Archbishop urges Catholics to imitate St. Francis at rosary rally

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone celebrates Mass on the steps of St. Mary's Cathedral Oct. 3 for the 10th annual Rosary Rally. (Dennis Callahan/Office of Human Life & Dignity, Archdiocese of San Francisco)

Oct. 5, 2020
Nicholas Wolfram Smith

At the vigil Mass for the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Archbishop Cordileone preached about the zealous Franciscan saint’s reverence for the Eucharist and urged Catholics to imitate his example as they prepare to return to their parishes for indoor Mass. 

“Francis is famous for many things, but that for which he was most zealous is often overlooked: worthy and fitting worship of the one, true God, and reverence for the body and blood of Christ,” he said. 

“Zeal for the Blessed Sacrament and the proper respect due to it marked his entire life, right up to the very end,” Archbishop Cordileone said, adding that St. Francis strongly condemned treating Mass or the Eucharist casually.

“For him, everything having to do with the treatment of the Blessed Sacrament and the celebration of Mass had to be the best we could offer: worthy, clean, beautiful, precise,” he said.

The archbishop continued that “to live the spirit of St. Francis” today means anchoring spiritual life in prayer, especially the rosary, spending at least an hour a week in eucharistic adoration and doing acts of penance, including Friday fasts and regular confession. 

Archbishop Cordileone delivered his homily to several hundred Catholics gathered on the grounds of St. Mary’s Cathedral the evening of Oct. 3.

The Mass culminating the prayer rally began in the Mission District with a procession led by the archbishop from St. Anthony of Padua Church to the cathedral. As they arrived at the cathedral, attendees spread out across the plaza and parking lot to maintain physical distancing. 

With parishes able to resume indoor liturgies in all counties in the archdiocese after months of being shuttered, Catholics should consider how much reverence they give to the Eucharist, the archbishop said. Too often, behavior toward the Eucharist can be “lax, and even disrespectful,” he said. 

“Have we accepted this fast from the Eucharist as an opportunity God has given us to renew our devotion and love for the sacrament?” he asked. 

Archbishop Cordileone urged Catholics to prepare for receiving Communion by frequently going to confession, praying and attending eucharistic adoration. In addition, worshippers should be prayerfully silent whenever they are in the presence of the Eucharist and should dress properly for Mass. 

Archbishop Cordileone tied St. Francis’s emphasis on reverence to his work reforming the corruption in the church of his day. St. Francis carried out his work as a reformer in communion with the church, not standing outside of it, and obeyed its authority even when it went against his own desires, he said. 

“The real work of reform begins within each soul and within the heart of the church,” he said. 

Archbishop Cordileone said that can be difficult to do as the church goes through “a time of intense and bitter infighting, of scandals, of opposition between warring factions within the church and of divisions between bishops, priests and lay faithful.” 

The temptation for many is to “criticize and do things our own way,” but divisions within the church only help the devil, he said. 

“Instead, let us take our lead from the poor man of Assisi, and tend to the inner work: prayer, fasting, love and respect for the Blessed Sacrament, embracing and serving the poor,” he said. 

After Mass concluded, attendees lit candles and prayed the rosary together. Five families from the archdiocese were selected to lead the rosary, with one praying each decade in a different language: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Latin. At the end of the rosary, Archbishop Cordileone renewed the archdiocese’s consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which was first done in 2017. 

Archbishop Cordileone also asked Catholics in the archdiocese to participate in a nationwide rosary on Oct. 7 for the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary. Organized by the U.S. bishops, the Rosary for America hopes to unite Catholics in prayer for the country amid its uncertainty and ask for Mary’s intercession. 

“Our nation needs powerful prayers in this tempestuous season of elections, pandemic, civil unrest, and civic animus. Together -- as united Catholics -- let us beg Our Lady, on the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, to pray for us,” he said. 

The rosary will begin at 12 p.m. PST. The USCCB will broadcast video to follow along on its Youtube channel and Facebook page.