Last Year

Read all about the life of St. Francis of Assisi in the homily delivered at San Sebastian Chapel, Badem, Goa on October 4, 2000.

On this day, the team developing the GSPCA office building and Socrates Oliver Veterinary Hospital planted a special tree at the building site to commemorate the occasion. (L-R) Lynn, Clement, Arvind, Fr. Monteiro

Badem, 04:10:2000

Dear brothers and sisters,

Just a few words on today's celebration.

For the past many years we have been enriching our current vocabulary with words like 'ecology', 'environmental awareness', 'love for animals' and protection against cruelty to them': all concepts and projects we, as a whole, did not give much attention to even some forty or fifty years ago.

We are painfully realizing today that we have been paying a heavy price for our development, progress and well-being as humans; in many cases it happened at the cost of the nature around as in all its varied animate and inanimate forms. Something has to be done as soon as possible to remedy this dangerous situation before it is too late. Fortunately we see inn our days ever-increasing scores of individuals and organisations at regional, national and global level engaged in this noble mission.

It is however surprising to find that, even in the distant past and in rather different contexts, there have been some sensitive persons who discovered the beauty of our world and tried to glorify it in different ways: through their research, art, poetry, etc.

One such fine person is St. Francis of Assisi whose feast we celebrate today together with the Church.

Born in a rich merchant's family, he totally renounced the comforts material wealth could provide and opted to live in voluntary poverty and simplicity. This detachment led him to meet God through a singular way: through the discovery of the wonders of the creation around him, its poetic beauty, its perfect harmony, its every-moving dynamics culminating in a symphony of an eternal hymn of praise to its Creator! He found himself an integral part of this movement.

His was a unique two-way experience: he met God and God led him to find His image in the world. At the same time, he discovered the powerful message emanating from the creation around him and it led him to acknowledge God's paternal love and worship Him as loving Father not only of human beings but of every creature on earth. That is why he showed great respect for all the creatures and lived in a deep fraternal solidarity with them to the point of calling the sun, the moon, the rain, the fire, the animals, the trees, the flowers his own brothers and sisters! This was a very particular sensation of God's presence everywhere, exploding in the experience of inner faith, peace and joy!

And to think that all this happened some eight hundred years ago! When there was no talk of bio-degradation, ecology, pollution, environmental awareness, respect for nature or protection of endangered species!

St. Francis of Assisi may therefore be considered in his own way a pioneer and a champion of these modern day noble causes, a man who lived much ahead of his time, though the way he faced the nature may not exactly coincide with our present perceptions and concerns. In his century our planet was not after all so polluted and our living conditions so threatened.

He gave however is mite to the cause of our survival by teaching us how to live in peace and harmony wit our natural surroundings and enjoy their splendour, while at the same time discovering in them the image of their and our Creator.

Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has rightfully declared, about twenty years ago, St. Francis of Assisi Patron of all persons and organizations engaged in the fields of ecology, the environmentalists, the animal lovers.

Today, on his feast day, let us pray God that, following in his footsteps, we may all be at least more sensitive to these very important environmental issues and contribute in whatever way we can to pass this beautiful world on to coming generations as a better place to live in.

In this context, we pray in this Mass for the early completion of the "Socrates Oliver Veterinary Hospital" project coming up at Torda and wish all the success to its owner and all those who will be working in this new venture for the well-being of our animals.

Fr. Urbino Monteiro