Brother Francis was impulsive. While reflecting on the destitution and humility of the Crucified Christ, he had discovered, by way of contrast, the motivation behind human behavior. But he never shared his conclusions with anyone, and, in doing so now, he felt relieved, as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Let’s elaborate,” he continued, “on a theological treatise in order to lay the foundations of the Christian Republic, and to say in the end: It deals with exceptional and divine interests. When the papal forces triumph, we say right away: God is victorious. Our mouths fill with resounding words: effectiveness, productivity, organization, interests of the Church, results. These are our value judgements and criteria for action. And to the degree to which these values change, so does our degree of satisfaction. It’s a horrendous and strange type of mixture,” said Brother Francis in a very low voice, so that Giles could not overhear. “We all want to triumph, and shine, and we do it in a consecrated but profane manner, mixing personal desires with the interests of God. When I think of this, I just want to cry.
“My son, we forgot about the Cross. It’s difficult to free oneself of something. To make oneself poor is no easy task. No one wants to be little. We think we can and we think we should do something: redeem, organize, transform, save. Only God saves, my beloved Giles. At the hour of truth, our plans for salvation, our apostolic strategies tumble down the slopes of frustration. There are many recent examples of this but we never learn from them. Believe me, my son, it’s infinitely easier to mount a successful apostolic
campaign than to make oneself little and humble. We’re like the apostles when, on their journey to Jerusalem, the Lord spoke to them about Calvary and the Cross. ‘They didn’t understand a thing,’ they didn’t want to know, and they looked the other way. My son, in our initial emotional reactions, we feel intense repugnance toward the Cross.
“That is why,” Brother Francis said in conclusion, “at the sight of the Cross we instinctively close our eyes, justifying our anxiety about conquest and victory with rationalizations. To make oneself little: therein lies salvation. Let’s begin by acknowledging that only God saves souls, only he is omnipotent and needs nothing from no one. If he were to need, it would be from insignificant slaves, poor and humble, who imitate his Son in submission and obedience, capable of loving and forgiving. This is all we need to do. The rest is God’s doing.”
Little by little Brother Francis, approached the conclusion of his colloquy. They were both profoundly moved and were silent for a long time. Giles did not feel the need to ask for clarification. Everything was clear.
They spent most of the night looking silently at the stars, and thinking about the poor and Crucified Christ. They were extremely happy.
Extracted from the book “Brother Francis of Assisi”, by Fr. Ignacio Larrañaga
