St. Francis of Assisi by Michael D. O'Brien
The relationship between creation and evolution has been a hot topic for a while. But in the last few years, and particularly during the past few months, it has received a lot of attention in Catholic circles. The recent span of heightened focus was set in motion by an op-ed by Cardinal Christoph Shönborn in the New York Times on July 7, 2005. Schönborn later published a book on the same topic entitled Chance or Purpose?Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith (Ignatius, 2007). The next major milestone occurred when Pope Benedict XVI dedicated his annual seminar with former theology students to this topic in September 2006. The proceedings of this gathering were published earlier this year under the title Creation and Evolution: A Conference With Pope Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo (Ignatius, 2008). More recently in May and July of this year several articles were published on the theme in L’Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper. Finally, a Vatican-sponsored conference dealing with the topic of evolution will take place in March of next year.
The Catholic position on this matter is sometimes referred to as theistic evolution, and holds that God could have used an evolutionary process to arrive at a creature that was biologically capable of sustaining full human consciousness. Once that point arrived, however, God’s direct intervention would have been necessary to infuse such a being with a rational soul. This would be similar to the immediate and personal action on the part of God in the creation of every human being (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 366). This perspective encourages us to think of paradise as more of a state than a place: a state of pure communion with God without impediment, a state of complete peace with Him, with oneself, with others and with creation, the state into which our first parents were awakened from their “pre-humanity,” if you will.
I think that this approach to creation and evolution can offer a unique insight into the person of St. Francis of Assisi. The preface of Mass used for feasts of virgins and religious says: “What love you show us as you recall mankind to its first innocence, and invite us to taste on earth the gifts of the world to come!” The antiphon for the Canticle of Mary for Evening Prayer I of the Solemnity of St. Francis states: “By his complete submission to his Creator, Francis gained command over creatures and made use of them to praise the Creator.”
Through his whole-hearted response to Christ and the Gospel, through his untiring efforts of personal conversion, through the intensity of his penance, perhaps we can describe what took place in the life of St. Francis as the “recovery” of paradise – not as a place, but as a state of communion with God, others and the rest of creation. This would help to explain some of the amazing phenomena that overflow in his life, particularly the experiences of communicating with animals and his extraordinary influence over them. Isn’t it possible in such encounters to catch a glimpse of Eden? Romano Guardini in his book The Lord’s Prayer refers to St. Francis as someone in whom and through whom God’s Kingdom has really come, which is why the world is so different around him. St. Francis experienced to an exceptional degree what it means to be “a new creation” in Christ (Gal 6:15, 2Cor 5:17), what St. Paul elsewhere calls “the new man” (Col 3:10), an example of the way Pope John Paul II referred to saints of every age: a member of the new humanity.
The life and example of Francis of Assisi becomes a call, an inspiration and a challenge to allow the Lord to re-establish within us the peace and communion of paradise, with Him, with ourselves, with others, with creation, to become a new creation in Christ, new men, new women, citizens of the new humanity.
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