The humble lamb

St Francis of Assisi (c.1181-1226), whose Transitus, his passing to eternal life, was commemorated yesterday evening on the 800th anniversary of his death, remains one of the Church's most beloved saints.  St Francis is among the most widely admired saints in Christian history.

In common with other saints of the second millennium, St Francis embraced a strong Eucharistic message.  A much-loved story from the Franciscan tradition tells of a little lamb that would kneel during the elevation at Mass:

During the celebration of the Mass, at the moment of elevation, he would bow down, knees bent, as if it were that this devout little animal wished to reproach men of little faith for their irreverence and encourage devout men for their reverence towards the Blessed Sacrament.

In his Admonitions, Francis writes:

So also now all those who behold the sacrament which is sanctified by the words of the Lord upon the altar at the hand of the priest in the form of bread and wine, and do not see and believe according to the spirit and divinity that it is truly the most holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, are condemned. This the Most High Himself attests, who says: This is my body and the blood of my New Testament (Mk 14,22-24) and: who feeds on my Flesh and drinks my Blood will have everlasting life (Jo 6,55).

And he writes:

Daily he himself comes to us with like humility; daily he descends from the bosom of the Father ( Jo 1,18; 6,38) upon the altar in the hands of the priest. And as he appeared to the Apostles in true flesh, so now also he shows himself to us in the sacred bread. And as they by their bodily sight saw only his flesh, yet contemplating him with the eyes of the spirit believed him to be very God, so we also, as we see our bodily eyes the bread and wine, are to see and firmly believe that it is his most holy body and blood living and true. And in this way the Lord is always with his faithful, as he himself says: Behold I am with you until the end of the world (Mt 28,20).

St Francis saw a direct parallel between the Incarnation in Mary's womb, Christ's humility on the Cross and Christ’s sacramental presence on the altar.

In his Letter to the Entire Order, he writes:

Let everyone be struck with fear, let the whole world tremble, and let the heavens exult when Christ, the Son of the living God, is present on the altar in the hands of a priest!

For Francis, the Eucharist was not merely a symbol but the living presence of Christ. He therefore urged Christians to approach the Blessed Sacrament with awe, reverence and wonder.