The Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi

On this day we celebrate the Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis went up to the mount on La Verna in Italy to embrace silence and solitude. He spent his entire day and most of the night in prayer for several days. On one such day a seraph appeared on the Crucifix and a light from the seraph pierced the hands, feet and the side of Saint Francis with the five wounds of Jesus Crucified. From that day Saint Francis had the stigmata until his death two years later. 
In his youth Francis was given two paths to consider, one path that led to the Kingdom of God and peace and the other path that led to the Kingdom of earth and the material well being. This saint chose the difficult and tedious path to the Kingdom of God. His reward was that he resembled Jesus more closely than many before him. The stigmata of Saint Francis was a unique and special gift that Francis received and was privileged to drink of the cup of chalice of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. 
Saint Francis truly lived out the following Gospel passage from Matthew 6:25-26
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?" 
Saint Francis, pray for us!