sr. death - funeral in st als

Today on the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi we come together as a close circle of family and friends to entrust to God’s loving embrace David, a husband and a father.  St. Francis in his life and in his death has taught us how to look at death from the perspective of someone who loves God, from someone who knows that his end is God.

The Canticle of the Sun is a beautiful poem made by St. Francis.  Francis narrates how God is praised by his creation, in brother sun and sister moon, praised by mother earth, brother fire and sister water.  It is a joyful outburst of one who was aware that he is surrounded by God’s creation, the sun who gives light during the day, the moon and the stars whose beauty shines in the night, the wind and water which brings about the weather that sustains us in our needs.  

Francis wrote this beautiful poem when he was in deep despair  He was sick, he had with him the stigmata, and the pain was unbearable and he could not rest or sleep.  He lived in the dark, in his tiny room for 50 days because his skin became sensitive to the light.  Singing this hymn was his way of assuring himself that everything is good, that God is in control, that every sorrow and every pain and every tear cannot overwhelm the beauty, the joy and the goodness that can be found all around us because of God. St. Francis is inviting us to see things too as God sees them.

Towards the end of this poem St. Francis called death as Sister Death.  He admits that no one can escape death.  All of us have to face it one day.  And yet he lovingly and respectfully calls it Sister Death.  He befriended her rather than dreaded her. He welcomed her rather than ran away from her because he knew that in the end our bodily death can only bring us home.  Didn’t Jesus say that in our Father’s house there are many dwelling places and Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us.  We are coming home, David has come home.  Like St. Francis we say, Welcome sister death.