A Reflection on the Stigmata of St. Francis
Photo: AI
“True love of Christ had now transformed his lover into His image.”
— St. Bonaventure
September 17th marked the feast day of The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi.
On the mountain of La Verna, near the end of his life, Francis received a mysterious and extraordinary gift: the wounds of the Crucified Christ appeared upon his own body.
The stigmata.
When we hear the story, it is easy to focus on the miracle itself—the wounds in his hands and feet, the wound in his side. But St. Bonaventure invites us to look more deeply.
“True love of Christ had now transformed his lover into His image.”
Perhaps the real story of La Verna is not simply that Francis received the wounds of Christ.
It is that Francis had spent a lifetime becoming like the One he loved.
Long before the wounds appeared upon his body, Christ had already been leaving His marks upon Francis’ heart.
Every time Francis embraced someone others rejected, Christ was leaving His mark.
Every time he chose mercy instead of judgment, Christ was leaving His mark.
Every time he surrendered his own plans and prayed to know God’s will, Christ was leaving His mark.
Every time he served the poor, forgave another, sought peace, or chose humility over recognition, Francis became a little more like Jesus.
And eventually, what had been happening inside Francis became visible outside Francis.
What About Us?
Most of us will never receive the physical stigmata.
But that does not mean we are not called to bear the marks of Christ.
At our Baptism, we were given an identity and a mission: to belong to Christ and to carry Christ into the world. And if we truly love Him, that love should gradually change something about us.
The question is:
Can anyone see it?
Not wounds in our hands and feet, but Christ in the way those hands serve.
Not a wound in our side, but a heart willing to be opened for another.
Not the visible marks of the Passion, but the unmistakable marks of the Gospel.
Compassion.
Mercy.
Forgiveness.
Humility.
Generosity.
Peace.
Joy.
Love.
These may be the stigmata we are called to carry. And sometimes those marks cost us something.
Forgiveness can hurt. Serving when no one notices can be difficult.
Choosing peace when we would rather prove ourselves right requires humility and a willingness to set aside our pride. Believe me, I know how hard that can be.
Standing beside someone who is suffering can interrupt our comfortable plans.
Loving as Christ loves is beautiful—but it is rarely convenient.
Francis discovered that following Christ was not simply about admiring Jesus. It was about allowing Jesus to transform him.
That is a very different thing!
The Mirror
Franciscan-Catholic spirituality offers us a gentle, beautiful invitation: to look upon Christ, to contemplate Him more deeply, and to let what we behold shape and transform our hearts and lives. Perhaps today we might imagine Christ holding a mirror before us.
What would we see?
Would we recognize His compassion in ours?
His patience in ours?
His willingness to forgive in ours?
His concern for the forgotten in ours?
His humility in ours?
His love in ours?
None of us will reflect Him perfectly. Francis didn't arrive at La Verna after one heroic moment. His transformation came through thousands of ordinary choices made over a lifetime.
Ours will too.
A phone call.
A kindness.
An apology.
A moment of patience.
A decision not to gossip.
A willingness to listen.
A meal shared.
A person forgiven.
Someone welcomed.
Someone noticed.
Someone loved.
Perhaps this is how Christ slowly leaves His marks upon us.
A Challenge from La Verna
As we remember the stigmata of St. Francis, perhaps our challenge should not be simply to admire what happened to Francis.
Instead, let us ask what is happening to us.
Take a few quiet moments today and ask yourself:
If someone watched the way I lived this past week, where would they have seen the image of Christ?
And then ask the more difficult question:
Where is Christ asking me to become more like Him?
Choose one mark of Christ you want your life to make visible this week—mercy, forgiveness, generosity, humility, compassion, peace, patience, or love.
Then make it concrete.
Who needs to experience that mark of Christ through you?
Perhaps that is our invitation from La Verna.
We may never carry the wounds of Christ upon our bodies.
But through grace, through conversion, and through the thousand ordinary choices of everyday life, perhaps we can carry something even the world around us can recognize: His image.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
You transformed Francis through the power of love
until his life became an image of Yours.
Transform us as well.
Mark our hands with a desire to serve,
our feet with a willingness to follow,
our hearts with compassion,
our words with mercy,
and our lives with Your peace.
May those who encounter us, encounter something of You.
And when we wonder what we are called to do, give us the courage to pray with Francis:
“I have done what was mine to do; may Christ teach you what is yours.”
Amen. AMEN!
¡Palante, Siempre Palante! ("Forward, Always Forward")
To Jesus through St. Francis
Thank you for allowing me to be part of your spiritual journey! Keep at it! Keep praying. Love the Lord.
Peace and Grace.Fran Acosta,OFS
