September 27, 2005
I remember in grade school the sisters telling us, “There’s no such thing as a foolish question”. While I wouldn’t want to prove this maxim in every case, in most cases it is true. Questions, even if they may appear to be too simple or silly, still should be asked. For example, a friend of the friars asked us about one of the photos of our church in the Bronx. In the picture is a statue of Saint Francis with a human skull lying at his feet. (see the top photo in the reflection of Sept. 21) “What does the skull mean?” he asked. Not a foolish question at all.
In order to answer this question, allow me to take a few steps back so I can take a bit of a running start. Since I am a Franciscan, I guess you’ll allow me to vent and share with you a problem I have with the way artists portray Saint Francis. I know it is an awful pun, but it is a “pet peeve”; that is, always associating Saint Francis with animals. How many cards have I seen and received which show the saint with doves sitting on his shoulders, fluffy bunnies nestling at his feet, and Bambi-like deer cuddling up close to his side? Too many!
Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to engender any disrespect or present myself as a purist in medieval sacred art. However, when we read the actual life of Saint Francis, we can get a more accurate portrait of the man – indeed, quite literally! Saint Francis was a slight man – five foot one or two at the most. Due partly to nature and partly to his continuous fasting, he was quite thin. None of his biographers spoke about his good looks, which leads us to assume he was somewhat “average” in appearance; some even suggest he was somewhat homely looking with a “barba sparsa”, that is, a short or scraggly beard.
By the way, while I’m throwing stones through stained-glass windows, I might as well tell you that slender Saint Anthony actually became quite heavy as he was afflicted with dropsy in his latter life! You should also know he didn’t spend his day looking up at the clouds and caressing flowers. No doubt, there’s a special section in purgatory for pious sculptors who portray Saint Anthony and other male saints with lilies and limp wrists!
It is important we don’t forget that saints were people. Most certainly they were endowed with supernatural grace, which in their day made them different from the rest. Clearly some were gifted by God with certain extraordinary “charisms” like Padre Pio who could read the hearts of his penitents in the confessional or Joseph of Cupertino who would levitate during Mass. Yet, this is not why the Church has “canonized” them, that is, put them “on the list”. Miracles are not essential for canonization, but heroic virtue is. For example, Mother Teresa or Pope John Paul II will, I’m sure, be canonized, although neither of them performed formal miracles per se. Yet, did they both possess virtue to a heroic degree? Oh yes!
Saints are given to us not just for our veneration or their intercession. However, while they do their part from heaven, we are called to do our part here on earth. They do intercede in extraordinary ways, yet the question remains, do we imitate them in extraordinary ways? “Imitate” does not mean “ape”, but rather, “emulate”, that is, model our lives after them. In short, to strive to live a virtuous life – just, generous, self-giving, patient, charitable, etc. It’s not a matter of reading a person’s heart like Saint Padre Pio, but nourishing and warming their heart. It’s not about rising above the ground like Saint Joseph of Cupertino, but rising above our passions and petty concerns.
Now, about the skull. Like lilies which symbolize purity, the skull symbolizes mortality. Saint Francis was well aware that life was very short and eternity very long – a fact we obviously fail to face. Whoever sculpted our statue of Saint Francis with a skull and not a squirrel was a very smart person who will get a special hug in heaven. But those other artists? Good question!
Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR
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