, my dearest God? And what am I, your vilest little worm and useless little servant?” Brother Leo says he repeated these prayers over and over again.
“He looked up and gazed at the sky. And while he was looking, he saw come down from the heights of Heaven a torch of flaming fire that was very beautiful and bright and pleasing to the eyes and that descended and rested on St. Francis’ head. And he heard a voice come out of that flame and speak with St. Francis, and the Saint answered the speaker.” The Little Flowers of St. Francis – by Raphael Brown
Brother Leo stepped aside because he wished to obey his Father in faith. But afterwards, St. Francis of Assisi found him and asked him why he was there.
St. Francis of Assisi Explains what Brother Leo Has Seen
St. Francis explained many lights that were given to his soul during this apparition. The first two lights consisted of the knowledge and understanding of the Creator and the other of the knowledge of himself. St. Francis of Assisi explained that he was taken into a contemplative state wherein he saw his vileness as a creature and his sinfulness.
The Lord then asked St. Francis of Assisi to give Him three gifts wherein St. Francis explained that he was entirely God’s and had nothing but a habit. He explained to God that Heaven, earth, fire and water and everything in the world are from the Lord, so how could anyone actually give anything back to God?
In various symbolic gestures, the Lord gave to St. Francis the gifts which He wished him to return to Him. These three gifts were the Holy Golden Obedience, the Very Great Poverty, and the Very Radiant Chastity which St. Francis accepted and offered right back to God.
Telling Brother Leo to never disobey him again, he said that God was going to do something to him on the mountain that the whole world would marvel at and he was not to come back.
The Final Prayer to Jesus which Granted the Holy Stigmata
St. Francis of Assisi, after spending many nights in prayer on the mountain, offered one final prayer. “My Lord Jesus Christ, I pray You to grant me two graces before I die: the first is that during my life I may feel in my soul and in my body, as much as possible, that pain which You, dear Jesus, sustained in the hour of Your most bitter Passion. The second is that I may feel in my heart, as much as possible, that excessive love with which You, O Son of God, were inflamed in willingly enduring such suffering for us sinners.”
Praying for many hours afterwards, he suddenly saw a Seraph coming down from Heaven with six flaming and glorious wings. It came close to St. Francis so he could see him up close. When the Seraph did this, St. Francis noticed the image of a crucified man. In those moments, he experienced what Christ thought, felt and experienced during the crucifixion and he felt profound grief for His suffering.
And in an instant, the Seraph struck St. Francis and he was immediately imprinted with the stigmata, the wounds of Christ. The light from the vision was said to be so bright that many people saw Mount Alverna aglow most of the night.
St. Francis of Assisi Returns to His Brothers
St. Francis of Assisi was brought back to his brothers as he was dying. He would not live much longer, but because he was the first to experience the phenomenon of the stigmata, people were in awe and amazed by what they witnessed. Many miracles were reported by those who touched the stigmata of the saint before and after his death.
St. Francis of Assisi Sees the Pope
The General Council of Trent, 1545-63 A.D.
Sources: Saint Francis – A Film by Michele Soavi, Francis of Assisi Complete Writings in Three Volumes, The Saint, The Founder, The Prophet – Compiled by Regis Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., J. A. Wayne Hellmann, O.F.M. Conv., William J. Short, O.F.M., The Little Flowers of St. Francis – By Raphael Brown, Saint Francis of Assisi – By Thomas of Celano, God’s Fool: The Life and Times of St. Francis of Assisi, By Julien Green, Clare of Assisi, The Lady – Translation by Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., Francis and Clare: The Complete Works, Tranlsation by Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., and Ignatius C. Brady, O.F.M., Clare of Assisi: Her Spirituality Revealed in her Letters – By Claire Marie Ledoux
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