St. Francis of Assisi
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
It is fitting that this passage begins the Holy Bible, because this marks the beginning of existence for all that we know. Genesis goes on to name all of the creatures and plants created by God, ending with the creation of Man. Earth and all that inhabit it were created to give glory to God. We can see the glory of God in every plant, animal, and human being. One person in particular realized the glory that the creation gives to God for its existence. That person is St. Francis of Assisi.
Francis was born in Assisi, Italy in 1181 to wealthy parents. He lived his early life as a merchant, carefree and living with expensive clothing and many other luxuries. However, early in his life he was being pulled to a life focused on Christ. His eventual life of holiness was to come after a combination of events and visions.
When fighting in the Assisian army in 1204, he was captured and imprisoned for a year. He began to contemplate the worth of his life while in prison, having thoughts of his spiritual being. Once freed from prison, he resumed his former life and planned to join another commander in his quest for glory in war. However, the night before beginning his journey, he had a dream. In this dream, he saw a vast hall hung with armour all marked with the Cross. “These”, said a voice, “are for you and your soldiers.” Thinking it meant he was destined for glory in war, he set out the next day exuberant. However, an illness brought him to cease his journey. While resting, he had another dream, with a voice calling him back to Assisi. He did so immediately.
Now back in Assisi, he began to seek direction for his life in prayer and solitude. He gave up his lavish clothing and wasteful ways. He began to see his life transforming into one of giving alms and living in poverty. He made a pilgrimage to Rome and emptied his pockets of coins into the devotional basket. While praying in front of a Crucifix at a dilapidated St. Damian’s Chapel, he heard a voice saying: “Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.” He took this message literally, and after gathering his own funds came back to the priest of the chapel to give him the means to restore it. These actions infuriated Francis’ father, who scolded him, beat him, and locked him in a closet.
His mother was able to free him while his father was away, and Francis lived with the priest at St. Damian’s chapel. When brought to court by his father, who was intent on making Francis forgo his inheritance, Francis joyfully gave it up. He took off the clothes he was wearing and gave them to his father, saying, “Hitherto I have called you my father on earth; henceforth I desire to say only ‘Our Father who art in Heaven.’”
He began to live his life for Christ and lived as a beggar for almost a year. By his own hand he rebuilt St. Damian’s and two other chapels with donated stone. He was living in a hut next to one of the chapel’s, St. Mary of the Angels, when he heard a sermon on the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus was sending out his disciples to preach.
Matthew 10:7-10
7 And proclaim as you go, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
9 Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts,
10 no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
St. Francis had finally found his vocation. In the year 1208, at the age of 26, Francis dedicated himself to a life of poverty. He preached repentance walking among the people in the small towns of Italy. He began to gain followers, and with 11 ‘lesser brothers’ as he called them, they wandered Italy full of songs and hymns for the glory of God. Later in 1209, Francis and his followers traveled to Rome to ask Pope Innocent III for permission to found a new religious order. At first, his request to see the Pope was refused. However, that night Innocent III dreamed of a poor man holding up a crumbling church. He recognized the man in the dream as being Francis, so the next day he granted Francis’ request.
Francis’ religious order, first named the Order of Friars Minor, has since been most commonly recognized simply as ‘Franciscans.’ The order grew in membership, and began to go on mission trips to Germany, France, Spain, and Egypt. Francis personally preached among the Saracens (Muslims in control of the Holy Land at the time) while in the Middle East.
Francis founded two other religious orders and wrote the rules for the orders to follow. In 1224, while in prayer on the mountain of Verne, Francis saw a vision of a seraphim, and received the first reported occurrence of Stigmata (the five wounds of Christ).
In 1226, still afflicted with the Stigmata, and fallen ill from an eye infection, Francis died next to St. Mary of the Angels chapel, singing Psalm 141. He was pronounced a saint in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX.
St. Francis wrote many hymns, and was always interacting with nature and chose to live in the wild for varying periods of time. Many stories tell of Francis speaking and ministering to animals. One story speaks of him preaching to the birds saying, “My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in everyplace give praise to Him.”
Another story tells how a menacing wolf, who terrorized a town by eating livestock and even townspeople, was tamed by Francis. Francis called the wolf to him, made the sign of the cross, and commanded it to cease harming the townspeople. He led the wolf into town, and in front of an astonished population, he made a peace pact between the people and the wolf. He asked the people to regularly feed the wolf, and for the dogs of the town not to bother the wolf again. The wolf never caused harm to the people again.
A famous work of poetry and song written by St. Francis is ‘Canticle of the Sun’. In Canticle of the Sun, St. Francis sings of the natural world, praising God for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, the Earth, and other elements of the natural world. St. Francis preached that both human and creature are given the ability to praise God, and it is their duty to do so. Not only are humans protectors of nature with God, but also we are to enjoy nature as God does.
Many lessons of how to be a great Christian servant can be gained through learning about the life of St. Francis. It is important to recognize:
1. St. Francis taught and lived a life of humility.
We must be humble, bowing to the will of Almighty God. Francis had a vision, but still tried to live his life as he saw fit. God had to awake Francis to the reason why he was created. God had to give him another vision, letting Francis know what His will was for Francis’ life. As in Matthew 5:5, Jesus teaches that those who are meek and humble will inherit the land. A life lived with humility, is a life lived close to Jesus.
2. St. Francis taught and lived a life of dependence on God.
As in Matthew 6:31, we must depend and trust in God as our provider. God provides for the creatures and the Earth spins without any of our doing, so it is important that we recognize the almighty power God wields. We should not worry about tomorrow, nor should we lose sleep over the troubles of the day. God has all in His power, and we should not fear the future if we are trusting in God.
3. St. Francis taught and lived a life that praised God for His creation.
In everything we do, we should be like St. Francis, and praise God for all the blessings bestowed upon us. We must remember God for the small things, as well as the big things. We must remember to praise Him for the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. All of creation is singing praises to God, we should be doing the same!
All that we have in our lives, began with that first passage in Genesis. God created time, and from that we are eternally blessed. We must remember that tomorrow is not a guarantee. Our time on Earth is a blessing from God, so we must live life with humility, depend on God in our lives, and praise God for His wonderful creation!
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