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| Biography: Francis of Assisi, friar (4 Oct 1226)Francis of Assisi, Friar4 October 1226Francis was born in 1182, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant. Hisearly years were frivolous, but an experience of sickness andanother of military service were instrumental in leading him toreflect on the purpose of life. One day, in the church of SanDamiano, he seemed to hear Christ saying to him, "Francis, repair myfalling house." He took the words literally, and sold a bale of silkfrom his father's warehouse to pay for repairs to the church of SanDamiano. His father was outraged, and there was a publicconfrontation at which his father disinherited and disowned him, andhe in turn renounced his father's wealth--one account says that henot only handed his father his purse, but also took off hisexpensive clothes, laid them at his father's feet, and walked awaynaked. He declared himself "wedded to Lady Poverty", renounced allmaterial possessions, and devoted himself to serving the poor. Inhis day the most dreaded of all diseases was something known asleprosy. (It is probably not the same as either the modern or theBiblical disease of that name.) Lepers were kept at a distance andregarded with fear and disgust. Francis cared for them, fed them,bathed their sores, and kissed them. Since he could not pay forrepairs to the Church of San Damiano, he undertook to repair it byhis own labors. He moved in with the priest, and begged stones lyinguseless in fields, shaping them for use in repairing the church. Hegot his meals, not by asking for money so that he might live at theexpense of others, but by scrounging crusts and discarded vegetablefrom trash-bins, and by working as a day laborer, insisting on beingpaid in bread, milk, eggs, or vegetables rather than in money. Soona few companions joined him. Dante in his Paradiso has Aquinas sayof him: Let me tell you of a youth whose aristocratic father disowned him because of his love for a beautiful lady. She had been married before, to Christ, and was so faithful a spouse to Him that, while Mary only stood at the foot of the Cross, she leaped up to be with Him on the Cross. These two of whom I speak are Francis and the Lady Poverty. As they walked along together, the sight of their mutual love drew men's hearts after them. Bernard saw them and ran after them, kicking off his shoes to run faster to so great a peace. Giles and Sylvester saw them, kicked off their shoes and ran to join them....After three years, in 1210, the Pope authorized the forming of theOrder of Friars Minor, commonly called the Franciscans. ("Friar"means "brother," as in "fraternity", and "minor" means "lesser" or"younger." I take the meaning to be that a Franciscan, meetinganother Christian, is to think, "I am your brother in Christ, andyour younger brother at that, bound to defer to you and to give youprecedence over myself."Francis and his companions took literally the words of Christ whenhe sent his disciples out to preach (Matthew 10:7-10): Preach as you go, saying, "The kingdom of Heaven is at hand." ... You have received the Gospel without payment, give it to others as freely. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, no spare garment, nor sandals, nor staff.They would have no money, and no property, individually orcollectively. Their task was to preach, "using words if necessary,"but declaring by word and action the love of God in Christ. Franciswas partial to a touch of the dramatic (see his parting from hisfather, for example), and it was probably he who set up the firstChristmas manger scene, to bring home the Good News of God made manfor our salvation, home to men's hearts and imaginations as well asto their intellects.In 1219, Francis went to the Holy Land to preach to the moslems. Hewas given a pass through the enemy lines, and spoke to the Sultan,Melek-al-Kamil. Francis proclaimed the Gospel to the Sultan, whoreplied that he had his own beliefs, and that moslems were as firmlyconvinced of the truth of Islam as Francis was of the truth ofChristianity. Francis proposed that a fire be built, and that he anda moslem volunteer would walk side by side into the fire to showwhose faith was stronger. The Sultan said he was not sure that amoslem volunteer could be found. Francis then offered to walk intothe fire alone. The Sultan who was deeply impressed but remainedunconverted. Francis proposed an armistice between the two warringsides, and drew up terms for one; the Sultan agreed, but, toFrancis's deep disappointment, the Christian leaders would not.Francis returned to Italy, but a permanent result was that theFranciscans were given custody of the Christian shrines then inmoslem hands.Back in Italy and neighboring countries, the Order was sufferingfrom its own success. Then, as now, many persons were deeplyattracted by Francis and his air of joy, abandonment, and freedom.What is overlooked is that these were made possible only by hiswillingness to accept total poverty, not picturesque poverty butreal dirt, rags, cold, and hunger, and lepers with real pus oozingfrom their sores and a real danger of infection. Many idealisticyoung men were joining the Order in a burst of enthusiasm and thenfinding themselves not so sure that such extremes of poverty werereally necessary. When there were only a few friars, they were allknown to Francis personally, and the force of his personality keptthe original ideals of the Order alive in them. Now that the Orderwas larger, this was no longer enough. In 1220 Francis resigned asminister-general of the Order, and in 1221 he agreed to a new andmodified rule, which he did not approve, but could not resist. Hedied on 4 October 1226. The Franciscan split into the ConventualFranciscans, who held a limited amount of property in common, andthe Spiritual Franciscans, who disavowed all property. They taughtthat Christ and the twelve apostles had held no property, singly orjointly. This view offended those who held property, and wasdeclared to be heretical (proof text, John 18:10; Jesus said to Peter,"Put up thy sword...."). In 1318, several Spiritual Franciscans wereburned at the stake in Marseilles.A story is told of the days when the friars first began to havepermanent houses. A beggar came by when Brother Juniper was at thegate and asked for a little money. Brother Juniper said, "There isno money in the house. But wait a minute. Last week someone gave usan altar cloth with little silver bells attached. We don't needthose. I will cut them off for you. They will be as good as money."And he did. When the sacristan learned what had happened, hecomplained to the prior, who said, "We are fortunate that he did notgive away the cloth itself. But send him to me, and I will scoldhim." Brother Juniper came, and the prior scolded him until he washoarse. Brother Juniper noticed that the prior was hoarse, and wentto the kitchen and cooked him some mint sauce. He brought it to theprior, who had gone to bed. He said, "Father Prior, get up and eatthis mint sauce. It will be good for your throat." The prior said,"I don't want any mint sauce. Go away and let me sleep." BrotherJuniper said, "It's good sauce, and will be good for your throat."The prior said, "Go away, I don't want it." Brother Juniper said,"Well, if you won't eat it, how about holding the candle while I eatit?" This was too much for the prior. He got up and they both ate.From the first known letter from Francis to all Christians: "O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord himself said in the gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul, and your neighbor as yourself. Thereofore, let us love God and adore him with pure heart and mind. This is his particular desire when he says: True worshipers adore the Father in spirit and truth. For all who adore him must do so in the spirit of truth. Let us also direct to him our praises and prayers, saying: "Our Father, who are in heaven," since we must always pray and never grow slack. Furthermore, let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neightbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will recieve from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve. We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be sinple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive toe very human being for God's sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father's children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.Many readers are enthusiastic aboutSaint Francis of Assisi, a biography of Francis byG.K.Chesterton. A reader of these essays has also recommendedSaint Francis of Assisi, a Biography by Omer Englebert.Prayer (traditional language) Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant unto thy people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of thee delight in thy whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.Prayer (contemporary language) Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace gladly to renounce the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfect joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Psalm 148:7-14 or 121 Galatians 6:14-18 Matthew 11:25-30 (St3) |
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