I purchased a book from the Graduate Theological Union‘s (now defunct) bookstore during the summer. It’s Following Francis: The Franciscan Way for Everyone by Susan Pitchford. (Morehouse Publishing:2006) It dawned on me that it might be fun to read the book during this semester that I’m residing with the Franciscans. I know: duh!

The book has sixteen chapters. One for each week of school. How convenient. It’s already week four, going on to week five so I have some catching up to do. I’ve read the Preface and chapters 1 and 2, “Why Follow Francis?” and “Holy Eucharist: The Passion of Our God”.

The author is a senior lecturer in sociology at the Univ. of Washington in Seattle.  She’s a member of the Third Order of the Society of St. Francis. She’s an Episcopalian, as I am. I’m not sure what the relationship is between the SSF (Society of St. Francis) and the Community of St. Francis (CSF), which is where I’m living during the school week.

I started the book last week, a week before the Feast of the Stigmata, on September 17. I consider myself equal parts Franciscan and Benedictine, that is, I have a fun-loving, get-down-in-the-trenches sort of spirituality as well as a scholarly, reflective, and solitary bent. I could relate to Pitchford’s comments about the “romantic” and “passionate” Francis. There is definitely an exhuberance about him and his movement. I didn’t realize the Feast of the Stigmata was this week, though. Hearing the readings from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so full of images of following Christ, being single-minded in desiring to follow Christ, all really impressed me. I hadn’t thought about Francis’ single-mindedness much. But if you think about it, all the saints have this trait. We “normal” folk are fairly scattered in our desires and wants. Our attention fleets from one “love” to the next.  I remember DZ Phillips shaking his head in wonder as we would think nothing of saying that “we loved” a particular kind of salsa or beer or what have you. The California penchant, well, southern Californian penchant for hyberbole always startled him.

Pitchford says that what finally drew her to Francis (and Franciscan spirituality) was the view of Francis the romantic. She does a good job describing the passion that’s involved here in both its senses.

Francis understood that the God who is love (I John 4:8) is also a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), and he spent his life being consumed by that love. Yet Francis understood passion in both its senses: his love wasn’t just a rush of intense feelings, the spiritual joyride that is the goal of those we used to call “bliss ninnies.” Francis’ passion embraced the Cross along with the Crucified: he longed and prayed to share in Christ’s suffering, a prayer that was generously answered.

Well, I’ll say so! I frankly had never given much thought to the stigmata. I don’t know if the sisters accept it as something that was very real (they’ve given every indication that they do) and not just something “symbolic”.  The readings we had for the the Daily Offices emphasized this “passion seeking” nature in Francis, i.e., the suffering-seeking nature.

This all probably sounds a bit creepy to the uninitiated. I certainly am no fan of the “dark” side of religious repression. I still have a hard time with certain feasts, especially Christ the King. I don’t mind talk of sacrifice, but good grief! It is such a downer! I’m showing my immaturity, perhaps. After all, there is the Incarnation but there’s also Calvary. I want to skip the “bad” part and go straight to Easter! Who wouldn’t?