Daily Excerpt: Saints I Know (Sula) - St. Francis
The following excerpt comes from Saints I Know by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission. Appropriate for Caturday -- the book is "written" by a cat. Appropriate for this season -- Frasncistide is right around the corner.
St. Francis of Assisi
1181-1226
Writing about St. Francis’s life is more a matter of
deciding what to leave out rather than what to include. St. Francis did so much
in his lifetime and became so meaningful to so many people that it is hard to
fit him and his larger-than-life experiences onto just a page in a saints’
book. So, I will try to choose carefully.
Though he became a favorite saint for many people, including
the current pope who took his name, he did not start out as someone likely to
become a saint. Like Deacon Van said in the prologue, perfection is not
required for sainthood. Many imperfect people became saints. St. Francis
exhibited a range of imperfections.
Born into a wealthy family in Assisi, St. Francis grew up in
an area of Italy that was at war with its neighboring state, Perugia. Those
places are still there. They are no longer at war, so you can visit them. Many
people in our parish have done that, and one of our former nuns lived there.
When he became old enough, St. Francis went off to war with
his friends. He expected to become a great warrior, enjoy magnificent victories,
and receive many honors. He wanted glory and recognition.
To St. Francis’s chagrin, he became ill during battle and
had to be brought home to recover—and God led him in a very different
direction: to peace, not war. St. Francis experienced a unique life while
following God through Jesus’s example—and St. Francis loved Jesus very much.
Some of the stories about St. Francis are more legend than fact, but even
discounting those, St. Francis had many extraordinary experiences, so many that
I cannot include them all here. So, I will relate my favorite ones.
One remarkable experience took place in the little church at
San Damiano. While gazing at the cross on the chapel wall, St. Francis heard
God speaking to me, “Francesco, rebuild my church.” Immediately, Francis
started repairing the church. Only later would it become clear that God had
meant to rebuild His Church (the body of Christ) by bringing people back to
God. Of course, Francis ended up doing that, too. In fact, rather than gather
in great honors, St. Francis quietly, without any expectation of honor or award
or even any kind of overt evangelization, began to gather in men who followed
him. He made a Rule of Life for them to follow and walked all the way to Rome
to ask the Pope to allow him to found the Friars Minor (Franciscan Order).
Franciscans, following St. Francis’s Rule, vow to observe chastity, poverty,
and obedience to God. Francis and the men who followed him carried no money,
had no worldly goods, and wore very simple tunics; sometimes they had only one,
following the instructions that Jesus had given to his disciples when he sent
them on their mission of evangelization.
Later, desiring to establish peace between the Muslims and
Christians who were fighting each other back then during the Crusades (holy
wars), Francis set off to see the Sultan of Egypt, Malik al Kamil (malik in Arabic means king). That took a
lot of courage, because the Muslims could have easily killed St. Francis.
Coming to the battle line between the two warring camps, Francis explained his
purpose, was given an audience with the Sultan, preached to him (without
converting him but gaining his respect), and was allowed to leave peacefully.
To this day, as a result of that meeting, the Franciscans have been living in
the Holy Land and caring for it. A Franciscan monastery near Jerusalem makes
that possible, and today the Franciscans have custody of 74 holy sites in
Israel, Jordan, and Syria.
During the days of St. Francis, societies exiled lepers from
cities to prevent further contagion. One day, though, in his earliest time of
conversion, St. Francis met a leper while riding a horse. Feeling compassion,
he dismounted and kissed the leper. After leaving, he looked back and saw no
one in the path. He wondered whether Jesus might have taken on the appearance
of a leper. After all, Jesus tells us to love and care for the poor, repulsed,
and lonely. Francis went on to do just that, and he lived and worked with
lepers.
Stories abound of St. Francis’s relationship with animals.
He loved them, and they loved him. You can read some of those stories or just
ask one of the Franciscans in our community; they know all those stories.
Near the end of his life, when St. Francis was spending many
long hours in prayer and trying to emulate Christ, he received the stigmata. What does that mean? His
hands, feet, and side were punctured like Jesus’s were during the crucifixion.
Francis thought of all nature as friends. He referred to
Brother Sun and Sister Moon. Sister Death came for him in 1226.
We cannot talk about St. Francis without speaking of St.
Clare. St. Clare was a young woman who grew up with St. Francis. When he left
town and began rebuilding the San Damiano church, she followed him. Around her
gathered a number of young women, and St. Francis helped St. Clare form her own
Franciscan Order with their own Rule of Life, called the Poor Clares. You can
probably tell from the name that they followed the same vow of poverty as
Francis’s order.
I could tell you much more about St. Francis, but I need the
rest of the pages in this book for other saints. You’re in luck, though, if you
like St. Francis. Many books have been written about him.
For more posts about Sula and her books, click HERE.
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