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 The Feast of Saint Francis

 By Master Kuthumi

Published in the August 1953 Bridge

Today, being dedicated to the commemoration of Francis of Assisi, the minds, hearts and consciousness of many of humankind dwell with kindness, with reverence and perhaps a little awe, upon that phase of my life expression. Because this mass consciousness is directed toward the experiences of Francis, it stirs the etheric and akashic records within my own consciousness and brings to the fore again the sweetness and beauty that I was privileged to feel through touching the hem of the Christ Consciousness.

In Assisi, I belonged to a class called by the mind of the senses "the nobility," which title, however, was shallow and empty of the inner meaning. I well remember during those gay and carefree days of my youth how there pressed upon me from time to time a passing breathe that contained an illusive scent and feeling of another realm, to which somehow I felt that I had once belonged.

As this experience intensified, the 'richness' of my daily life palled upon my senses and an unrest rose within me that sent me often and more often into the beautiful countryside where my soul seemed to experience a temporary peace and this yearning and searching fire within me was, for the time being, assuaged. I can remember yet, lying on the green grass by the side of a small but very clear stream and hearing the rustle of the wind in the trees above my head, while my soul, yet bound to the body, hovered on the brink of eternity. . . reaching, reaching, reaching toward an indescribable and unexplained something of which I knew not, but which my soul in itself sought, knowing no restrain of reason.

Those months and years, when the body and the soul were at odds, were strange and restless ones, for when the body sought its pleasures, the soul was distressed and when the soul would burst its bounds of flesh, intent upon an individual search with the reason could not understand, the body, like a sulky child, restrained and pinioned within and deliberately set obstacles before its groping, upward reaching. There was no peace within me and according to my family and friends, there was no peace around me nor in my company, for I was torn between allegiance to both these factors that seemed determined in themselves to secure supremacy over my going out and my coming in.

This day I speak of when the sky was blue and the wind was not aggressive, but gliding through the trees in playtime fashion, the soul within me, which always received the greatest impetus in the cathedral of nature, was in the ascendancy and my outer self, like a good-natured baron, contemptuously allowed it a few hours of freedom. All at once, during the faltering, stumbling flight, searching, seeking and reaching, there came a great light and within that light was the perfume, the fullness of all that my soul had sought.

Within it, also, stood a beautiful being whose outline became clearer as the trembling of my heart was stilled and then I saw the most beautiful face that ever God created. Then I somehow knew that in that majestic presence I saw myself as I was meant to be and the words spoken so many centuries before swept through my memory: "This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." and I also realized that this shining vision set before mine eyes was the Father's Example of what all men should become.

The great Master Jesus, for such he was, did not speak, but yet the love that poured from his Presence, filled me with a courage, a strength and a feeling that, from the shapeless mass which I yet expressed, here could be fashioned such a being as he. I felt the presence of the Father and I knew that in Jesus the Father had given us a glorious manifestation of Himself, hoping that it would bring to our remembrance the glory we had with Him in the beginning.

The vision vanished and I felt that I was no longer alone but that I had a purpose and a memory that became the impulse of my life. No longer was there a question, but that all my being must now be bent toward becoming the Son. I knew that not only the Father, but the beloved Jesus filled my spirit from that hour henceforth and all the miracles that have been accredited to "Francis" are but the blessing of the Holy Trinity, which through me endeavored to bring to humankind's attention again the example of the beloved Son in Whom the Father was well pleased.

Perhaps this simple, homely talk may give you, my friends, a little courage, comfort and perhaps, in a major sense, "purpose." May I again offer you the blessing that has become associated with my name?

May the Lord bless thee and keep thee.

May He show His Face to thee and have mercy on thee.

May He turn His Countenance to thee and give thee peace.

May the Lord bless thee. Amen.