The Marks of the Cross
A sermon for the Feast of the Stigmata of St Francis. 1Corinthians 2.1-5 ; Luke 9.18-27 I’ve been asked if in my reflections tonight I can reflect a little upon the Stigmata of Francis. The strange gift given him when, about two years before his death praying and mediating on Mount Alverno, Francis had a vision of a six-winged seraph in the form of a crucified man with the face of Jesus. As the vision ended, Francis himself had received wounds on his hands and his feet and in his side – the wounds of the crucified Jesus, nailed to the cross and pierced in his side by a lance. It is, if you like, a very particular and graphic way of fulfilling our Gospel reading: ‘if anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me’ (Luke 9.23). Francis was a man who tried to pattern his life on Jesus, who tried to deny himself, take up his cross each day and follow Jesus. Francis’ ministry began with the cross of Sa