The Charity of Light and Truth

St. Bonaventure, in his biography of St. Francis of Assisi, tells us that Francis became a herald of the Gospel because he realized that he was sent by God to win for Christ the souls which the Devil was trying to snatch away. With single-minded dedication and tremendous energy, he went about the towns and villages, preaching the Kingdom of God not in such words as human wisdom teaches, but in words taught him by the Spirit' (1 Corinthians 2:13).

St. Francis was a sharp sword all on fire, zeal for the salvation of others pierced the depths of Francis' heart in his burning love. According to Bonaventure, this was the reason he was so energetic in prayer, so active in preaching.

St. Bonaventure gives us an important insight into the heart of this great saint of mercy. St. Francis was pierced in the depths of his heart with burning love and zeal for the salvation of others. That love moved him to pray and to preach.

St. Francis is an ideal model for us in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. He is known well for the extraordinary works of mercy that characterized his life, but not recognized for the passionate way he went about preaching the Gospel. He prayed for long hours, many times in tears, for those who most needed to hear the Gospel. He extended the mercy of God in both words and deeds.

We need to recover both expressions of mercy that were so profoundly manifested in the life of St. Francis. The charity of bread, exhibited in works of mercy, and the charity of truth, communicated through the preaching of the Gospel, are both essential. Francis cared for the physical and social needs of the poor and marginalized, but his deepest desire was to bring people to Christ. In the words of St. Bonaventure, Christ gave himself up to death for the salvation of others, and Francis desired to follow in his footsteps to the last.

Pope Francis reminds us that we, the baptized, are also sent by Jesus to preach the Gospel. As he writes in his apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, Today, as the Church seeks to experience a profound missionary renewal, there is a kind of preaching which falls to each of us as a daily responsibility. It has to do with bringing the Gospel to people we meet, whether they are our neighbors or complete strangers (no. 127).

Pope Francis speaks as though bringing the Gospel in words to our friends, neighbors, and non-believers is a normal part of the Christian life. But, in fact, speaking about Jesus to others is a rare experience for most Catholics in the United States.

To some, Pope Francis' words may seem a bit extreme, but he is simply echoing the words of the Second Vatican Council in its Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: An apostolate of this kind [lay apostolate] does not consist only the witness of one's way of life; a true apostle looks for opportunities to announce Christ by words addressed either to non-believers with a view to leading them to faith, or to the faithful with a view to instructing, strengthening, and encouraging them to a more fervent life (no. 6).

My prayer in this Year of Mercy is that all of u—clergy and laity, alikewill rediscover the preaching of the Gospel as the normal means by which we extend the mercy of Jesus to the world.

Peter Herbeck substitutes for columnist Dr. Ralph Martin in this issue.