Prayers for peace at St Francis of Assisi jubilee Mass

By Wendy Shaw

The importance of prayers for peace and harmony in the world through the intercession of St Francis of Assisi was a key message from a jubilee Mass on 4 October.

The Mass, at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Riverside, in the West Tamar Parish, celebrated the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.

St Francis of Assisi Churches around the world marked the anniversary, while in the Italian hill town of Assisi, church bells tolled for the saint’s feast day, a key event in the yearlong jubilee celebration.

The Mass at Riverside—the only St Francis of Assisi church in Tasmania—marked the culmination of nine days of Novena Masses that started on 25 September.

Parish Priest Fr Martin Aye Ngwe, who concelebrated Mass with Launceston Parish assistant priest Fr Jonas Donasco MLCC, gave thanks for the intercession of the patron saint of the parish that all might prosper physically, emotionally and spiritually.

He explained that St Francis of Assisi’s life exemplified the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, suffering, gentleness, faith, modesty, self-control and chastity.

“He has used them for the glory of God, for the gospel,” Fr Martin said at the well-attended Mass.

“His revolutionary way of thinking is so radically simple … all we need to do is follow the Gospel, live simply and show our joy to the world.”

Fr Martin said that to change the world, we need to pray for peace.

“The gospel is preached most effectively not by the powerful … but by individuals.”

He highlighted St Francis’s guiding principal: “ ‘Start by doing what’s necessary; and then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible’.”

In his Angelus address on 4 October, Pope Leo told the faithful in St Peter’s Square that the charism of St Francis continues to ‘bear fruit’, eight centuries on.

“As we celebrate the Franciscan jubilee year, therefore, let us perseveringly ask for the gift of peace and sincerely commit ourselves to building harmony among peoples,” Pope Leo said, according to a report from Catholic news service OSV.

Fr Martin expanded on this message after the Riverside Mass.

“St Francis is the one who wants peace,” he said as parishioners gathered for a shared feast day dinner in the parish hall.

“We need to pray for the intercession of St Francis that our world will be peaceful—peace and harmony.”

Fr Martin, who is undergoing chemotherapy for stage four lung cancer, also urged parishioners to pray the rosary and to include him in their prayers.

“I am still alive because of the power of prayer,” he said. “My people pray for me in my country [Myanmar], in France, in Rome, in the US … Please keep me in your prayers.”