Witnesses to Unity. Day 4: St. Francis of Assisi

An Octave of Prayers for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Welcome to Day Four of a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, brought to you by three Catholic spirituality centers. We invite you to pray with us as we post short prayers and reflections based the witness of eight ecumenical leaders, for each of the eight days.

The spirituality centers are the Marillac Center in Leavenworth, Kansas, the Sophia Center in Atchison, Kansas and Precious Blood Renewal Center in Liberty, Missouri.

We encourage you to share these prayers with members of your family and circle of acquaintances, including those who belong to another faith tradition. Today also happens to be Inauguration Day in the United States, a day we might offer special intentions for peace and unity.

Together, let us pray. (pause)

A reading from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 2:5-11

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.

Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

St. Francis of Assisi

Today we reflect on St. Francis of Assisi who eight centuries ago took a risk when he crossed the battlefield between Crusader and Muslim forces near Damietta, Egypt, desiring to meet Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil and preach his faith in Jesus Christ.

At the time, 1219, Christian forces were in the midst of the Fifth Crusade, which was eventually repelled by the sultan’s superior army near the town that was a center of trade and commerce on the Nile River where it flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

The future saint readily put his life on the line so he could witness his faith to the famed Muslim sultan, and in doing so both men came away with a new respect for the faith of the other.

Early retellings of the meeting describe al-Kamil as being a gracious host and willingly listening to St. Francis as he preached. Francis witnessed his faith peacefully and his subsequent writings reveal the meeting had a profound impact on his life.

While the sultan did not relinquish his Islamic faith, he asked his Italian visitor to pray for him so that he would follow God more closely.

Undertaking such an encounter, it’s unlikely St. Francis could have predicted his visit would have been so inspirational to the people of today. St. Francis’ mission was a sacred mission for every Muslim, every Christian, every human being, religious or nonreligious. It is a story of reaching out to “the other” for the sake of peace, reconciliation and harmony.

St. Francis’ example is an invitation to people today to leave their “comfort zone and accept the challenges” presented in life, to move beyond hatred and violence to achieve peace.

St. Francis’ meeting with the sultan was so important and significant for him and for us that in his writings after 1220 we find everywhere echoes and traces of the journey.

Francis reminds the faithful that we are not to make quarrels or disputes, but to be subjects and subject to every human creature for the love of God, confessing to be Christians. He said, “We must be at the service of all for the love of God and it is essential to have a very clear Christian identity.”

With such practices in mind, the Custody of the Holy Land continues ongoing collaboration through schools in which thousands of Christian and Muslim children are enrolled, cooperative programs for peace and service to migrants and refugees. Such endeavors keep alive the memory of the historic encounter of cultures.

Pope Francis has repeatedly recalled the meeting himself. The dialogue that emerged between a poor Christian and a Muslim leader can serve as an example of the fraternity of humanity.

St. Francis of Assisi went across the war zone in an attempt to encounter the other and Pope Francis invites the faithful to encounter others unlike them in the same spirit.

Take a minute of silence now, and reflect:

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “God lets himself be pushed out of the world on to the cross. He is weak and powerless in the world, and that is precisely the way, the only way in which he is with us and helps us.”
• As the Risen One, Jesus is with us until the end of all time. In what ways does his companionship encourage you in your daily life?

Then pray:

God of everlasting life,

glorifying your Son Jesus, you have freed us from death.

Through his resurrection,

awaken our slumbering hearts,

enlighten all who seek you

and make the morning star shine upon us,

Jesus Christ, the Living One,

who is Lord for ever and ever.

Amen.

Thank you for praying with us today. Please join us again tomorrow.

All of the prayers in this series can be found here: Witnesses to Unity: Prayers for Christian Unity.

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Watch our introductory video

Learn more about these Catholic Spirituality Centers:

The Marillac Center, the retreat and spirituality center of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, in Leavenworth, Kansas.

The Sophia Center is a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas.

Precious Blood Renewal Center, in Liberty, Missouri, is a ministry of the United States Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, a Catholic religious order.

Photo Credit: Photo ID 183821646 | Francis Assisi © Jozef Sedmak | Dreamstime.com

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