Act IV scene 3

ACT IV

scene 3 “An Exultation of Larks”

Setting: The forest (left side); San Damiano (centre); forest with larks (right side)

CURTAIN or spotlight opens on the forest

SHEPHERD: What have you heard anything more about Saint Francis since he got back from the Holy Land?  What’s he doing these days?

WOLF: Didn’t you know?  Didn’t you hear? 

SHEPHERD: Me?  Oh, I hardly ever get any news.  I’m usually out in the fields with my sheep, you know. 

WOLF: Of course.  I suppose you wouldn’t hear much out there.  I like to prowl around  outside San Damiano and the various hermitages of the friars, so I overhear some stories.  Some were stories of miracles and some were about his ministering to the sick and the poor.  Even though, towards the end not many people were sicker or poorer than he was.

SHEPHERD: The end?  You mean, Saint Francis is....

WOLF: Yes.  Brother Francis died last October.  Before he died, though, God gave him one last wonderful gift.  Have you ever heard of the Stigmata?

SHEPHERD: Um.  I think so, but I’m not sure.  It has something to do with sore spots on the body that look like the wounds Jesus had.  Is that right?

WOLF: Right.  Brother Francis spent many hour—even days—in retreat, praying.  He still heard voices from Jesus.   And he saw visions, too.  One really frightened him.  He tried to keep it a secret from the friars, but it wasn’t easy.  In fact it was impossible.  That was the stigmata.

SHEPHERD: Is it as painful as it looks?  What do you think?  Did he ever tell anyone about that?

WOLF: It must have been painful, but he didn’t talk about it, except to a few of the  friars.  And he didn’t show the wounds.  But we think that it was during one of those retreats that he received them, right after he saw Jesus in the last vision—Jesus on the cross, with an expression of love and sorrow on his face.  After the vision vanished, Saint Francis said he felt a wonderful glow.  He couldn’t keep it a secret forever.  Not when the blood seeped through his tunic and he had to wipe his hands and feet frequently. 

SHEPHERD: That’s amazing.  Really amazing.

WOLF: Yes.  Excuse me a moment.  I get a little choked up when I think about that.  I wish I could have seen it while he was alive.  But I did see Brother Francis one more time.  I think that was even more wonderful.  I was present when he said farewell to Sister Clare at San Damiano before going to die at home at Portiuncula. 

CURTAIN or spotlight closes on the forest; opens on San Damiano

SHEPHERD: Tell me about when you saw him last.

WOLF: I went to see him while he was in Siena, for the best medical treatment the bishop’s doctors could provide. He was too weak for us to talk.  I think he recognized me, though.  It was clear that Sister Death was coming for him quickly.  I followed as the friars carried him to San Damiano so Sister Clare could see him through the grating where she usually received Holy Communion from the priest.  It was evening, and larks were singing above the trees.  Some friars came in procession, with candles, singing hymns and waving olive branches.  Someone was reading a psalm.  Brother Francis raised his hand in blessing and farewell for the nuns and friars.  That exposed his stigmata wounds and everyone, especially Sister Clare, gasped when they saw them.   And that’s when I saw them, too.

CURTAIN closes on San Damiano; only the forest scene, filled with animals and the birds.

SHEPHERD: Oh, I wish I could have been there.  It’s no wonder he’s a saint.  In fact, everyone has known for years that he is one.  One thing I’d like to ask you, though.  Did you ever get your fourth order of Franciscans, for the animal kingdom?

WOLF: No, but I’ll try to live by a Franciscan Rule of Life anyway.  Just like Sister Clare has been doing all these years.   She is still waiting for her Rule to be approved by the Pope.  He still doesn’t like women vowing to live in poverty.  There’s hope for that, though, since he’s seen her lifelong dedication.  The rumor is that the Pope might get the approval to her before she dies.  She, too, is waiting for Sister Death.

SHEPHERD: It seems this story has a very sad ending.

WOLF: Sad?  Oh, no!  It isn’t sad at all.  In fact, we can all learn from the birds that Brother Francis taught in the forest.  The birds followed Brother Francis to Porziuncula, and I’m told that as the saint’s soul left his body, the larks accompanied it almost all the way to heaven.  They soared up, with a song of praise and in exultation, as Brother Francis went home to his heavenly father.  That’s the happiest ending there is!

~~THE END~~