The Wisdom of Saints: St Francis of Assisi

The Feast of Francis of Assisi, 1226

O ALMIGHTY God, who willest to be glorified in thy Saints, and didst raise up thy servant Francis to shine as a light in the world: Shine, we pray thee, in our hearts, that we also in our generation may show forth thy praises, who hast called us out of darkness into thy marvellous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

St Francis of Assisi was born around 1181 in Assisi, Italy. His father was a wealthy merchant who had significant ties to France and a love for that country. He hoped to have Francis follow in both his business and his love of France, something he was gratified to see fulfilled during St Francis’s early days.

In his youth, St Francis lived a life of ease due to his father’s wealth. He received some religious education, but was far more enamoured of French troubadour singers than his monastic teachers. He lived a somewhat wild lifestyle and gained a strong following owing to his charming, gallant and courteous manner.

During this time, St Francis also began to cultivate a desire for the kind of fame and glory that could only, in those days, be achieved through knighthood and battle. In 1205 he responded to the call of the fourth crusade. His biographer Thomas of Celano records that on the night he was to leave he had a dream in which he saw a hall filled with armour, all marked with the Cross. A voice proclaimed to him, “these are for you and your soldiers.” He left the next morning, but then had a second dream which convinced him that in fact God did not want him to fight in the crusades, and which caused him to return to Assisi in shame, having not managed to fight. He was taunted as a coward and an idiot for having wasted a significant amount of money on commissioning opulent armour which was never used.

While he still on occasion engaged in the type of revelry he had been famous for during his teens, by the age of 25 he had seemingly lost much of his taste for the vices of his youth. He began to withdraw and spent greater time in prayer, giving up on his life of opulence. One day, while out riding, he came upon a leper. Overcoming his distaste for the man—his youth had been characterised by his attraction to beauty and repulsion from all this ugly or disfigured—he embraced him with the kiss of peace and gave the man all the money he had on him. This was one of the first steps in his conversion of views from striving for the glory of man in wealth to striving for the glory of God in poverty.

Shortly after this revelation, he was praying at a dilapidated chapel of St Damien’s near Assisi, when he heard the voice of Christ proclaim to him, “Francis, go and repair My Church, which you see is falling into ruin.” St Francis initially understood this to mean he was to repair St Damien’s and began working personally to restore the building. He sold some of his father’s goods to fund the restoration project, and angered his father who took him before the local Bishop’s court to be punished. St Francis, in a show of humility and freedom from material concerns, chose to appear before the Bishop naked. The show of humility touched the Bishop who is said to have clothed St Francis in his own cloak, endorsing St Francis’s mission.

After this incident he expanded his ministry to the poor and continued to restore a number of local church buildings which had fallen into disrepair. He continued to eschew worldly goods and lived a life of poverty while he ministered. A number of companions began to join him; eventually becoming so numerous that St Francis submitted a rule to Pope Innocent III to organize their ministry. Earning the Pope’s approval Francis and his companions became known as the Friars Minor. His order proved very popular. In 1212 they opened the first women’s cloistered convent under the leadership of St Clare of Assisi, and the number of men and women joining the order continued to grow.

After the first rule of 1209, there were two subsequent rules in 1221 and the final in 1223. The Rule of 1223, often simply referred to as the Rule of St Francis of Assisi, is still used to this day in the Franciscan Order. It is noted for its simplicity and devotion.

The Rule of St Francis is generally summarized in its introduction where it says, “The rule and life of the lesser brothers is this: To observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience without anything of our own, and in chastity.” In other words, the life of a Franciscan is made of vows of obedience, poverty and chastity.

St Francis did not leave behind a great body of primary works, being known instead mostly for his deeds as a lover of all God’s creatures, as well as particularly for his strict devotion to the Gospel’s instructions to give up wealth for the sake of proclaiming Christ. This made him rather popular, particularly with the poor, who saw St Francis and his brothers rejoicing and proclaiming their love of God in the midst of their poverty. To St Francis, money was a barrier to love of God and he viewed poverty as a necessary tool of living out the Gospel of Christ.

While St Francis himself has few direct writings available, because of his popularity, many secondary sources about him exist. One of the most popular is the Little Flowers of St Francis, a collection of brief stories that cover life and works of St Francis.

Many of the stories are perhaps more loosely based on the reality of St Francis’ life, but the mere fact that they exist are a testament to his popularity and his holiness. In perhaps one of the most famous parts, Part I, Chapter VIII, St Francis explains to his companion Brother Leo the meaning of perfect joy. “Brother Leo, if it were to please God that the Friars Minor should give, in all lands, a great example of holiness and edification, write down, and note carefully, that this would not be perfect joy.” He goes on to cite several more examples of prayer and holiness fulfilled which are not perfect joy, before describing being refused entry to a monastery by the porter on a cold and stormy night:

Exposed to the snow and rain, suffering from cold and hunger till nightfall - then, if we accept such injustice, such cruelty and such contempt with patience, without being ruffled and without murmuring, believing with humility and charity that the porter really knows us, and that it is God who maketh him to speak thus against us, write down, O Brother Leo, that this is perfect joy.

To St Francis, perfect joy was in obedience to living out the Gospel, as it says in 1 Thes 5. 18, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” It is not difficult to see how St Francis, living in the times he did, was beloved by the poor, and to this day the strength of his love for the Gospel has ensured a continued following of his teachings and example.