Today we celebrate the feast of the impression of Saint Francis’s stigmata. The Poor Man of Assisi was the first Christian in the history of the Church to be marked on his body with the signs of the Lord’s Passion. Let us discover when, where, and how this incredible miracle of love took place.
When and where did this miracle occur?
In 1224, two years before his death, Saint Francis was at La Verna, a mountain in the Casentino valley. He wanted to spend forty days fasting and praying in preparation for the feast of the archangel Michael on September 29. Legend has it that the enormous fissures marking the mountain were created by the earthquake that followed Jesus’s death on Golgotha. Francis was fascinated by this setting and felt that it was easier for him to meditate on the Lord’s Passion there.
A prayer answered
During the retreat, Francis says a prayer: “O my Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you for two graces before I die: first, that in my lifetime I may feel in my soul and in my body, as far as possible, that pain which you, sweet Jesus, endured at the time of your most bitter Passion; second, that I may feel in my heart, as far as possible, that excessive love with which you, Son of God, were inflamed, willingly enduring such great suffering for us sinners” (from the Fioretti).
His prayer is answered, and around the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14), his body is marked with the same wounds as Jesus; moreover, growths shaped like nails formed on his hands and feet.
How were the stigmata imprinted?
Saint Bonaventure described how a proud seraph with six wings descended from heaven. Between the angel’s wings appeared the image of a crucified man, with his hands and feet outstretched in the shape of a cross and fastened to a cross. At that moment, he received the stigmata - the signs, or wounds, of Christ - on his hands, feet, and side, and was overwhelmed with joy, even though he was bowed down by pain.
Francis, a master of love
Although Francis’s experience was unique, anyone who loves passionately can experience the “fire of the Spirit.” We can all try to imitate him by seeking ever greater intimacy with Jesus, meditating on his Passion, contemplating his face, renewing his gestures and feelings of goodness and compassion, listening to his voice, and allowing ourselves to be touched by his love. We too are called to be, like Francis, alter Christus, the living reflection and tangible presence of the Lord Jesus and his message of salvation.
