Was Saint Francis a dreamer?

A republished Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS

The answer to the question which forms the title of this reflection is, Yes! St. Francis of Assisi was a dreamer, but he was also a very practical man. He may have started to dream about something, but he usually came forth with a conclusion. The Secular Franciscan Order, was a grand dream of St. Francis, and it is through this order that lay people, men and women, married or single, have the opportunity to achieve something of great beauty: Heaven.

In the days of Saint Francis, most lay people were not educated, unlike the clergy and those in religious orders. Whether that prevented them from getting into Heaven, we'll never know, but St. Francis made it possible for lay people, through the SFO*, to pledge their lives to God, and be of service to all people. We are to evangelize Catholicism, Christianity, and God's love... and as Franciscans, we have been given a spiritual instrument to feed those who hunger for the Good News of Jesus Christ. Thanks to St. Francis, we have found a way to live a holy life, and to pass what we learn along the way, to many other people. So perhaps we are dreamers, too.

In Pope Pius XI's Encyclical Letter "Rite Expiatis" (1926), he writes: "It would appear that in no one has the image of Christ our Lord and the ideal of Gospel life has been more faithfully and strikingly expressed than in Francis. For this reason, while he called himself "the Herald of the Great King," he has justly been styled "the second Christ," because he appeared like Christ reborn to his contemporaries no less then, to later ages, with the result that he lives today in the eyes of men and will live unto all posterity."

In reflecting on the Holy Rule of the SFO, when read carefully, one inalterably comes to the conclusion that Christ is reborn through those who master daily conversion, the way St. Francis intended for us, through a life of humility and penance, where He increases, and we decrease. Going from Gospel to Life, and from Life to Gospel is living in obedience. Our Lord "humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death on the Cross". Through your profession, you have pledged yourself to follow Jesus and Saint Francis! If we love Our Lord, you will find his commandments easy to follow. Like Jesus and Francis we must be moderate, charitable, grateful, givers of good examples, if you want to reach for it through prayer.

 But our order isn't a society of saints, not by any means. When we start out as Secular Franciscans, there is nothing saintly about us. Perhaps after many years as a Franciscan, others may say we have become a holy person, but that's not for us to say. In other words, brother John can never say of himself that he's holy. Because the minute he claims to be holy, he's committed a sin of pride! And that's so un-Franciscan.

The SFO is a religious order for lay people. We differ from the First and Second Order of St. Francis, because we do not live in community in the same way they do. Our community, is the Fraternity, and we do not formally meet every day, but many of us see each often daily. As Franciscans we are never alone. God is with us, so is Saint Francis. And, our Franciscan sisters and brothers are with us too, in prayer, and in spirit. We are all on a pilgrimage, together. This is a pilgrimage dreamed of by our Seraphic Father, St. Francis. We are all striving to get into Heaven, and we know that St. Francis gave us a definite way to accomplish the task and reach the end goal. It is OK to dream of Heaven!

Some people have no idea what Heaven could be. We know that in Heaven, we will be with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and with the Angels and Saints, and of course, with Our Lady, and with Saint Francis and all those who followed him. There will be a lot of people there. As people of a modern culture, we undoubtedly ask ourselves what about our dogs and cats, will they be there? And, are there sports in Heaven? I have no idea whatsoever, but it seems to me that when we are with the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, we will be so filled with His love that we do not need anything else to stimulate our sense of Joy.

 * SFO. Prior to 1978, the Order was know as the Third Order of Saint Francis, 1883 Order of Penance, and then Secular Franciscan Order (SFO). In 1978, Pope (St.) Paul VI renamed us Secular Franciscan Order - OFS (Initials of Latin Name). Secular doesn't mean worldly - it is a church term which means "not religious (as in monasteries). Secular as opposed to Clerical.

Fred Schaeffer, OFS

September 2023, repub. September 25, 2025
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