St Francis of Assisi

Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts de Belgique. CC BY. 

Today is the Feast of my Confirmation saint: Francis of Assisi. In this month of October, dedicated to Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, it seems fitting to include this painting by Rubens. It shows Our Lord ready to punish the earth with the thunderbolts of His justice on account of the widespread evil present almost everywhere. The Prince of this world is coiled like a serpent around the globe. Our Lady seeks to restrain her Son; she exposes her virginal breast as if to recall the tender babyhood of her Son, imploring mercy for us all. St Francis too, shielding the earth, seeks to protect us by praying that Our Lord in His mercy should stay His hand. The rainbow appears over Mary's figure, sign of the Covenant between God and mankind:

"And the bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it, and shall remember the everlasting covenant, that was made between God and every living soul of all flesh which is upon the earth." [Genesis 9:16]

The Virgin Mary and Saint Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger. 1614. Peter Paul Rubens.

Below is a prayer to Our Lady which is attributed to St Francis : Ave Domina.

St. Francis' Prayer to Our Lady

Hail Lady, Holy Queen, Holy Mary Theotokos,
who art the Virgin made church
and the one chosen by the Most Holy Father of Heaven,
whom He consecrated with His Most Holy Beloved Son
and with the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete;
in whom there was and is all fullness of grace and every good.

Hail His Palace; Hail His Tabernacle; Hail His Home.
Hail His Vestment; Hail His Handmaid; Hail His Mother
and hail all you holy virtues,
which through the grace and illumination of the Holy Spirit
are infused into the hearts of the faithful,
so that from those unfaithful you make them faithful to God.

Salutatio Beatae Mariae Virginis

Ave Domina, sancta Regina, sancta Dei genetrix Maria,

Quæ es virgo ecclesia facta et electa a sanctissimo Patre de cælo,

quam consecravit cum sanctissimo dilecto Filio suo

et Spiritu sancto Paraclito, in qua fuit et est omnis plenitudo gratiae et omne bonum.

Ave palatium eius,

Ave tabernaculum eius;

Ave domus eius.

Ave vestimentum eius;

Ave ancilla eius;

Ave mater eius;

et vos omnes sanctæ virtutes,

quae per gratiam et illuminationem Spiritus Sancti

infundimini in corda fidelium,

ut de infidelibus fideles Deo faciatis.

The following prayer is in form of a meditation on the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father: Most Holy, our Creator and Redeemer, our Saviour and our Comforter.

Who art in Heaven: in the angels and the saints. Who gives them light so that they

may have knowledge, because Thou, Lord, are Light. Who inflames them so that they

may love, because Thou, Lord, are Love. Who lives continually in them and who fills

them so that they may be happy, because Thou, Lord, are the Supreme Good, the

Eternal Good, and it is from Thee that all good comes, and without Thee there is no

good.

Hallowed be Thy Name: May our knowledge of Thee become ever clearer, so that we

may realize the extent of Thy benefits, the steadfastness of Thy promises, the sublimity

of Thy Majesty and the depth of Thy judgments.

Thy Kingdom come: so that Thou may reign in us by Thy grace and bring us to Thy

Kingdom, where we shall see Thee clearly, love Thee perfectly, be blessed in Thy

company and enjoy Thee forever.

Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven: so that we may love Thee with our

whole heart by always thinking of Thee; with our whole mind by directing our whole

intention towards Thee and seeking Thy glory in everything; and with all our strength

by spending all our powers and affections of soul and body in the service of Thy Love

alone. And may we love our neighbors as ourselves, encouraging them all to love Thee

as best we can, rejoicing as the good fortune of others, just as it were our own, and

sympathizing with their misfortunes, while giving offense to no one.

Give us this day our daily bread: Thy own beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to

remind us of the love He showed for us and to help us understand and appreciate it and

everything that he did or said or suffered.

And forgive us our trespasses: in Thine infinite Mercy, and by the power of the Passion

of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, together with the merits and the intercession of the

Blessed Virgin Mary and all your saints.

As we forgive those who trespass against us: and if we do not forgive perfectly, Lord,

make us forgive perfectly, so that we may indeed love our enemies for love of Thee,

and pray fervently to Thee for them, returning no one evil for evil, anxious only to serve

everybody in Thee.

And lead us not into temptation: hidden or obvious, sudden or unforeseen. But deliver

us from evil: Present, past, or to come.

Amen.

This translation is based on that of Benen Fahy, OFM, as it appeared in "The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi," Burnes & Oates, London, 1964.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.