The Effect of Francis ~ Deacon Brendan Brides

The eyes and ears of the disciples were blessed for what they saw and for what they heard. They saw and they heard Jesus Christ. But what about us, here, in the twenty first century? Are our eyes and ears blessed?  What do  you see when you see an unemployed homeless person calling out for help. A person whose only desire in life is to figure out where the next drink is going to come from? Do you see some insignificant person on the margin of society who needs to clean their act up or do you see the the hand of Jesus reaching out to you saying what ever you do for the least of these you do for me?

Some nine hundred years ago the son of a wealthy merchant experienced such a person. The wealthy man took his fine clothes, gave them to the "insignificant" downtrodden beggar and then put on the beggars clothes. He spent the rest of his life wearing beggars clothes and reveled in the joy of being poor and simple. The man’s name was Francis and it happened in a place called Assisi. 

Today is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, a man who saw and heard Christ in the simplest and poorest of people. Ironically, nine hundred years later after the time of 

Saint Francis, our church is being lead by a pope who has adopted the name of Francis. Pope Francis has embraced the mission of leading  the church and teaching it’s people to identify Christ in the most unlikely of places. Could the Francis effect be contagious? Will Christ appear in the people you meet today? Like the disciples, will your blessed vision allow you see him and will your blessed hearing allow you to hear him?