The Icon of St. Francis of Assisi by Fr. Bill McNichols
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, Westcliffe, Colorado
Icons in General—
For the past two thousand years religious iconography has
provided light for those seeking to deepen their relationship with God. An icon
is a window leading the viewer from this world into the world of the Holy or
the Heavenly Jerusalem as described by the Book of Revelation. This path is
open to all called by the Holy Spirit to embrace a life of prayer in pursuit of
the Face of God.
The creation of an icon requires many hours of prayer and technical study. The iconographer chooses from traditional images representing various states of spiritual awareness and growth. Fr. Bill McNichols interprets his image of St. Francis in the following piece.
The Icon of St. Francis and the Angelic Seraph—
Two years before his death St Francis (September 26, 1181 or 1182 – October 3, 1226) prayed for two graces
from God. First, he prayed that he would experience the Passion of Our Lord
Jesus Christ including His rejection and abandonment. Second, he prayed that he
would experience Jesus' love which continued during His abandonment, torture
and crucifixion.
The answer to his prayer came during a 40-day period of imposed exile and prayer on Mt. La Verna, north of Assisi around the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14. Jesus appeared to St. Francis as the Crucified and Risen Lord as depicted in the icon.
After this vision of Jesus, St. Francis had both the wounds of the Stigmata and the gift of Seraphic love given to him by the Lord. The icon, thus, proclaims Jesus as crucified and risen and as the Lord of love. St Francis is depicted as receiving these two gifts, the answer to his prayers at the end of his life. And we, who contemplate the icon, are constantly reminded that intimacy with Jesus will lead us to love others in the midst of our being wounded, like Jesus, like St. Francis of Assisi.
Many people connect St. Francis of Assisi with fondness for and love of animals. This is more a Protestant view of the saint. In our Catholic tradition St. Francis inspires us to prayer, to utter detachment from the things of this world, and to a deep love of all Creation, especially our fellow human beings.
The following is a description of the event proclaimed in the icon in our church which was written by a contemporary of St. Francis and an eyewitness.
The day before the Feast of the Cross in September, while St Francis was praying secretly in his cell an angel appeared to him and said on God's behalf: “I encourage you and urge you to prepare and dispose yourself humbly to receive with all patience what God wills to do in you.” St Francis answered, “I am prepared to endure patiently whatever my Lord wants to do to me.” And after he said this, the angel departed. The next day came, that is, the Feast of the Cross. St Francis, sometime before dawn began to pray outside the entrance of his cell turning his face toward the east. And he prayed in this way: “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 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.” And remaining for a long time in that prayer, he understood that God would grant it to him, and that it should soon be conceded to him to feel those things as much as possible for its mere creature.
Having received this promise, St Francis began to contemplate with intense devotion the Passion of Christ and His infinite charity. And the fervor of his devotion increased so much within him that he utterly transformed himself into Jesus through love and compassion. And while he was thus inflaming himself in this contemplation, on that same morning he saw coming down from Heaven a Seraph with six resplendent and flaming wings. As the Seraph, flying swiftly, came closer to St. Francis so that he could perceive Him clearly he noticed that He had the likeness of a Crucified Man, and His wings were so disposed that two wings extended above His head, two were spread out to fly, and the other two covered His entire body. On seeing this, St Francis was very much afraid, and at the same time he was filled with joy and grief and amazement. He felt intense joy from the friendly look of Christ, who appeared to him in a very familiar way and gazed at him very kindly. But on the other hand, seeing Him nailed to the cross, he felt boundless grief and compassion. Next, he was greatly amazed at such an astounding and extraordinary vision, for he knew well that the affliction of suffering is not in accord with the immortality of the angelic Seraph. And while he was marveling thus, He who was appearing to him revealed to him that this vision was shown to him by Divine Providence in this particular form in order that he should understand that he was to be utterly transformed into the direct likeness of Christ Crucified not by physical martyrdom, but by enkindling of the mind. —From the “Little Flowers of St. Francis”
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