Few saints have walked this earth as filled with joy as St. Francis of Assisi. Rooted in God,
he exulted in His glory mirrored in all creation.  Francis recognized that:

There is a solidarity among all creatures
arising from the fact that all have the same Creator
and all are ordered to His glory:

May You be praised, O Lord, in all Your creatures,
especially Brother Sun,
by whom You give us light for the day;
he is beautiful, radiating great splendor and offering us
a symbol of You, the Most High…
May You be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble, precious and chaste….
Praise and bless my Lord,
give thanks and serve Him in all humility.
Catechism #344, quoting the CANTICLE OF THE CREATURES

Faithful to praising God in life,
St. Francis was equally faithful to praising Him as death drew near.
For by faith Francis knew that

Death is the end of man’s earthly pilgrimage,
of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him
so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan,
and to decide his ultimate destiny:
Praised are You, my Lord, for our Sister bodily Death,
from whom no living man can escape.
Woe on those who die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they who will be found in Your most holy will,
for the second death will not harm them.
Catechism #1013, 1014, quoting the CANTICLE OF THE CREATURES

May St. Francis help us to live and die as he did,
praising the Maker of all beauty as we look forward
to the unending beauty of eternal life!

 
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