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For a number of holy men and women in history, the love of God made visible on Good Friday was more than just one element of their spiritual life; it became the source of a spirituality that permeated their progress in holiness. One of the most well-known of these was Francis of Assisi.
The life of this joyful medieval mystic stands as a wonderful example of what can happen when someone ponders the Savior’s sacrifice on Calvary. By his witness, Francis can help us enter into the very mystery of the cross.
The Mystery of the Stigmata. Just two years before his death, Francis withdrew to La Verna—a rocky refuge in the mountains of central Italy—to spend time in prayer and solitude. One day, as he was kneeling beside the entrance to a cave, Francis saw suspended in the air before him a human figure with arms extended, as on a cross. The vision was suffused with a fiery light, while six long wings like those of angels surrounded and partly covered the figure’s lower body. As Francis gazed, entranced, he received in his own body the imprint of the lacerations in…
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