Eco-spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi

Cenkantal
6 min readMar 18, 2021

Dr. A Singarayar

Image: Vignesh Moorthy via Unsplash

St. Francis of Assisi (1182–1226) is ‘one of the most popular of all the saints’, “Without obvious warmth and enthusiasm, joy and happiness, we shall not be directly affected by St. Francis” (Walter Nigg). Poverty (deliberate rejection of money), simplicity, humility and the love for all creation are the four corner-stones of the Franciscan spirituality. Francis’ eco-spirituality has a precious contribution to make in responding to environmental crisis of today.

He was declared the patron saint of ecology by Pope John Paul II in 1980 in recognition of his boundless love for nature. He had an inseparable relationship to the created world and manifested his love for God through his love and reverence for all God’s creation. In his encyclical “Laudato Si”, Pope Francis says, “St. Francis reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us”. Francis has embraced and integrated spiritual ecology.

Francis has brought meaningfully TRIPOD together: i) love of neighbor; ii) love of God; and iii) love of nature. He saw the intimate connectivity between the humans and the nature long before any environment movement. In his hymn “The Canticle of the Sun” also known as “ the Canticle of the Creatures” Francis is praising God for all the nature. He saw the immense radiance and the boundless beauty and kindness of God in all creatures.

He affectionately called the sun “ Brother Sun”, the moon and the stars Sister Moon and the Stars, Brothers Wind and Air, Sister water, Brother Fire and Sister Mother Earth. In this hymn he prays, “Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister Mother earth”. He had special love and affection for earth. He not only called Earth his Sister, but more respectfully and reverently calls earth “Sister Mother Earth”. “Praised be you, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth who sustains us and governs us, and who produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.” Walter Nigg says The “Canticle of the Sun” springs from the depth of his soul and heart and expresses the mystic vision of St. Francis…It is more than all theology put together, it is faith, it is mysticism, it is an association with God”.

Fr. Murray Bodo OFM observes, “St. Francis calls us to see that all created things are brothers and sisters, that we are interdependent.” St. Francis “did not turn away from creatures; he became one with them in a fraternal relationship that resisted domination. Francis in his hymn invites all his brother and sister creatures, plants and animals to praise the creator.”

Francis “looked at creation with open eyes and took into his heart all that crawls and flies, whatever has feeling and even whatever has no feelings.” Affectionately he called the animals his bothers.” He loved the lambs, which were for him symbolic of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins the world.” For St. Francis animals were part of the holy mystery. Nigg observes, “He (Francis) wanted a special decree to be issued by the Emperor that at Christmas people should scatter corn and other food for birds in front of their houses, so that the birds should also have some sense of festive season.”

The Franciscans across the world in general and in Tamil Nadu in particular have a tradition of caring for Mother Earth and are promoting and protecting environment, environmental justice and environment sustainability. Franciscans in Tamil Nadu consist of 1. First Order (Order of Friars Minor, Capuchins and Conventuals), 2. Second Order (Poor St. Clare), and 3. Third Order Regular (for priests and women religious) and Order of Secular Franciscans.

In Tamil Nadu alone there are more than 30 Franciscan Congregations taking a lot of initiative in protecting the Mother Earth and promoting the good of our Common Home. Owing to space crunch a brief description of the contribution made by them in Tamil Nadu is presented.

The Order of Franciscan Secular (OFS) are embracing eco-friendly life style as well practicing the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. They have pledged themselves not to use plastics and plastic products. During the festivals and functions saplings of Neem trees and Tulsi plants are distributed to invitees, guests and the public.

OFM (Order of Friars Minor) in Chennai, Dindigul and Madurai are organizing seminars and training programs on ecological concerns. St. Sebastian Church at Madhavaram Parish has Solar System in the Friaries are making use of natural resources. Cycle rallies were organized on “Save Water and Save Land” and “Go Green and Grow Clean”.

A marathon was organized on “Go Green Go Green.” “Nesakkaram” in Chennai is working for the disadvantaged children who have been orphaned or left in the streets and are organizing seminars and training programs on “ecological concerns” and “Care for Creation” for the student representatives of the Supplementary Education Centres.

Thalir Holistic Welfare Centre run by the Capuchins focuses on “Nature centred life and mission”. The Herbal Garden propagates the use of herbals. The Friars are propagating the use of Palm tree among villagers and planting a variety of trees. Nature Health Centre promotes natural health through foot reflexology. Sangamam Centre concentrates on nature healing with herbals. Anbagam Rehabilitation Centre for Alcohol Addicts at Okkur.

Sivagangai District is propagating nature living for alcohol addicts in addition to water harvesting and tree planting in dry areas. Anugraha College at Dindigul has lush campus. Miawaki garden is explored here.

The Educational Institutions run by the Sisters of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary have been pioneering and executing several initiatives to the care of creation. Rosary Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai, has been doing a commendable work in making the earth clean and green. The following projects are implemented every academic year. i) A badge with Eco logo sketched by the school students is selected and used by Eco club; ii) Meditation session is held so as to enable students to listen to the sounds of nature i.e. sounds of various birds, rustle of leaves, sound of water, etc.; iii) Video presentation on “Life around tree” enables students to understand the inter-connection between nature and creature and respect the value of the life of little ants; iv) Cleanliness campaign is organized for cleaning class rooms, collecting wastes in the campus, segregating of wastes into bio-degradable and non-biodegradable; v) Herbal plants are grown by students and distributed to the less fortunate people in the neighbourhood with a view to inculcating the need to grow plants; vi) Environment Day is celebrated every year on June focusing on awareness of conservation of water, etc.

Friars in Nesavanam live in a green-farm cultivating the land and providing children shelter and running various other eco-concerned programmes. The following are the activities on the lines of eco-care. Celebration of the Season of Creation during the feast of St. Francis of Assisi at St. Anne’s Church at Ramayanpatty, Dindigul, by distribution of 300 tree saplings for the parishioners.

“Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; suddenly you are doing the impossible.” St. Francis of Assisi

About the Author

Dr. A. Singarayar, OFS, belongs to the Order of Franciscan Secular. Ph.D in Economics of Human Resources, University of Pantheon, Sorbonne, Paris. Currently visiting Professor, Loyola College, Pondicherry University MBA Twinning Program, Chennai. Formerly Head of the Dept. of Economics P.G Sou. College, Madurai Kamaraj University. Researcher, Centre for Economic, Social & Management Research (CRESGE), Catholic University of Lille, France. Former National Minister, National Fraternity of Order of Franciscan Secular, India. International Councilor, CIUFS, Rome and Advisory council Member, CBCI.

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