Foundations

Francis of Assisi (c. 1181–1226) was born to a wealthy cloth merchant in the Italian hill town of Assisi. As a young man he dreamed of knightly glory, went off to war, was captured, and fell seriously ill. In that crisis God began to work in him. Praying in the crumbling chapel of San Damiano, Francis heard Christ say from the crucifix, 'Rebuild my Church.' He took it literally at first, repairing the little chapel — then realized he was called to rebuild the whole Church through holiness. In a dramatic moment, he stripped off his fine clothes in the public square, gave them back to his furious father, and embraced 'Lady Poverty,' owning nothing so that he might possess God alone. Others joined him, and the Franciscan order was born — friars who, unlike older monks who stayed in their monasteries, traveled and preached among the people, begging for their bread. Francis loved all creation as a gift of God, preaching (the stories say) even to the birds and composing the 'Canticle of the Sun,' which praises 'Brother Sun' and 'Sister Moon.' Near the end of his life he received the stigmata — the wounds of Christ in his own body. He also created the first live Nativity scene at Greccio in 1223, giving us the Christmas crèche we still set up in Advent. Francis shows that the path to deepest joy runs through poverty, humility, and love.

To understand the Middle Ages, you must grasp this: the Catholic Church was the one institution that touched everyone, everywhere, from cradle to grave. There was no separation of 'religious' and 'secular' life — the two were woven together. The Church baptized you, married you, buried you; it ran the only schools and hospitals; it kept the calendar of feasts and fasts that ordered the year; it copied the books and preserved learning. Medieval people lived in a sacramental worldview: they saw the whole visible world as charged with God's presence, every created thing a sign pointing to its Creator. Bread and wine became Christ; water washed away sin; relics of the saints — their bones or belongings — were treasured as channels of grace and healing. This is why pilgrimage was so central: thousands journeyed long, dangerous roads to pray at shrines like Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Canterbury in England, Rome, and, when they could, Jerusalem itself. By the early 1200s, two new orders arose to renew a Church grown comfortable: the Franciscans of St. Francis and the Dominicans of St. Dominic. These were mendicant ('begging') friars who, instead of withdrawing to rural monasteries, went into the booming towns to preach, hear confessions, and serve the poor. The Dominicans especially became great teachers and defenders of the faith, the 'Order of Preachers.' Together, friars, pilgrims, sacraments, and feast days made medieval Europe a single 'Christendom' — a civilization that understood itself as one body under Christ and his Church.

Having seen Baptism last week, we continue the sacraments of initiation. Confirmation completes Baptism: YOUCAT 205 teaches that in Confirmation the Holy Spirit, first received at Baptism, is poured out on us in fullness, sealing and strengthening us to live and defend the faith as mature Christians. The bishop anoints the forehead with sacred chrism (perfumed oil), saying, 'Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.' Like Baptism, it imprints a permanent character and is received once. Then comes the greatest sacrament of all: the Holy Eucharist. YOUCAT 216 affirms what the Church has always believed — that in the Eucharist, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of consecration, the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is not a symbol; it is the Real Presence. The whole substance of bread becomes the substance of Christ's Body, the whole substance of wine becomes his Blood, even though the appearances ('species') of bread and wine remain — a change the Church calls transubstantiation. The Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life' (CCC 1324). Everything in this week's lesson — the great cathedrals, the pilgrimages, the sacramental worldview — was oriented toward this: the altar where heaven touches earth. The medieval cathedral was built precisely to house the Eucharist worthily.

Today you saw a civilization with the Church and the Eucharist at its very center — and met Francis, who gave up everything to follow Christ. As Advent begins, that longing to draw close to God is exactly the season's spirit.