Fr. Thomas Piolata: St. Francis of Assisi: Saint of the Body and Blood of Our Lord

Reference to and reverence for the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ emerge frequently in the writings of St. Francis of Assisi. He reminds his priest brothers to celebrate Mass reverently with “unblemished intention” and to “hold as precious the chalices, corporals, appointments of the altar, and everything that pertains to the sacrifice” (Letter to the Entire Order & First Letter to the Custodians). He implores his brothers “with all the love” of which he is capable “to show all possible reverence and honor to the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Letter to the Entire Order). He admonishes us “to confess all our sins to a priest and receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Later Admonition and Exhortation). In this time of the Church’s National Eucharistic Revival in the United States, the voice and spirituality of St. Francis is most relevant. What does the Poor Saint of Assisi tell us?

“Behold, each day He humbles Himself as when He came from the royal throne into the Virgin’s womb; each day He Himself comes to us, appearing humbly; each day He comes down from the bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of a priest” (Admonitions). With these words, Francis contemplates the deep connection between the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Eucharist. …