Francis of Assisi: Five Books Deliver Diverse Points-of-View About This Saint (Review)
Will the Real Francis of Assisi Make Himself Known?
Who is this 13th-century man who became one of the world's most beloved saints?
Eight centuries ago, Francis, the son of a prosperous Assisi merchant, decided to follow Christ by living His Gospel. The five books reviewed in this article each tell in its way of the life journey of this complex man.
The books allow us into the life of Francis of Assisi:
To understand the times in the mountain town and valleys where his family lived and,
How he burned with a charisma that drew others to live a Gospel life with him.
Francis' life was short, and he died about 45-years-of-age. Before death, he managed to:
Become a firebrand for Christ with his extreme charitable actions,
Found the Franciscan order and support Clare of Assisi in establishing a women's order,
Be blessed with the stigmata representing the five wounds of Christ, and
Begin in the hilltown of Greccio the tradition of the Christmas creche.
St. Francis Preaching to the Birds
1 - Here is the kind and loving Francis that is most well-known in the 21st century. We've adopted him as kind of a heavenly teddy-bear.
Francis of Assisi 'Preaching to the Birds' is probably one of the best known representations of a segment of this great man's life. The fresco is attributed to Giotto di Bondone of the Florentine Renaissance school and the fresco (number 15 in 'Scenes from Francis' Life) may be seen in the upper Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi begun in 1297 and completed in 1299. Many avant-garde scholars attribute St. Francis being named as patron saint of animal and environmental conservationists by Pope John Paul II is due to the popularity of rendition. Francis' feast day, October 4th, is also now designated World Animal Day. We see a gentle man, already with a halo, with a companion in woodlands and pasture conversing with beloved birds.
Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Francis by Valerie Martin
Stigmatization of St. Francis
2 - The the eccentric and idiosyncratic Francis of Assisi
On the opposite side of Francis' life spectrum depicted by Giotto in number 19 of the 'Scenes from Francis' Life' also in the Basilica is the ecstasy of Francis receiving the stigmata (marks resembling the wounds of the crucified body of Christ) from Christ painted as a seraph.
Francis did many wonderful and some slightly eccentric things In the 45 years that he lived. Many of us would rather forget the eccentric and idiosyncratic portions of his life and gather him to ourselves as a lovable holy man, kind of like a plump teddy bear.
The five books that I present here try to show the whole individual - the parts that exasperated his parents, bishops, neighbors, as well as some of his companions, and the parts that quickly drew others to him like his first followers (ca. 1209) Brothers Bernard of Quintavalle, Peter Catanii, Giles, Philip and Moricus. I like to think of St. Francis of Assisi as a charismatic curmudgeon who loved and followed Christ.
The First Life of St. Frances of Assisi
Icon of St. Francis the Holy and Complex Man
The Little Flowers of St. Francis
St. Francis of Assisi
The Teachings of St. Francis of Assisi
. Are the teachings and examples of St. Francis of Assisi still pertinent in our modern age?
Francis: A Revolutionary Life
