Perhaps one of the most misrepresented saints in history is Saint Francis of Assisi. This confusion has led to a great deal of division, even amongst Franciscans. Many a friar has joked, “Question: What is one of the things God doesn’t know? Answer: How many Franciscan orders there are.” Indeed, there are three different orders of Franciscans within Roman Catholicism, ranging from First Order mendicants to Third Order devotees who live in the secular world. In addition, Saint Francis has official followers among “Old Catholics”, Lutherans, and Anglicans.

His teachings have been interpreted and misinterpreted countless times, one noteworthy example being perhaps his most famous quote, “Preach the Gospel at all times, use words when necessary,” The irony? Saint Francis never said that. In fact, he never even implied it with his lifestyle or teachings. He used words. He used lots of them. Ask your average American about Saint Francis, and odds are, you will hear something about birds on shoulders, bare feet, and perhaps even a brown choir robe. Few are aware, of his deep and beautiful theology, especially when it comes to Lent.

Giotto’s Via Crucis

Our Holy Father has embraced Saint Francis, not only by taking his name and his love for poverty, but also through his Lenten Theology. Where did [Saint] Francis’s journey to Christ begin? It began with the gaze of the crucified Jesus. With letting Jesus look at us at the very moment that he gives his life for us and draws us to himself…” Pope Francis taught during his homily on St. Francis’ feast day this past October. He continued, “What is the peace which Francis received, experienced and lived, and which he passes on to us? It is the peace of Christ, which is born of the greatest love of all, the love of the cross. It is the peace which the Risen Jesus gave to his disciples when he stood in their midst.”

Saint Francis had an enormous devotion to Christ crucified, as well as to His entire Passion, and has been credited with developing the first Stations of the Cross. During the time of Saint Francis, people were encouraged to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land. As it is today, the Middle East was suffering from unrest in the early Thirteenth Century, so the trip was both expensive and dangerous. So, Saint Francis, the story goes, devised a plan to essentially bring the Holy Land to him and his followers. To this day, thousands of Catholics attend Stations of the Cross during Fridays in Lent, and many see it as an essential devotion during this liturgical season.

The Stations of the Cross are not the only sacramental Saint Francis is attributed with initiating. As many Catholics are well aware, Saint Francis, with the permission of Pope Honorius III, also constructed the very first nativity scene, complete with a manger, hay and animals. The original biographer of Saint Francis, Thomas Celano writes, “He observed ineffable eagerness of the Nativity of the child Jesus above all other festivals, declaring it was the feast of feasts…” One blogger writes, “Thus, Francis’s worldview of creation was profoundly incarnational. He had to love creation because that is where he saw God reflected. He very much believed in Christ’s Incarnation – that the second Person of the Trinity, the Word, the God-man, came down to Earth and redeemed it. So everywhere he looked, he saw Christ reflected.”

As someone who grew up doing the full body workout of Stations of the Cross at my Catholic grade school, being forced to give up Dairy Queen every Lent, and having to suffer the mortifying act of wearing ashes on my forehead for all of ten hours, Lent was a far cry from the joy and anticipation of Advent. Advent consisted of Santa visits, playing with my parents‘ stucco Nativity set which they bought on their honeymoon in Mexico, and preemptive Christmas carols. In my childhood and early adolescent mind, Lent was a time for misery. Advent was a time for joy. It wasn’t until I started attending a high school run by the Order of Friars Minor that my attitude toward Lent and Advent started to change. I distinctly recall a teacher talking about Saint Francis‘ devotion to both the crucified Christ as well as the Baby Jesus, never forgetting that He is indeed the Same Person. Of course, cognitively I knew this, but I had never reflected on it. He even went on to say that he made an effort to pray the Stations of the Cross at least once during Advent. Taking on this devotion myself has completely changed my experience of both Lent and Advent.

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I have come to realize that while Advent is a time of joy and anticipation, it is also important to constantly remember that the Baby to be born to us will one day go on to suffer immensely. Also, while Lent is indeed a time of suffering and mortification, it is also a time of anticipation for the joy of Easter. Christ came as an innocent Baby who grew up, lived a life beyond all beauty, and later suffered immensely and died. The same Christ in the creche is also on the cross. His Gaze transforms us, whether it be the innocent gaze of a baby or from the agony of the Cross.

While Saint Francis’ followers and teachings may have experienced a great deal of division, his devotion to Christ on the Cross and to Christ in the Creche is something we can all learn from. Lent is indeed a time of anticipation, not just suffering. Penance definitely has its place during Lent, but we must always remember that He was once the Sweet Baby who grew up to save the world.

Brittany Higdon is a native of Ohio and has been residing in the Washington, DC area for the past six years. She holds a B.A. from Franciscan University of Steubenville and an M.Ed from the University of Virginia. She is a Reading Specialist and is passionate about Catholic education. When she is not teaching or writing, she is exploring the Smithsonian Museums, traveling, and playing with her ferocious Dachshund/Yorkie cross named Cannoli.

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