St. Francis of Assisi
On October 4th, the Church celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. His founding of the Franciscan Order changed the course of the Catholic Church. Here is his incredible story.
Wealthy Beginnings
In 1181, Francis was born in a tiny Italian town named Assisi. His family had great wealth and he enjoyed all the privileges that came with it.
He loved parties, extravagant clothing, and spending money. His life centered around seeking pleasure.
But, deep down, Francis was restless.
A war broke out between Assisi and the neighboring town, Perugia. Francis responded by joining the town's army along with his friends. But, Assisi lost and they imprisoned Francis in Perugia. There they treated him harshly for almost a year, where he fell into a serious illness.
With his past life unavailable in a damp prison cell, he began to reevaluate his life. What was really important to him?
But, he did not give his whole life to Christ immediately. Francis continued to wrestle and pray for three more years.
Jesus Speaks to Francis
Back in Assisi, Francis went into the local chapel, "San Damiano." Looking up, he had a vision of Jesus speaking to him from a crucifix:
"Francis, Francis, go and repair My church which, as you can see, is falling into ruins."
When he heard this, he thought Jesus meant this literally. So he took some of his father's fine fabrics and sold it for gold coins. He met with the priest at San Damiano and offered him the money to repair the church.
?But the priest refused and Francis threw the money on the ground in anger.
Confused, Francis ran to a nearby cave and hid from his angry father for a full month. After that, Francis returned to Assisi dirty and starving. His father took him, beat him, and locked him away.
The Transformation
His father wanted to take away his son's inheritance. So he tried to take Francis to the civil authorities, but he would not go. Out of ideas, his father brought in the local bishop to talk to Francis.
When he met with his father and the bishop, Francis took off his clothes! Naked, he shouted:
"Until now I have called you my father on earth. But henceforth I can truly say: Our Father who art in heaven."
Baffled, the bishop gave him a cloak and Francis went off to the woods. He renounced all worldly possessions and embraced a life of poverty.
Francis began his new life by repairing local churches near Assisi. Soon, while at Mass he heard this Gospel passage:
"And as you go, preach the message, ‘The kingdom is at hand!’…Take no gold, nor silver, nor money in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or villa you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart."
This was his turning point.
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The Franciscans
Francis took off his shoes, put on a rough tunic, and went off to preach. No one had seen anything like it. He attracted many people and soon Francis had eleven followers within the year.
He wrote a simple Rule for his group: "to follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps."
His order had a clear focus: to imitate Jesus.
Francis led them to Rome to receive approval from Pope Innocent III. The Franciscans ran into both approval and skepticism from the cardinals.
While deciding, the pope had a dream. In it he saw Francis holding up the Lateran Basilica in Rome by himself. That was enough to convince him to approve the Order of Friars Minor, the "Lesser Brothers."
Today, St. Francis of Assisi's legacy lives on. His order spread to every corner of the world, where they continue to center their lives on poverty and charity.
Further Resources
Today, Fr. Mark-Mary shares some stories from the life of St. Francis of Assisi and how his authentic holiness was based on taking God at His word and living with complete honesty with himself and others.?
One of the most common sayings is “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” This quote is popularly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. The saying is often used as a recommendation for how we should primarily or even exclusively evangelize. But, did St. Francis of Assisi really say this?
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St. Francis of Assisi