"If you have men who will exclude
Any of God's creatures
From the shelter of compassion and pity,
You will have men who will deal likewise
With their fellow man."
Saint Francis
Saint Francis of Assisi
Born in Assisi, Italy either in 1181 or 1182, Francis was the son of a wealthy merchant. His circle included other wealthy sons as well as princes, and he once dreamed of being a knight or troubadour. Once while dining with friends, a beggar came to the house and Francis gave every penny he had to the man. Accepting the belittlement of his companions, he went on to start examining the role of religion in his life.
Later in his life, he fell very ill and had to face his possible death. Realizing the emptiness of his life, he asked God for direction. In a dream, God called Francis to "Rebuild My House" which Francis took to mean a local church, but eventually would become the "Little Brothers", an order of the Church. Francis cast off his wealthy lifestyle, to the disgust of friends and family, and went off to live a life of poverty and near starvation. By ridding himself of earthly belongings, he felt he had finally found spiritual wealth and bliss. He would be joined by others over time, and slowly the order grew to include off-shoots such as the "Poor Clares", (a woman's order also following poverty and service). One famous moment involves Francis trying to convert a village, who would have nothing to do with him, so Francis began preaching to the fish and birds. The fish and birds stopped what they were doing and turned to listen to him. The villagers were so amazed, they too converted and so started Francis's legand of him with the animals.
Shortly before his death, Frances went into the mountains for solitude and recieved the "Stigmata", the wounds of Christ. In 1226, half blind and desperately ill, he asked that all his clothing be removed so he could die as his Savior did...alone and nude. A great church was built up around his grave, and many came to ask for healing and miracles. As time went by, his popularity and legand grew until the Church cannonized him on July 16th, 1228, a mere two years after his death. His feast day is October 4th. He is the patron of Italy, animals and ecology.
Of all the saints, this simple beggar is the only one to truely embody Christianity. He took Jesus' message and brought it to life in a way that all could accept and understand. Even today, with all our great men and bishops, cardinals and popes, I stop and compare them to Francis to see whether they embody Christ's message as fully as he did. Pagan or not, my garden will include a statue of Francis with the birds to bring his blessings to my home and family.
To flip through the pages of my BOS faster...
|
Brightest of Blessings