September 16, 2019

To be saintly is not the same as being sanctimonious. To be saintly means to be holy, and this can only be possible with God; being sanctimonious involves making a show of sanctity or pretending to be holy. The former is what God commands us to be (cf. Lev. 19:2; Matt 5:48), the latter is prohibited. Saintly people are not those who believe that it is impossible for them to commit sin; rather, the saints are those who always acknowledge that “to err is human,” and when they do go wrong, they are ready and willing to repent immediately. Unfortunately, however, majority of Christians manifest the so-called “holier than thou” attitude. This category of Christians believes that all other persons are sinners who must be avoided. Suppose they are right in their thinking, can their action be correct? Certainly not! Put differently, if these “holy Christians” are indeed holy and others are “sinners” as they naively believe, then, they must help the sinners to attain salvation. After all, Christ came for the sake of sinners, that they may attain salvation (Jn 3:16). He never avoided sinners, but he even ate with them, in order to convert them. Christ wills the salvation of the human race and the damnation of none (cf. John 3:16; Acts 28:28; 1 Tim 2:4, etc.).

 

This lecture is, therefore, aimed at first correcting the religious ignorance, naivety   and ghetto mentality of those who believe that a saint is necessarily someone who never committed sin in his lifetime. Secondly, this lecture on the life history of St. Francis of Assisi is meant to challenge contemporary Christians, especially in Nigeria, to embrace poverty, peace and brotherliness as means of attaining salvation. St. Francis himself, an erstwhile mundane son of a wealthy merchant, a sinner to the core, eventually embraced voluntary poverty as a way of life. This has made him the world’s most beloved Saint, and famous, too.  Consequently, before we delve into the life history of St. Francis, we shall clarify the term “saint”. We shall also enumerate and briefly explain the types of saints there are, as well as, some conditions necessary for sainthood or canonization.  The conclusion shall challenge present-day Christians to be detached from worldly possessions, inordinate ambitions, embrace forgiveness, truth, justice, peace, poverty and brotherly love as some of the conditions necessary for inheriting eternal life.

 

 

Who Is A Saint?

 

In ordinary terms, a saint is a holy person. In other words, when the word “saint” is loosely used, it refers to all people who do what God wants them to do, with the right intention, in the right place, and at the right time. Elizabeth Isichei has noted that, the word “saint” is context-bound or context-dependent. That is, it means different things in different contexts. According to her, the word “saint”

 

…can refer to those officially canonized, a process which in practice requires the support of a strong pressure group and ample financial resources…. The second meaning of the word refers to the whole community of the blessed but,   except in the case of the canonized, there is no way of knowing who these are. The word “saint” is used… in a third sense; what one might call “a saint by acclamation”; an individual who is regarded by those around him as outstandingly holy and close to God.

 

Besides the aforementioned, a saint must possess the following characteristic traits:

• A saint is one who makes goodness attractive (L. Housman).
• A saint is someone in whom Christ lives again; a saint is someone who makes it easier to believe in God; a saint is someone who lets the light shine through (Charles Steinmetz).
• Why are the saints saints? Because they were cheerful, when it was difficult to be cheerful; patient, when it was difficult to be patient; and because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still, and kept silent when they wanted to talk, and were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable. That was all (Charles Kellogg Field).

The following are among the qualities which Thomas S. Kepler says characterize a

saint:

1. His life is imbued with a deep love of Christian religion as a way of ‘feeling at

home’ in the universe.

2. He lives with a radiance because his spirit is rooted in God’s Spirit. A saint is

a person who has quit worrying about himself because his life is centred in God. With Jakob Bohme he says, ‘though my head and my hand be at labour, yet doth my heart dwell in God’.

3. He starts each day with these words: ‘May the image of Christ radiate through

me this day in each life situation.’

4. He asks that God use him as an instrument of his love to bear the burdens of

his fellow men. Like Francis of Assisi, the saint loves ‘not humanity, but men.’

5. He believes that before God’s kingdom can arrive in society, it must first

begin in hm.

6. He desires to use the results of prayer and devotion to better the world.

When Saint Thomas Aquinas (1220-72) was on his death-bed, his sister asked, ‘Thomas, what is the main thing to do to get sanctity?’ And the saint replied, ‘the main thing is to have a great desire to get it.

Types of Saints

Broadly speaking, saints are categorized into two: major and minor. This categorization is dependent on the kinds of works they did while they were alive, and the miracles performed at their intercessions after their death.

 

(a)        Major Saints

The major saints are those who are outstandingly and exceptionally holy throughout their lives. These are the saints who are usually recognized and canonized by the Church. Their names are written in the Church’s official list of saints called ‘Martyrology.’ People can pray through them by invoking their names.

 

(b)       Minor Saints

There are millions of other people in heaven who are also saints, but who did nothing except their ordinary Christian duties. They did these sincerely and without complaint. They are not recognized by the Church though, their names are written in the “Book of Life.” As a matter of fact, we do not know them, but they are known by God.

In this second category fall all those in heaven. Any person at all would be a saint, provided he is already in heaven. As Rev. 21:17 tells us, “Nothing defiled shall enter heaven.” If a person is able to enter heaven, it follows that he is already holy (that is, undefiled) and, therefore, he is a saint de facto.

The Holy Mother Church is urging us to become saints – at least to be numbered among the minor saints, who became saints because they performed their ordinary daily duties. You can become a saint, whether or not you are recognized by the Church. After all, it is God that actually makes a saint, the Church only “canonizes,” i.e., confirms God’s work. To be candid, the Church believes that what these lesser saints did, we too can do; where they succeeded, we, too, can succeed.

 

 

Conditions Necessary for Sainthood

Saints, irrespective of their rank, must possess the following conditions. In the first place, their lives must generally be accepted as holy by the people with whom they lived. People should see Christ in them.

 

A saint is not a person who has never committed sin in his life.  Rather, he is one who struggles continuously to overcome temptations.

 

A saint is one who is humble. It is this humility that motivates him to acknowledge his sinfulness and nothingness before God and he repents accordingly. In terms of humility, he is ready to take after Christ (see Phil 2:6-11).

 

He must obey the ten commandments of God (Ex 20:1-17) and the six commandments of the Church. If a person contravenes any of these commandments, then, he commits a grave sin. Strictly speaking, a saint is one who does not deliberately commit grave sin, but he may sometimes fall into venial sin. When this happens, he immediately confesses it and rises from it.

 

Generically, a saint is one who also obeys and practices sincerely the contents of the Beatitudes (matt 5:1-12). A saint is one who is able to persevere in difficulties and tribulations. He bears these patiently without complaining (cf. Phil 2:1-4ff).

 

He must embrace and practise the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love (charity); and also practise the four Cardinal Virtues of Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and Prudence. The above are among the general virtues which all saints must have possessed and manifested before they can bear that name.

 

The major saints are so called because of the extra-ordinary things they did. For instance, they must be peculiarly or exceptionally virtuous. What are these ingredients that characterize them as illustrious people, and which also differentiate them from all others? Let us briefly explain some of them.

 

 

In the first place, one becomes a saint by the way he lives, not by the   way he writes. In other words, one does not become a saint by writing a book, no matter how meritorious the book may be in the eyes of the Church. We are not saying that saints do not write books; we are saying that it is not because of such books that they become saints, but because they practise the contents of these books. In fact, the Christian rituals become empty, worthless and a mechanical repetition of formulas, unless we allow them to permeate and pervade all aspects of our lives. Put differently, Christianity is more a way of life than mere doctrine.

 

Secondly, one becomes a saint through God’s grace and mercy. Saints are, therefore, made by God, not by the Church. That is why there are many unknown saints. The Church only formally declares some of her children saints and offers their lives to the attention of the world, so that they may be admired and imitated. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires the Church to do this. And in doing this, she acts with great care, prudence and circumspection. Most thorough investigations are held into the life of a potential saint.

 

Furthermore, of all virtues, sanctity or holiness is the most compulsory for a would-be saint. Thus, if one should practise all the other virtues without holiness, the person is only wasting his time. It is sanctity that actually makes a saint. The idea of “unholy saint” is a misnomer. Put differently, there is no such phrase as “a sinful saint.” Maynard remarks in this direction, saying: “Whatever the road by which one comes to know God, sanctity can never be outmoded.”  In other words, sanctity or holiness can never expire; it will continue to be a very pertinent virtue to consider in making a saint.

 

Lastly, before the Church categorically makes a formal declaration that a particular person is a saint, there must be miracles performed in his name. It must be proved that after his death, miracles have been performed through his intercessions–four miracles to be precise–two before he is beatified and two more before he is canonized. In the case of Blessed Tansi, it remains only one miracle to be performed in his name before he is canonized. Sometimes, it takes 300-400 years before a person is canonized, although there are exceptional cases. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, for instance, was canonized only 28 years after her death. In the twenty-first century, Pope St. John Paul II was canonized less than a decade after his death. St. Francis’ case is extraordinary—he was canonized less than two years after his death.

 

 

Who Was St. Francis of Assisi?

Francis was born in the Year 1181 in Assisi, duchy of Spoleto, Italy. A duchy, also known as duke-dom, is an area of land that is owned and controlled by a duke or duchess. A duke is a nobleman of the highest rank.  In Europe, for instance, a duke is a male ruler of a small independent state. His father’s name was Pietro di Bernardone, a cloth merchant; His mother was Lady Pica Pietro Di Bernardone, who perhaps hailed from France.

 

At Francis’ birth, his father was away on a business trip to France, and his mother had him baptized Giovanni (John). On his return, however, Pietro changed the child’s name to Francesco because of either his interest in France or his wife’s background. Francis learned to read and write Latin at the school near the Church of San Giorgio. He also acquired some knowledge of French Language and literature, and was especially fond of the Provenƈal cultureof the troubadours. A troubadour is a writer and performer of songs or poetry.  Troubadours were very common between the 11^th and 13^th centuries. Francis liked speaking French, even though he was not so fluent or eloquent in it; in fact, he attempted to sing in French language.

 

Early Life of Luxury

            Though highly honoured and respected today, St. Francis started his life as a sinner.  His father was a wealthy cloth merchant, owner of several acres of farmland around Assisi. Given his luxurious family background, Francis was never in want during his youth. He was pampered, indulging himself with fine food, wine and extravagant celebrations. In fact, at the age of fourteen (14), he had left school and he was nicknamed a rebellious teenager who frequently drank to stupor, enjoyed parties and soirees, and broke the city curfew.  He was known for his charm and vanity. Thus, his youth was characterized by moral lapses, and his exuberant love of life and a general spirit of worldliness made him a recognized leader of the young men of the town.

 

            Within this period, Francis of Assisi learnt the skills of archery—the art of shooting arrows with a bow, wrestling and horsemanship.  In other words, he was skilled in riding horses. He was expected to take over the family textile business, but was already tired of the prospect of life in the cloth trade. Consequently, rather than planning a future as a merchant, he began daydreaming of a future as a knight. In those days, knights were Medieval action heroes, and Francis actually had the ambition of becoming a war hero like them.  It was not long when the opportunity for warfare beckoned on him.

 

War and Imprisonment

In 1202, war broke out between Assisi and Perugia, a neighbouring town,  and Francis took part in it. Indeed, he eagerly took his place with the calvary. He never knew that his experience of this war would change him forever. Francis and the men of Assisi came under serious attack; and in the face of superior numbers, they fled. The entire battlefield was covered with corpses, while badly wounded men were screaming in agonizing pains. At this war, many of the surviving Assisi troops were later put to death.

 

Unskilled and with no war experience as such, Francis was captured by enemy soldiers.  Because he was dressed like a rich aristocrat and wearing expensive new armour, the soldiers considered him worthy of a decent ransom, and they decided to spare his life.  Francis and the other wealthy troops were taken as prisoners, led off to a dank underground cell, so cold, dark and dirty that one could easily contract a serious disease.  Francis spent nearly a year in such miserable conditions, awaiting his father’s payment of the ransom. He eventually took seriously ill.  During this time also, he received several visions from God.

 

 

His Conversion After the War

After a year of negotiations, Francis’ ransom was accepted, and he was released from prison in 1203.  When he returned to Assisi, however, Francis was a very different man.     He was seriously ill in both mind and body—symptom of a battle-fatigued casualty of war.

 

A legend has it that, one day, while riding on a horse in the local countryside, Francis encountered a leper. If he had had this encounter before the war, Francis would have run from the leper. On this occasion, however, his attitude was different. Considering the leper as a symbol of moral conscience or rather as Jesus incognito, as some religious scholars would say, he embraced and kissed him; indeed, he later described this experience as a feeling of sweetness in his mouth. This was the beginning of a turning point in his life; for after this incident, Francis felt an inexplicable freedom, and his earlier lifestyle of luxury and material extravagance has lost its appeal.

 

Subsequently, Francis, now in his early 20s, started turning his focus toward God.  Thus, instead of working, he spent a great amount of his time in remote mountain hideouts and in old, quiet churches around Assisi, praying, looking for answers, and helping to nurse lepers.

 

Several other episodes contributed to his conversion to the apostolic life: a vision of Christ while Francis prayed in a grotto near Assisi; an experience of poverty during a pilgrimage to Rome where, in rags, he mingled with the beggars before St. Peter’s Basilica

and begged alms; an incident in which he not only gave alms to a leper (he had always felt a deep repugnance or hatred for lepers) but also kissed his hand. Among such episodes, the most important, according to his disciple and first biographer, Thomas of Celano, occurred at the ruined Chapel of San Damiano outside the gate of Assisi when Francis heard the crucifix above the altar command him: “Go, Francis, and repair my house which, as you see, is well-nigh in ruins.” Another reporter said that, while praying before an old Byzantine Crucifix at the Church of San Damiano, Francis heard the voice of Christ who told him to rebuild the Christian Church and to live a life of extreme poverty.

 

Taking this literally, Francis hurried home, gathered some fine cloth from his father’s shop, and rode off to the nearby town of Foligno, where he sold both cloth and horse. He then tried to give the money to the priest at San Damiano, whose refusal prompted Francis to throw the money out of the window. In anger, his father kept him at home and later brought him before the civil authorities. When Francis refused to answer the summons, his father brought him before the Bishop of Assisi. Before any accusations were made, Francis “without a word peeled off his garments even removing his breeches (short trousers fastened below the knee) and restored them to his father.” Completely naked, he said: “Until now I have called you my father on earth. But henceforth I can truly say: Our Father¹⁵ who art in heaven.” The astonished bishop gave him a cloak, and Francis went off to the woods of Mount Subasio above the city. Francis obeyed and devoted himself to Christianity. He began preaching around Assisi and was soon joined by twelve followers.

 

Some saw Francis as a madman or a fool, but others considered him as one of the greatest examples of how to live the Christian ideal, taking after Jesus Christ himself. Whether he was actually touched by God, some simply considered his situation as misinterpreted hallucinations brought about by mental illness or poor health.

 

Thus, Francis renounced worldly goods and family ties to embrace a life of poverty. He repaired the church of San Damiano, refurbished a chapel dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle, and then restored the now-famous little Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels (Santa Maria degli Angeli), the Porziuncola, on the plain below Assisi. There, on the feast of St. Matthias, February 24, 1208, he listened at Mass to the account of the mission of Christ to the Apostles from the Gospel According to Matthew (10:7, 9–11): “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 labourer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart.” According to Thomas of Celano, this was the decisive moment for Francis, who declared, “This is what I wish; this is what I am seeking. This is what I want to do from the bottom of my heart.” He then removed his shoes, discarded his staff, put on a rough tunic, and began to preach repentance.

 

Devotion to Christianity

            After his vision of Jesus at the Church of San Damiano, who told him to rebuild the Church, Francis experienced another great moment or turning point in his life.  In order to raise money to rebuild the Christian Church, he sold a bolt of cloth from his father’s shop, along with his horse. His father became angry when he learnt of his son’s actions and later dragged Francis before the local bishop.  The bishop told Francis to return his father’s money, to which his reaction was extraordinary: He stripped off his clothes, and along with them, returned the money back to his father, declaring that God was now the only father he recognized.  This event is credited as Francis’ final conversion, and there is no indication that Francis and his father ever spoke again thereafter.

            The bishop gave Francis a rough tunic, and dressed in these new humble clothes, Francis left Assisi.  Unluckily for him, the first people he met on the road were a group of dangerous thieves, who beat him badly.  Despite his wounds, Francis was happy.  From now on, he would live according to the Gospel.

Francis’ embrace of Christ-like poverty was a radical notion at the time.  The Christian Church was greatly rich, just like the Christian religious leaders.  This was precisely what concerned Francis and many others, who felt that the long-held apostolic ideals had eroded.  Francis set out on a mission to restore Jesus Christ’s own original values to the now-decadent Church.  With his great charisma, he attracted thousands of followers.  They listened to his sermons and embraced his way of life; his followers became known as Franciscan friars.     Constantly desiring daily to be more perfect spiritually, Francis soon started preaching in at least five villages every day, teaching a new kind of emotional and personal Christian religion that everyday people could understand.  In fact, he went to the extent of preaching to animals, thereby making some people to negatively criticize him and to even nickname him “God’s fool.” In any case, Francis’ message of Christ quickly spread far and wide, and thousands of people were converted.¹⁷

The Franciscan rule

Francis preached to townspeople—even though as a layperson he was without license to do so. In 1209, he composed for his mendicant disciples, or friars, a simple rule (Regula primitiva, “Primitive Rule”) drawn from passages in the Bible: “To follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps.” He then led the group of 12 disciples to Rome to seek the approval of Pope Innocent III, an important step that demonstrated Francis’s recognition of papal authority and saved his order from the fate of the Waldensians, who had been declared heretics in the late 12th century. At first Innocent was hesitant, but, following a dream in which he saw Francis holding up the church of San Giovanni in Laterano, he gave oral approval to the Franciscan rule of life. This event, which according to tradition, occurred on April 16, 1210, marked the official founding of the Franciscan order. The Friars Minor, or Lesser Brothers, as they came to be known, were street preachers with no possessions and only the Porziuncola (hut) as a centre. They preached and worked first in Umbria and then, as their numbers grew rapidly, in the rest of Italy.

 

Probably no one in history has set out as seriously as did Francis to imitate the life of Christ and to carry out so literally Christ’s work in Christ’s own way. This is the key to the character and spirit of St. Francis and helps explain his veneration for the Eucharist (the body and blood of Christ) and respect for the priests who handled the elements of the communion sacrament. To neglect this point is to present an unbalanced portrait of the saint as a lover of nature, a social worker, an itinerant preacher, and a celebrant of poverty. Certainly, the love of poverty is part of his spirit, and his contemporaries celebrated poverty either as his “lady,” in the allegorical Sacrum commercium (Eng. trans., Francis and His Lady Poverty, 1964), or as his “bride,” in the fresco by Giotto in the lower Church of San Francesco at Assisi. Indeed, poverty was so important to Francis that in his last writing, the Testament, composed shortly before his death in 1226, he declared unambiguously that absolute personal and corporate poverty was the essential lifestyle for the members of his Order. It was not, however, mere external poverty he sought but the total denial of self (as in the Letter of Paul to the Philippians 2:7).

 

In 1212, Francis organized a Second Order, one for women, that became known as the Poor Clares

He gave a religious habit, or dress, similar to his own to the noblewoman later known as St. Clare (Clara) of Assisi and then lodged her and a few companions in the Church of San Damiano, where they were joined by women of Assisi. For those who could not leave their families and homes, he eventually (c. 1221) formed the Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance, a lay fraternity that, without withdrawing from the world or taking religious vows, would carry out the principles of Franciscan life. As the friars became more numerous, the Order extended outside Italy.

 

Determined to bring the Gospel to all God’s creatures, Francis, on several occasions, sought to take his message out of Italy. In the late Spring of 1212, he set out for the Holy Land to preach to the Muslims but was shipwrecked on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea and had to return. A year or two later, sickness forced him to abandon a journey to the Muslims in Spain. In 1217, he proposed to go to France, but the future Pope Gregory IX, Cardinal Ugolino of Segni, an early and important supporter of the Order, advised Francis that he was needed more in Italy. In 1219, went to Egypt, where the crusaders were besieging Damietta. He went into the Muslim camp and preached to the Sultan al-Kāmil, who was impressed by him and gave him permission (it is said) to visit the sacred places in the Holy Land.

 

News of disturbances among the friars in Italy forced Francis to return. Although the Order of the Friars Minor had grown at a faster rate than any previous Religious Order, it had not experienced similar organizational growth and had little more than Francis’ example and his brief rule of life to guide its increasing numbers. To correct this situation, Francis prepared a new and more detailed rule (Regula prima, “First Rule,” or Regula non bullata, “Rule Without a Bull”), which reasserted devotion to poverty and the apostolic life and introduced greater institutional structure but was never officially sanctioned by the pope. He also appointed Peter Catanii as his vicar to handle the order’s practical affairs; after Peter’s early death in 1221, Francis replaced him with Brother Elias of Cortona. Two years later, Francis submitted a further revision of the rule—known as the Regula secunda (“Second Rule”), or Regula bullata (“Rule with a Bull”)—to Pope Honorius III, who approved it in the bull Solet annuere (“Accustomed to Grant”) on November 29, 1223. As the official rule of the order, Regula bullata enjoined the friars “to observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience without anything of our own and in chastity.” It also outlined regulations for discipline, preaching, and entry into the Order. After his rule received papal sanction, Francis withdrew increasingly from external affairs.

 

Francis’ Vision and the Stigmata of the Crucified Christ

At Christmastime in 1223, Francis participated in an important ceremony when he celebrated the birth of Jesus by recreating the manger of Bethlehem at a Church in Greccio, Italy. This celebration demonstrated his devotion to the human Jesus, a devotion that would be rewarded in most dramatic fashion in the following year. In the Summer of 1224, Francis went to the mountain retreat of La Verna (Alvernia), not far from Assisi, to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) and to prepare for St. Michael’s Day (September 29) by fasting for 40 days. He prayed that he might know how best to please God; opening the Gospels for the answer, he came upon references to the Passion of Christ three times. As he prayed during the morning of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14), he beheld a figure coming toward him from the heavens. St. Bonaventure, minister-general of the Franciscans from 1257 to 1274 and a leading thinker of the 13th century, wrote:

 

As it stood above him, he saw that it was a man and yet a Seraph with six wings; his arms were extended and his feet conjoined, and his body was fixed to a cross. Two wings were raised above his head, two were extended as in flight, and two covered the whole body. The face was beautiful beyond all earthly beauty, and it smiled gently upon Francis. Conflicting emotions filled his heart, for though the vision brought great joy, the sight of the suffering and crucified figure stirred him to deepest sorrow. Pondering what this vision might mean, he finally understood that by God’s providence he would be made like (similar) to the crucified Christ not by a bodily martyrdom but by conformity in mind and heart. Then as the vision disappeared, it left not only a greater ardour of love in the inner man but no less marvelously marked him outwardly with the stigmata of the Crucified.

 

Stigmata could be described as marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Jesus Christ; marks resembling the wounds Jesus Christ suffered when he was crucified, through his hands and the gaping lance wound in his side.  This made Francis the first person to receive the holy wounds of the stigmata.  For the remainder of his life, Francis took the greatest care to hide the stigmata. After the death of Francis, Brother Elias announced the stigmata to the Order by a circular letter. Later, Brother Leo, the Confessor and intimate companion of the saint who also left a written testimony of the event, said that in death Francis seemed like one just taken down from the cross.

 

Francis lived two years longer, in constant pain and almost totally blind (he had contracted an eye disease while proselytizing or trying to win converts in the East in 1219). Medical treatment at Rieti failed, and after a stay at Siena, he was brought back to Assisi, where he died at the Porziuncola. He was buried temporarily in the Church of San Giorgio at Assisi. On July 15, 1228, concluding a process of unprecedented speed, Francis was canonized by his former protector, Pope Gregory IX. On the following day, the pope laid the foundation stone for the basilica that Brother Elias would build in Francis’ memory, and in 1230 the saint’s body was transferred to the lower church of the basilica.

 

St. Francis: Patron Saint of Animals/Environment; hence Patron Saint of Ecologists

            St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals and the environment because of his great love for animals and natural environment. Thus, today, he is also the patron saint for ecologists—a title honouring his boundless love for animals and nature.

Francis considered all nature as the mirror of God and as so many steps to God. He called all creatures his “brothers” and “sisters,” and, in the most endearing stories about him, preached to the birds and persuaded a wolf to stop attacking the people of the town of Gubbio and their livestock if the townspeople agreed to feed the wolf. In his “Canticle of the Creatures” (less properly called by such names as the “Praises of Creatures” or the “Canticle of the Sun”), he referred to “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon,” the wind and water, and even “Sister Death.” He nicknamed his long and painful illnesses his “sisters,” and he begged pardon of “Brother Ass the body” for having unduly burdened him with his penances. Above all, his deep sense of brotherhood under God embraced his fellow men, for “he considered himself no friend of Christ if he did not cherish those for whom Christ died.”

Twelve Fascinating Facts You Need to Know About St. Francis of Assisi

            October 4^th is the feast day of the great St. Francis.  St. Francis of Assisi is one of the Church’s best known and most beloved saints.  The current Pontiff, Pope Francis took the name “Francis” after him.  How much do most people know about his life? There are twelve (12) fascinating facts that many perhaps did not know about the life of this holy man.  These are:

(1)        He was one of seven kids.  In other words, his parents gave birth to seven, and he was     one of             them.

(2)        He was named after the people of France. His father was a merchant who fell in love    with French Culture. “Francesco” means “Frenchman”.

(3)        He was a POW for a year. In other words, he was a Prisoner of War (POW). About the age of 19, before his conversion, he joined the military and fought in a war against a nearby City, Perugia.  He was taken prisoner and held for a year, but was eventually        released unharmed.

(4)        He was inspired by Matthew 10:9.  In Matthew 10:9, Jesus tells his disciples, “Do not    get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts,” when they travel around            to preach the Gospel.  He felt inspired to do the same, and started travelling around,    preaching repentance in poverty.

(5)        Within a year, he had already gained 11 Followers: That meant there were 12 of them,             himself inclusive—just like the 12 Apostles.

(6)        Pope Innocent III decided to support the Franciscans after a supernatural Dream:    Pope Innocent III was initially careful, almost reluctant, about supporting Francis and his          new group of             followers.  Then he had a dream in which he saw Francis holding up the     Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.  The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran is the Cathedral        Church of the Diocese of Rome, the Pope’s Cathedral, and thus possibly representative   of the Church in general, but especially the Papacy. He interpreted the dream as          indicating that Francis and his group would help support the Church, and so gave official             recognition to the group as a genuine Order in the Church.

(7)        He attended the Fourth Lateran Council—and Met St. Dominic there. The Fourth      Lateran Council was the 12^th Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and affirmed      Transubstantiation and Papal Primacy, among other things.  St. Dominic, Founder of the    Order of Preachers or Dominicans, was also present.

(8)        He Travelled to a Muslim Sultan, preached the Gospel, and challenged them to a      trial-by-fire in order to prove the truth of Christianity. During the Fifth Crusade,      Francis and a companion travelled into Muslim territory to visit the Sultan al-Kamil. He           preached before the Sultan.  To demonstrate his great faith in the Christian religion, he           challenged those present to a “trial-by-fire” in which he and a Muslim would step into a       fire, with the idea that the follower of the true religion would be spared by God.  Francis            offered to go first, but the Sultan turned down the challenge. Nonetheless, the Sultan was so impressed by his faith that he gave Francis permission to preach in his land.

(9)        The body of a dead Franciscan performed too many miracles, causing problems        with crowds, so Francis prayed the miracles would stop—and they did. In 1220,     Francis handed over governance of the greater Order to the Franciscan Peter Catani.       However, Peter died just five months later.  Visitors to his grave reported many miracles,            which led to great crowds visiting his grave.  The great crowds were causing problems in       that area, so Francis prayed asking Peter to stop the miracles—the miracles stopped.

(10)      He received the stigmata during a 40-day fast in preparation for Michaelmas.            Stigmata is a condition in which the wounds of Christ supernaturally appear on a person’s          body.  A Franciscan who was with him later recounted, “Suddenly he saw a vision of a          seraph, a six-winged angel on a cross.  This angel gave him the gift of the five wounds of            Christ.” This happened while he was in the midst of a 40-day fast in preparation for       Michaelmas, or the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel (September 29^th).

(11)      The foundation stone for the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was laid by the pope on             the day after he was canonized—less than two years after his death. Francis died on         October 3, 1226.  He was declared a saint by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228, and the             next day the Pope personally laid the foundation stone for the new Basilica of St. Francis        of Assisi.

(12)      His tomb was lost for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1818. His body was           moved to his basilica in 1230, but was soon hidden by the Franciscans to protect it from             Saracen invaders.  The location of the body was forgotten, and it was not rediscovered       until nearly six centuries (about six hundred years) later in 1818.²⁰

  His Death and Legacy: Lessons for All Christians

            When the time of Francis’ death drew near, many predicted that he was a saint in the making.  When his health condition quickly deteriorated, Francis went home. Knights were sent to guard him and to ensure that no one from the towns within the neighbourhood would carry him off, because the body of a saint at that time was viewed as an extremely valuable relics that would certainly bring glory to the town where it rested, besides other blessings.

            Francis of Assisi died in Assisi, Italy, on  October 3, 1226, at 44.  Today, Francis’ life and Christian faith remain evergreen in the memory of millions of people the world over. He was canonized as a saint just barely two years after his death, on July 16, 1228, by his former protector, Pope Gregory IX. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of ecologists—a title honouring his boundless love for animals and nature.  In 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergogli chose to honour St. Francis by taking his name, becoming Pope Francis.

Life History of St. Francis of Assisi in Brief

            He hailed from a wealthy family in Assisi (Italy). The first twenty (20) years of his life was luxurious, carefree, worldly and wasteful. There was war between Assisi and a neighouring town of Perugia, where Francis was captured and imprisoned for a year.  While in prison he had serious fever and other ailments for several months. Upon his return, he realized the emptiness of this life.

            Consequently, he abandoned his former extravagant and worldly life, and began to be charitable to the poor, the sick and particularly to lepers. At this time, he devoted his life to deep meditation, one of the fruits of which was his reflection that “He who serves the poor serves Christ himself”.

            At 27, he surrendered all his worldly possessions and lived like a hermit, and serving the poorest of the poor. He began to preach Penance, Brotherly Love and Peace within the neighbouring towns, especially those preparing for war. Very soon, prominent men and women, including top government officials and the rich began to give out their possessions to the poor and came to join St. Francis.

            When they had numbered twelve (12) corresponding to the twelve apostles, Francis went to Rome to obtain from Pope Innocent III a verbal approval and permission to preach Penance everywhere.  He was then ordained a Deacon. They were given a piece of land, where they built a hut, and from them went out in pairs to preach Penance and Love, especially in Western Europe. They did manual labour and other menial jobs as means of livelihood. They even begged for food, if jobs were not available.

            Within ten (10) years, their number grew from twelve (12) to five thousand (5, 000) members.  With this number, they held their first General Chapter at Assisi. He reconciled many families in Italy, France and Spain.  Many sinners were converted.  His message really brought peace, because there was disarmament—many towns preparing for war eventually vowed to drop their arms.

            Three years after the General Chapter, he received the stigmata, some supernatural wounds resembling those of Jesus Christ crucified.  He had to endure these painful wounds for two years before his death.  He died at the age of forty four (44), and canonized (made a saint) barely two years after his death—a highly extraordinary phenomenon.

            He is probably the world’s best known and most beloved saint.  His reflection: “Poverty is the way to heaven, the nursemaid of humility and the root of perfection”.

 

Conclusion

Every human being has two qualities – good and bad.  No one is entirely good, just as no one can be absolutely bad and strictly good-for-nothing.  Every human being has a “spark” of the divine in him; no matter how bad a person is, he is still an image of God. In the same way, no matter how good somebody is, there must be something “evil” in him, though the percentage may be negligible.

In this direction, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen asserts that:

…there live within each one of us two selves–the ego and the “I”…a man other men meet, and a man unknown to the other men.  The ego is what we think we are.  The “I” is what in fact we are.  The ego is the spoilt child in us–selfish, petulant, clamorous and spoiled–the creation of our mistakes in living.  The “I” is our personality made to the image and likeness of God.²¹

            It is precisely because of the existence of these two opposing spirits in every human being that attests to the fact that no human being can be perfectly holy, if you like, one hundred percent holy, from birth to death.  In any case, it must be noted that no matter what else has been said about St. Francis of Assisi, the fact must be acknowledged that his life is a challenge to the contemporary world of crass materialism. His virtue of poverty is particularly challenging or rather diametrically opposed to the worldly and financially extravagant life of our leaders, who are so insensitive to the plight of the common people, and infuriate them by parading wealth in the face of real abject poverty. Indeed, St. Francis of Assisi would not be comfortable in a situation where the poor, the sick, the less privileged and the “anawims” of the society are neglected, while the few privileged ones waste the very money or resources meant for the poor masses on “white elephant projects” that do not promote the common good. Indeed, he abhors the pleasure-lovers, the hedonistic and those who cannot make sincere sacrifice for their neighbour.

 

            St. Francis of Assisi is not happy with those who fight war, who refuse to promote peace, but keep malice with their neighbour and cause division and disunity here and there. He is angry with those who compromise Catholic doctrines, promote injustice and refuse to promote brotherly love, mercy and compassion. I pray God to endow the Christians of today with the aforesaid Franciscan virtues.

 

To be saintly is not the same as being sanctimonious. To be saintly means to be holy, and this can only be possible with God; being sanctimonious involves making a show of sanctity or pretending to be holy. The former is what God commands us to be (cf. Lev. 19:2; Matt 5:48), the latter is prohibited. Saintly people are not those who believe that it is impossible for them to commit sin; rather, the saints are those who always acknowledge that “to err is human,” and when they do go wrong, they are ready and willing to repent immediately. Unfortunately, however, majority of Christians manifest the so-called “holier than thou” attitude. This category of Christians believes that all other persons are sinners who must be avoided. Suppose they are right in their thinking, can their action be correct? Certainly not! Put differently, if these “holy Christians” are indeed holy and others are “sinners” as they naively believe, then, they must help the sinners to attain salvation. After all, Christ came for the sake of sinners, that they may attain salvation (Jn 3:16). He never avoided sinners, but he even ate with them, in order to convert them. Christ wills the salvation of the human race and the damnation of none (cf. John 3:16; Acts 28:28; 1 Tim 2:4, etc.).

 

This lecture is, therefore, aimed at first correcting the religious ignorance, naivety   and ghetto mentality of those who believe that a saint is necessarily someone who never committed sin in his lifetime. Secondly, this lecture on the life history of St. Francis of Assisi is meant to challenge contemporary Christians, especially in Nigeria, to embrace poverty, peace and brotherliness as means of attaining salvation. St. Francis himself, an erstwhile mundane son of a wealthy merchant, a sinner to the core, eventually embraced voluntary poverty as a way of life. This has made him the world’s most beloved Saint, and famous, too.  Consequently, before we delve into the life history of St. Francis, we shall clarify the term “saint”. We shall also enumerate and briefly explain the types of saints there are, as well as, some conditions necessary for sainthood or canonization.  The conclusion shall challenge present-day Christians to be detached from worldly possessions, inordinate ambitions, embrace forgiveness, truth, justice, peace, poverty and brotherly love as some of the conditions necessary for inheriting eternal life.

 

 

Who Is A Saint?

In ordinary terms, a saint is a holy person. In other words, when the word “saint” is loosely used, it refers to all people who do what God wants them to do, with the right intention, in the right place, and at the right time. Elizabeth Isichei has noted that, the word “saint” is context-bound or context-dependent. That is, it means different things in different contexts. According to her, the word “saint”

 

…can refer to those officially canonized, a process which in practice requires the support of a strong pressure group and ample financial resources…. The second meaning of the word refers to the whole community of the blessed but,   except in the case of the canonized, there is no way of knowing who these are. The word “saint” is used… in a third sense; what one might call “a saint by acclamation”; an individual who is regarded by those around him as outstandingly holy and close to God.

 

Besides the aforementioned, a saint must possess the following characteristic traits:

• A saint is one who makes goodness attractive (L. Housman).
• A saint is someone in whom Christ lives again; a saint is someone who makes it easier to believe in God; a saint is someone who lets the light shine through (Charles Steinmetz).
• Why are the saints saints? Because they were cheerful, when it was difficult to be cheerful; patient, when it was difficult to be patient; and because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still, and kept silent when they wanted to talk, and were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable. That was all (Charles Kellogg Field).

The following are among the qualities which Thomas S. Kepler says characterize a

saint:

1. His life is imbued with a deep love of Christian religion as a way of ‘feeling at

home’ in the universe.

2. He lives with a radiance because his spirit is rooted in God’s Spirit. A saint is

a person who has quit worrying about himself because his life is centred in God. With Jakob Bohme he says, ‘though my head and my hand be at labour, yet doth my heart dwell in God’.

3. He starts each day with these words: ‘May the image of Christ radiate through

me this day in each life situation.’

4. He asks that God use him as an instrument of his love to bear the burdens of

his fellow men. Like Francis of Assisi, the saint loves ‘not humanity, but men.’

5. He believes that before God’s kingdom can arrive in society, it must first

begin in hm.

6. He desires to use the results of prayer and devotion to better the world.

When Saint Thomas Aquinas (1220-72) was on his death-bed, his sister asked, ‘Thomas, what is the main thing to do to get sanctity?’ And the saint replied, ‘the main thing is to have a great desire to get it.’²

Types of Saints

Broadly speaking, saints are categorized into two: major and minor. This categorization is dependent on the kinds of works they did while they were alive, and the miracles performed at their intercessions after their death.

 

(a)        Major Saints

The major saints are those who are outstandingly and exceptionally holy throughout their lives. These are the saints who are usually recognized and canonized by the Church. Their names are written in the Church’s official list of saints called ‘Martyrology.’ People can pray through them by invoking their names.

 

 

(b)       Minor Saints

There are millions of other people in heaven who are also saints, but who did nothing except their ordinary Christian duties. They did these sincerely and without complaint. They are not recognized by the Church though, their names are written in the “Book of Life.” As a matter of fact, we do not know them, but they are known by God.

In this second category fall all those in heaven. Any person at all would be a saint, provided he is already in heaven. As Rev. 21:17 tells us, “Nothing defiled shall enter heaven.” If a person is able to enter heaven, it follows that he is already holy (that is, undefiled) and, therefore, he is a saint de facto.

The Holy Mother Church is urging us to become saints – at least to be numbered among the minor saints, who became saints because they performed their ordinary daily duties. You can become a saint, whether or not you are recognized by the Church. After all, it is God that actually makes a saint, the Church only “canonizes,” i.e., confirms God’s work. To be candid, the Church believes that what these lesser saints did, we too can do; where they succeeded, we, too, can succeed.

 

 

Conditions Necessary for Sainthood

Saints, irrespective of their rank, must possess the following conditions. In the first place, their lives must generally be accepted as holy by the people with whom they lived. People should see Christ in them.

 

A saint is not a person who has never committed sin in his life.  Rather, he is one who struggles continuously to overcome temptations.

 

A saint is one who is humble. It is this humility that motivates him to acknowledge his sinfulness and nothingness before God and he repents accordingly. In terms of humility, he is ready to take after Christ (see Phil 2:6-11).

 

He must obey the ten commandments of God (Ex 20:1-17) and the six commandments of the Church. If a person contravenes any of these commandments, then, he commits a grave sin. Strictly speaking, a saint is one who does not deliberately commit grave sin, but he may sometimes fall into venial sin. When this happens, he immediately confesses it and rises from it.

 

Generically, a saint is one who also obeys and practices sincerely the contents of the Beatitudes (matt 5:1-12). A saint is one who is able to persevere in difficulties and tribulations. He bears these patiently without complaining (cf. Phil 2:1-4ff).

 

He must embrace and practise the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love (charity); and also practise the four Cardinal Virtues of Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and Prudence. The above are among the general virtues which all saints must have possessed and manifested before they can bear that name.

 

The major saints are so called because of the extra-ordinary things they did. For instance, they must be peculiarly or exceptionally virtuous. What are these ingredients that characterize them as illustrious people, and which also differentiate them from all others? Let us briefly explain some of them.

 

In the first place, one becomes a saint by the way he lives, not by the   way he writes. In other words, one does not become a saint by writing a book, no matter how meritorious the book may be in the eyes of the Church. We are not saying that saints do not write books; we are saying that it is not because of such books that they become saints, but because they practise the contents of these books. In fact, the Christian rituals become empty, worthless and a mechanical repetition of formulas, unless we allow them to permeate and pervade all aspects of our lives. Put differently, Christianity is more a way of life than mere doctrine.

 

Secondly, one becomes a saint through God’s grace and mercy. Saints are, therefore, made by God, not by the Church. That is why there are many unknown saints. The Church only formally declares some of her children saints and offers their lives to the attention of the world, so that they may be admired and imitated. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires the Church to do this. And in doing this, she acts with great care, prudence and circumspection. Most thorough investigations are held into the life of a potential saint.

 

Furthermore, of all virtues, sanctity or holiness is the most compulsory for a would-be saint. Thus, if one should practise all the other virtues without holiness, the person is only wasting his time. It is sanctity that actually makes a saint. The idea of “unholy saint” is a misnomer. Put differently, there is no such phrase as “a sinful saint.” Maynard remarks in this direction, saying: “Whatever the road by which one comes to know God, sanctity can never be outmoded.”  In other words, sanctity or holiness can never expire; it will continue to be a very pertinent virtue to consider in making a saint.

 

Lastly, before the Church categorically makes a formal declaration that a particular person is a saint, there must be miracles performed in his name. It must be proved that after his death, miracles have been performed through his intercessions–four miracles to be precise–two before he is beatified and two more before he is canonized. In the case of Blessed Tansi, it remains only one miracle to be performed in his name before he is canonized. Sometimes, it takes 300-400 years before a person is canonized, although there are exceptional cases. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, for instance, was canonized only 28 years after her death. In the twenty-first century, Pope St. John Paul II was canonized less than a decade after his death. St. Francis’ case is extraordinary—he was canonized less than two years after his death.

 

 

Who Was St. Francis of Assisi?

Francis was born in the Year 1181 in Assisi, duchy of Spoleto, Italy. A duchy, also known as duke-dom, is an area of land that is owned and controlled by a duke or duchess. A duke is a nobleman of the highest rank.  In Europe, for instance, a duke is a male ruler of a small independent state. His father’s name was Pietro di Bernardone, a cloth merchant; His mother was Lady Pica Pietro Di Bernardone, who perhaps hailed from France.

 

At Francis’ birth, his father was away on a business trip to France, and his mother had him baptized Giovanni (John). On his return, however, Pietro changed the child’s name to Francesco because of either his interest in France or his wife’s background. Francis learned to read and write Latin at the school near the Church of San Giorgio. He also acquired some knowledge of French Language and literature, and was especially fond of the Provenƈal cultureof the troubadours. A troubadour is a writer and performer of songs or poetry.  Troubadours were very common between the 11^th and 13^th centuries. Francis liked speaking French, even though he was not so fluent or eloquent in it; in fact, he attempted to sing in French language.

 

Early Life of Luxury

            Though highly honoured and respected today, St. Francis started his life as a sinner.  His father was a wealthy cloth merchant, owner of several acres of farmland around Assisi. Given his luxurious family background, Francis was never in want during his youth. He was pampered, indulging himself with fine food, wine and extravagant celebrations. In fact, at the age of fourteen (14), he had left school and he was nicknamed a rebellious teenager who frequently drank to stupor, enjoyed parties and soirees, and broke the city curfew.  He was known for his charm and vanity. Thus, his youth was characterized by moral lapses, and his exuberant love of life and a general spirit of worldliness made him a recognized leader of the young men of the town.

            Within this period, Francis of Assisi learnt the skills of archery—the art of shooting arrows with a bow, wrestling and horsemanship.  In other words, he was skilled in riding horses. He was expected to take over the family textile business, but was already tired of the prospect of life in the cloth trade. Consequently, rather than planning a future as a merchant, he began daydreaming of a future as a knight. In those days, knights were Medieval action heroes, and Francis actually had the ambition of becoming a war hero like them.  It was not long when the opportunity for warfare beckoned on him.

War and Imprisonment

In 1202, war broke out between Assisi and Perugia, a neighbouring town,  and Francis took part in it. Indeed, he eagerly took his place with the calvary. He never knew that his experience of this war would change him forever. Francis and the men of Assisi came under serious attack; and in the face of superior numbers, they fled. The entire battlefield was covered with corpses, while badly wounded men were screaming in agonizing pains. At this war, many of the surviving Assisi troops were later put to death.

 

Unskilled and with no war experience as such, Francis was captured by enemy soldiers.  Because he was dressed like a rich aristocrat and wearing expensive new armour, the soldiers considered him worthy of a decent ransom, and they decided to spare his life.  Francis and the other wealthy troops were taken as prisoners, led off to a dank underground cell, so cold, dark and dirty that one could easily contract a serious disease.  Francis spent nearly a year in such miserable conditions, awaiting his father’s payment of the ransom. He eventually took seriously ill.  During this time also, he received several visions from God.

 

 

His Conversion After the War

After a year of negotiations, Francis’ ransom was accepted, and he was released from prison in 1203.  When he returned to Assisi, however, Francis was a very different man.     He was seriously ill in both mind and body—symptom of a battle-fatigued casualty of war.

 

A legend has it that, one day, while riding on a horse in the local countryside, Francis encountered a leper. If he had had this encounter before the war, Francis would have run from the leper. On this occasion, however, his attitude was different. Considering the leper as a symbol of moral conscience or rather as Jesus incognito, as some religious scholars would say, he embraced and kissed him; indeed, he later described this experience as a feeling of sweetness in his mouth. This was the beginning of a turning point in his life; for after this incident, Francis felt an inexplicable freedom, and his earlier lifestyle of luxury and material extravagance has lost its appeal.

 

Subsequently, Francis, now in his early 20s, started turning his focus toward God.  Thus, instead of working, he spent a great amount of his time in remote mountain hideouts and in old, quiet churches around Assisi, praying, looking for answers, and helping to nurse lepers.

 

Several other episodes contributed to his conversion to the apostolic life: a vision of Christ while Francis prayed in a grotto near Assisi; an experience of poverty during a pilgrimage to Rome where, in rags, he mingled with the beggars before St. Peter’s Basilica

 

and begged alms; an incident in which he not only gave alms to a leper (he had always felt a deep repugnance or hatred for lepers) but also kissed his hand. Among such episodes, the most important, according to his disciple and first biographer, Thomas of Celano, occurred at the ruined Chapel of San Damiano outside the gate of Assisi when Francis heard the crucifix above the altar command him: “Go, Francis, and repair my house which, as you see, is well-nigh in ruins.” Another reporter said that, while praying before an old Byzantine Crucifix at the Church of San Damiano, Francis heard the voice of Christ who told him to rebuild the Christian Church and to live a life of extreme poverty.

 

Taking this literally, Francis hurried home, gathered some fine cloth from his father’s shop, and rode off to the nearby town of Foligno, where he sold both cloth and horse. He then tried to give the money to the priest at San Damiano, whose refusal prompted Francis to throw the money out of the window. In anger, his father kept him at home and later brought him before the civil authorities. When Francis refused to answer the summons, his father brought him before the Bishop of Assisi. Before any accusations were made, Francis “without a word peeled off his garments even removing his breeches (short trousers fastened below the knee) and restored them to his father.” Completely naked, he said: “Until now I have called you my father on earth. But henceforth I can truly say: Our Father who art in heaven.” The astonished bishop gave him a cloak, and Francis went off to the woods of Mount Subasio above the city. Francis obeyed and devoted himself to Christianity. He began preaching around Assisi and was soon joined by twelve followers.

 

Some saw Francis as a madman or a fool, but others considered him as one of the greatest examples of how to live the Christian ideal, taking after Jesus Christ himself. Whether he was actually touched by God, some simply considered his situation as misinterpreted hallucinations brought about by mental illness or poor health.

 

Thus, Francis renounced worldly goods and family ties to embrace a life of poverty. He repaired the church of San Damiano, refurbished a chapel dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle, and then restored the now-famous little Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels (Santa Maria degli Angeli), the Porziuncola, on the plain below Assisi. There, on the feast of St. Matthias, February 24, 1208, he listened at Mass to the account of the mission of Christ to the Apostles from the Gospel According to Matthew (10:7, 9–11): “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 labourer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart.” According to Thomas of Celano, this was the decisive moment for Francis, who declared, “This is what I wish; this is what I am seeking. This is what I want to do from the bottom of my heart.” He then removed his shoes, discarded his staff, put on a rough tunic, and began to preach repentance.

 

 

Devotion to Christianity

            After his vision of Jesus at the Church of San Damiano, who told him to rebuild the Church, Francis experienced another great moment or turning point in his life.  In order to raise money to rebuild the Christian Church, he sold a bolt of cloth from his father’s shop, along with his horse. His father became angry when he learnt of his son’s actions and later dragged Francis before the local bishop.  The bishop told Francis to return his father’s money, to which his reaction was extraordinary: He stripped off his clothes, and along with them, returned the money back to his father, declaring that God was now the only father he recognized.  This event is credited as Francis’ final conversion, and there is no indication that Francis and his father ever spoke again thereafter.

            The bishop gave Francis a rough tunic, and dressed in these new humble clothes, Francis left Assisi.  Unluckily for him, the first people he met on the road were a group of dangerous thieves, who beat him badly.  Despite his wounds, Francis was happy.  From now on, he would live according to the Gospel.

Francis’ embrace of Christ-like poverty was a radical notion at the time.  The Christian Church was greatly rich, just like the Christian religious leaders.  This was precisely what concerned Francis and many others, who felt that the long-held apostolic ideals had eroded.  Francis set out on a mission to restore Jesus Christ’s own original values to the now-decadent Church.  With his great charisma, he attracted thousands of followers.  They listened to his sermons and embraced his way of life; his followers became known as Franciscan friars.     Constantly desiring daily to be more perfect spiritually, Francis soon started preaching in at least five villages every day, teaching a new kind of emotional and personal Christian religion that everyday people could understand.  In fact, he went to the extent of preaching to animals, thereby making some people to negatively criticize him and to even nickname him “God’s fool.” In any case, Francis’ message of Christ quickly spread far and wide, and thousands of people were converted.¹⁷

The Franciscan rule

Francis preached to townspeople—even though as a layperson he was without license to do so. In 1209, he composed for his mendicant disciples, or friars, a simple rule (Regula primitiva, “Primitive Rule”) drawn from passages in the Bible: “To follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps.” He then led the group of 12 disciples to Rome to seek the approval of Pope Innocent III, an important step that demonstrated Francis’s recognition of papal authority and saved his order from the fate of the Waldensians, who had been declared heretics in the late 12th century. At first Innocent was hesitant, but, following a dream in which he saw Francis holding up the church of San Giovanni in Laterano, he gave oral approval to the Franciscan rule of life. This event, which according to tradition, occurred on April 16, 1210, marked the official founding of the Franciscan order. The Friars Minor, or Lesser Brothers, as they came to be known, were street preachers with no possessions and only the Porziuncola (hut) as a centre. They preached and worked first in Umbria and then, as their numbers grew rapidly, in the rest of Italy.

 

Probably no one in history has set out as seriously as did Francis to imitate the life of Christ and to carry out so literally Christ’s work in Christ’s own way. This is the key to the character and spirit of St. Francis and helps explain his veneration for the Eucharist (the body and blood of Christ) and respect for the priests who handled the elements of the communion sacrament. To neglect this point is to present an unbalanced portrait of the saint as a lover of nature, a social worker, an itinerant preacher, and a celebrant of poverty. Certainly, the love of poverty is part of his spirit, and his contemporaries celebrated poverty either as his “lady,” in the allegorical Sacrum commercium (Eng. trans., Francis and His Lady Poverty, 1964), or as his “bride,” in the fresco by Giotto in the lower Church of San Francesco at Assisi. Indeed, poverty was so important to Francis that in his last writing, the Testament, composed shortly before his death in 1226, he declared unambiguously that absolute personal and corporate poverty was the essential lifestyle for the members of his Order. It was not, however, mere external poverty he sought but the total denial of self (as in the Letter of Paul to the Philippians 2:7).

 

In 1212, Francis organized a Second Order, one for women, that became known as the Poor Clares

He gave a religious habit, or dress, similar to his own to the noblewoman later known as St. Clare (Clara) of Assisi and then lodged her and a few companions in the Church of San Damiano, where they were joined by women of Assisi. For those who could not leave their families and homes, he eventually (c. 1221) formed the Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance, a lay fraternity that, without withdrawing from the world or taking religious vows, would carry out the principles of Franciscan life. As the friars became more numerous, the Order extended outside Italy.

 

Determined to bring the Gospel to all God’s creatures, Francis, on several occasions, sought to take his message out of Italy. In the late Spring of 1212, he set out for the Holy Land to preach to the Muslims but was shipwrecked on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea and had to return. A year or two later, sickness forced him to abandon a journey to the Muslims in Spain. In 1217, he proposed to go to France, but the future Pope Gregory IX, Cardinal Ugolino of Segni, an early and important supporter of the Order, advised Francis that he was needed more in Italy. In 1219, went to Egypt, where the crusaders were besieging Damietta. He went into the Muslim camp and preached to the Sultan al-Kāmil, who was impressed by him and gave him permission (it is said) to visit the sacred places in the Holy Land.

 

News of disturbances among the friars in Italy forced Francis to return. Although the Order of the Friars Minor had grown at a faster rate than any previous Religious Order, it had not experienced similar organizational growth and had little more than Francis’ example and his brief rule of life to guide its increasing numbers. To correct this situation, Francis prepared a new and more detailed rule (Regula prima, “First Rule,” or Regula non bullata, “Rule Without a Bull”), which reasserted devotion to poverty and the apostolic life and introduced greater institutional structure but was never officially sanctioned by the pope. He also appointed Peter Catanii as his vicar to handle the order’s practical affairs; after Peter’s early death in 1221, Francis replaced him with Brother Elias of Cortona. Two years later, Francis submitted a further revision of the rule—known as the Regula secunda (“Second Rule”), or Regula bullata (“Rule with a Bull”)—to Pope Honorius III, who approved it in the bull Solet annuere (“Accustomed to Grant”) on November 29, 1223. As the official rule of the order, Regula bullata enjoined the friars “to observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience without anything of our own and in chastity.” It also outlined regulations for discipline, preaching, and entry into the Order. After his rule received papal sanction, Francis withdrew increasingly from external affairs.

 

Francis’ Vision and the Stigmata of the Crucified Christ

At Christmastime in 1223, Francis participated in an important ceremony when he celebrated the birth of Jesus by recreating the manger of Bethlehem at a Church in Greccio, Italy. This celebration demonstrated his devotion to the human Jesus, a devotion that would be rewarded in most dramatic fashion in the following year. In the Summer of 1224, Francis went to the mountain retreat of La Verna (Alvernia), not far from Assisi, to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) and to prepare for St. Michael’s Day (September 29) by fasting for 40 days. He prayed that he might know how best to please God; opening the Gospels for the answer, he came upon references to the Passion of Christ three times. As he prayed during the morning of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14), he beheld a figure coming toward him from the heavens. St. Bonaventure, minister-general of the Franciscans from 1257 to 1274 and a leading thinker of the 13th century, wrote:

 

As it stood above him, he saw that it was a man and yet a Seraph with six wings; his arms were extended and his feet conjoined, and his body was fixed to a cross. Two wings were raised above his head, two were extended as in flight, and two covered the whole body. The face was beautiful beyond all earthly beauty, and it smiled gently upon Francis. Conflicting emotions filled his heart, for though the vision brought great joy, the sight of the suffering and crucified figure stirred him to deepest sorrow. Pondering what this vision might mean, he finally understood that by God’s providence he would be made like (similar) to the crucified Christ not by a bodily martyrdom but by conformity in mind and heart. Then as the vision disappeared, it left not only a greater ardour of love in the inner man but no less marvelously marked him outwardly with the stigmata of the Crucified.

 

Stigmata could be described as marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Jesus Christ; marks resembling the wounds Jesus Christ suffered when he was crucified, through his hands and the gaping lance wound in his side.  This made Francis the first person to receive the holy wounds of the stigmata.  For the remainder of his life, Francis took the greatest care to hide the stigmata. After the death of Francis, Brother Elias announced the stigmata to the Order by a circular letter. Later, Brother Leo, the Confessor and intimate companion of the saint who also left a written testimony of the event, said that in death Francis seemed like one just taken down from the cross.

 

Francis lived two years longer, in constant pain and almost totally blind (he had contracted an eye disease while proselytizing or trying to win converts in the East in 1219). Medical treatment at Rieti failed, and after a stay at Siena, he was brought back to Assisi, where he died at the Porziuncola. He was buried temporarily in the Church of San Giorgio at Assisi. On July 15, 1228, concluding a process of unprecedented speed, Francis was canonized by his former protector, Pope Gregory IX. On the following day, the pope laid the foundation stone for the basilica that Brother Elias would build in Francis’ memory, and in 1230 the saint’s body was transferred to the lower church of the basilica.

 

St. Francis: Patron Saint of Animals/Environment; hence Patron Saint of Ecologists

            St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals and the environment because of his great love for animals and natural environment. Thus, today, he is also the patron saint for ecologists—a title honouring his boundless love for animals and nature.

Francis considered all nature as the mirror of God and as so many steps to God. He called all creatures his “brothers” and “sisters,” and, in the most endearing stories about him, preached to the birds and persuaded a wolf to stop attacking the people of the town of Gubbio and their livestock if the townspeople agreed to feed the wolf. In his “Canticle of the Creatures” (less properly called by such names as the “Praises of Creatures” or the “Canticle of the Sun”), he referred to “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon,” the wind and water, and even “Sister Death.” He nicknamed his long and painful illnesses his “sisters,” and he begged pardon of “Brother Ass the body” for having unduly burdened him with his penances. Above all, his deep sense of brotherhood under God embraced his fellow men, for “he considered himself no friend of Christ if he did not cherish those for whom Christ died.”

 

Twelve Fascinating Facts You Need to Know About St. Francis of Assisi

            October 4^th is the feast day of the great St. Francis.  St. Francis of Assisi is one of the Church’s best known and most beloved saints.  The current Pontiff, Pope Francis took the name “Francis” after him.  How much do most people know about his life? There are twelve (12) fascinating facts that many perhaps did not know about the life of this holy man.  These are:

(1)        He was one of seven kids.  In other words, his parents gave birth to seven, and he was     one of             them.

(2)        He was named after the people of France. His father was a merchant who fell in love    with French Culture. “Francesco” means “Frenchman”.

(3)        He was a POW for a year. In other words, he was a Prisoner of War (POW). About the age of 19, before his conversion, he joined the military and fought in a war against a nearby City, Perugia.  He was taken prisoner and held for a year, but was eventually        released unharmed.

(4)        He was inspired by Matthew 10:9.  In Matthew 10:9, Jesus tells his disciples, “Do not    get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts,” when they travel around            to preach the Gospel.  He felt inspired to do the same, and started travelling around,    preaching repentance in poverty.

(5)        Within a year, he had already gained 11 Followers: That meant there were 12 of them,             himself inclusive—just like the 12 Apostles.

(6)        Pope Innocent III decided to support the Franciscans after a supernatural Dream:    Pope Innocent III was initially careful, almost reluctant, about supporting Francis and his          new group of             followers.  Then he had a dream in which he saw Francis holding up the     Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.  The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran is the Cathedral        Church of the Diocese of Rome, the Pope’s Cathedral, and thus possibly representative   of the Church in general, but especially the Papacy. He interpreted the dream as          indicating that Francis and his group would help support the Church, and so gave official             recognition to the group as a genuine Order in the Church.

(7)        He attended the Fourth Lateran Council—and Met St. Dominic there. The Fourth      Lateran Council was the 12^th Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and affirmed      Transubstantiation and Papal Primacy, among other things.  St. Dominic, Founder of the    Order of Preachers or Dominicans, was also present.

(8)        He Travelled to a Muslim Sultan, preached the Gospel, and challenged them to a      trial-by-fire in order to prove the truth of Christianity. During the Fifth Crusade,      Francis and a companion travelled into Muslim territory to visit the Sultan al-Kamil. He           preached before the Sultan.  To demonstrate his great faith in the Christian religion, he           challenged those present to a “trial-by-fire” in which he and a Muslim would step into a       fire, with the idea that the follower of the true religion would be spared by God.  Francis            offered to go first, but the Sultan turned down the challenge. Nonetheless, the Sultan was so impressed by his faith that he gave Francis permission to preach in his land.

(9)        The body of a dead Franciscan performed too many miracles, causing problems        with crowds, so Francis prayed the miracles would stop—and they did. In 1220,     Francis handed over governance of the greater Order to the Franciscan Peter Catani.       However, Peter died just five months later.  Visitors to his grave reported many miracles,            which led to great crowds visiting his grave.  The great crowds were causing problems in       that area, so Francis prayed asking Peter to stop the miracles—the miracles stopped.

(10)      He received the stigmata during a 40-day fast in preparation for Michaelmas.            Stigmata is a condition in which the wounds of Christ supernaturally appear on a person’s          body.  A Franciscan who was with him later recounted, “Suddenly he saw a vision of a          seraph, a six-winged angel on a cross.  This angel gave him the gift of the five wounds of            Christ.” This happened while he was in the midst of a 40-day fast in preparation for       Michaelmas, or the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel (September 29^th).

(11)      The foundation stone for the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was laid by the pope on             the day after he was canonized—less than two years after his death. Francis died on         October 3, 1226.  He was declared a saint by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228, and the             next day the Pope personally laid the foundation stone for the new Basilica of St. Francis        of Assisi.

(12)      His tomb was lost for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1818. His body was           moved to his basilica in 1230, but was soon hidden by the Franciscans to protect it from             Saracen invaders.  The location of the body was forgotten, and it was not rediscovered       until nearly six centuries (about six hundred years) later in 1818.²⁰

  His Death and Legacy: Lessons for All Christians

            When the time of Francis’ death drew near, many predicted that he was a saint in the making.  When his health condition quickly deteriorated, Francis went home. Knights were sent to guard him and to ensure that no one from the towns within the neighbourhood would carry him off, because the body of a saint at that time was viewed as an extremely valuable relics that would certainly bring glory to the town where it rested, besides other blessings.

            Francis of Assisi died in Assisi, Italy, on  October 3, 1226, at 44.  Today, Francis’ life and Christian faith remain evergreen in the memory of millions of people the world over. He was canonized as a saint just barely two years after his death, on July 16, 1228, by his former protector, Pope Gregory IX. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of ecologists—a title honouring his boundless love for animals and nature.  In 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergogli chose to honour St. Francis by taking his name, becoming Pope Francis.

Life History of St. Francis of Assisi in Brief

            He hailed from a wealthy family in Assisi (Italy). The first twenty (20) years of his life was luxurious, carefree, worldly and wasteful. There was war between Assisi and a neighouring town of Perugia, where Francis was captured and imprisoned for a year.  While in prison he had serious fever and other ailments for several months. Upon his return, he realized the emptiness of this life.

            Consequently, he abandoned his former extravagant and worldly life, and began to be charitable to the poor, the sick and particularly to lepers. At this time, he devoted his life to deep meditation, one of the fruits of which was his reflection that “He who serves the poor serves Christ himself”.

            At 27, he surrendered all his worldly possessions and lived like a hermit, and serving the poorest of the poor. He began to preach Penance, Brotherly Love and Peace within the neighbouring towns, especially those preparing for war. Very soon, prominent men and women, including top government officials and the rich began to give out their possessions to the poor and came to join St. Francis.

            When they had numbered twelve (12) corresponding to the twelve apostles, Francis went to Rome to obtain from Pope Innocent III a verbal approval and permission to preach Penance everywhere.  He was then ordained a Deacon. They were given a piece of land, where they built a hut, and from them went out in pairs to preach Penance and Love, especially in Western Europe. They did manual labour and other menial jobs as means of livelihood. They even begged for food, if jobs were not available.

            Within ten (10) years, their number grew from twelve (12) to five thousand (5, 000) members.  With this number, they held their first General Chapter at Assisi. He reconciled many families in Italy, France and Spain.  Many sinners were converted.  His message really brought peace, because there was disarmament—many towns preparing for war eventually vowed to drop their arms.

            Three years after the General Chapter, he received the stigmata, some supernatural wounds resembling those of Jesus Christ crucified.  He had to endure these painful wounds for two years before his death.  He died at the age of forty four (44), and canonized (made a saint) barely two years after his death—a highly extraordinary phenomenon.

            He is probably the world’s best known and most beloved saint.  His reflection: “Poverty is the way to heaven, the nursemaid of humility and the root of perfection”.

Conclusion

Every human being has two qualities – good and bad.  No one is entirely good, just as no one can be absolutely bad and strictly good-for-nothing.  Every human being has a “spark” of the divine in him; no matter how bad a person is, he is still an image of God. In the same way, no matter how good somebody is, there must be something “evil” in him, though the percentage may be negligible.

 

In this direction, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen asserts that:

…there live within each one of us two selves–the ego and the “I”…a man other men meet, and a man unknown to the other men.  The ego is what we think we are.  The “I” is what in fact we are.  The ego is the spoilt child in us–selfish, petulant, clamorous and spoiled–the creation of our mistakes in living.  The “I” is our personality made to the image and likeness of God.²¹

            It is precisely because of the existence of these two opposing spirits in every human being that attests to the fact that no human being can be perfectly holy, if you like, one hundred percent holy, from birth to death.  In any case, it must be noted that no matter what else has been said about St. Francis of Assisi, the fact must be acknowledged that his life is a challenge to the contemporary world of crass materialism. His virtue of poverty is particularly challenging or rather diametrically opposed to the worldly and financially extravagant life of our leaders, who are so insensitive to the plight of the common people, and infuriate them by parading wealth in the face of real abject poverty. Indeed, St. Francis of Assisi would not be comfortable in a situation where the poor, the sick, the less privileged and the “anawims” of the society are neglected, while the few privileged ones waste the very money or resources meant for the poor masses on “white elephant projects” that do not promote the common good. Indeed, he abhors the pleasure-lovers, the hedonistic and those who cannot make sincere sacrifice for their neighbour.

            St. Francis of Assisi is not happy with those who fight war, who refuse to promote peace, but keep malice with their neighbour and cause division and disunity here and there. He is angry with those who compromise Catholic doctrines, promote injustice and refuse to promote brotherly love, mercy and compassion. I pray God to endow the Christians of today with the aforesaid Franciscan virtues.

 

By Rev. Fr. Mark Ajiga