Dear Folk,
On October 4, 1226 (I have also read October 3rd) the patron saint of animals, hippies, the city of San Francisco, and maybe even the environment (well, Al Gore hadn't invented the term yet) died and presumably went to Heaven. I am talking about the guy who threw away everything to get closer to God, St. Francis of Assisi.
You probably already know that his name wasn't Francis, it was Giovanni Francesco Bernardone. That's okay, John Wayne's real name was Francis Marion. It all evens out. The Catholic Church now says he was called Francis for his love of France. Could be. It was not because, as earlier rumored, that he spoke French well.
He was born in Assisi in Umbria in 1182 to a wealthy cloth merchant, Pietro Bernardone, and the daughter of a Provence noble, Pica. Daddy tried to make him serious and straight by making him a partner in his business. It did not work (does it ever?) for Giovanni loved to spend money, drink, gamble and carouse. He was so free with his cash, his friends nicknamed him "Leaky Palms." This was proven ironic later on.
At the age of twenty-five Francis was taken with a sudden violent illness. When he recovered he vowed to become religious and never to refuse alms to any poor person. He had a dream in which God called him to his service, and he returned to Assisi and began to care for the sick. In 1206, he had a vision in which Christ called him to repair His Church. Francis interpreted this as a command to repair the church of San Damiano, near Assisi. He resolved to become a hermit, and devoted himself to repairing the church.
He exchanged his rich brocades with a filthy beggar (probably politically incorrect term; how about "natural living indigent street person"?) and went around looking for lepers to hug. Lepers are now known as Hansen's Disease Survivors and probably would like to be asked before being hugged, especially by a stranger. Now instead of throwing away money on riotous living, Francis was throwing it away on being holy. It was enough to drive his father to drink.
Fact is, Francis got into mortification of the flesh. I am not scoffing at that, there are those who do quite well in "being austere." Francis did everything to the maximum. His father thought Francis was completely off the deep end -- well, he was – and so he tried to "deprogram" the lad. Mr. Bernadone beat Francis pretty darned hard, put him in shackles and locked him up in a closet. I know some of you are saying "Me next, me next!" Just quit that and right now!
Francis' mother Pica let Francis out of the closet – will you stop that! -- when dad was out of town on a business trip. Francis went back to giving away stuff and hugging lepers. When dad came home Mr. Bernadone threw up his hands and offered to disinherit his only son. Francis grinned through unbrushed teeth and said that it was fine with him. He had no father now except Jesus and no mother except Holy Mother Poverty. "I am the herald of the great King", he declared in answer to some robbers, who thereupon despoiled him of all he had, which wasn't much, and threw him scornfully in a snow drift.
People around him were strangely affected by this Christian dervish. They followed his example and threw away their possessions and entered into the arms of Holy Mother Poverty with him. Eventually he was to found an order of monks known as the "Friars Minor" which later became known as the Franciscans. They wore long, grey robes and no shoes. Their leader slept on the ground using a stone for a pillow. He never ate cooked food and sprinkled everything he ate with ashes. My point about hippies. For the younger readers, trust me on this.
Francis also had a reversal about his love of women. He refused to look at women; although, he later made an exception for St. Clare whom we have already talked. He is quoted as saying "To converse with women, and not be hurt by it, is as difficult as to take fire into one's bosom and not be burned." Did we have an issue here, Frank?
These new friars returned to Assisi after getting Pope Innocent II's blessing and settled in huts at Rivoreto near the Porziuncula. They went "on the road" throughout central Italy and beyond, preaching for people to turn from the world to Christ. In his life and preaching, Francis emphasized simplicity and poverty, relying on God's providence rather than worldly goods. The brothers worked or begged for what they needed to live, and any surplus was given to the poor.
Francis' dad had wanted his son to become a knight or at least a troubadour. Somehow he got his wish in a strange fashion. Francis turned his skills as a troubadour to the writing of prayers and hymns. He wrote a Canticle for the Animals. Knightly devotion? Francis was full of that but gave up gunching folks with weapons. Yes, he had training in that, too, and fought in several battles before his conversion.
In 1219 Francis joined the crusaders and preached to the Sultan of Egypt. The Sultan was not very impressed: Francis smelled bad. Still the Sultan did let some of the Christian prisoners go to make this wild man happy.
He eventually gave up leadership of the Order and went to the mountains to live in secluded prayer. The crowning glory of Francis' life came then in a vision where he saw Jesus on the cross. When he came to his senses there was a red wound on his side as though he had been pierced with a lance, nail holes on his feet and nail holes in his hands. See what I meant about ironic? He had stigmata. The wound on his side was there the rest of his life and periodically oozed blood.
It was during Christmastide of 1223 that Francis conceived the idea of celebrating the Nativity "in a new manner", by reproducing in a church at Greccio the praesepio of Bethlehem, and he has thus come to be regarded as having inaugurated the population devotion of the manger scene. Christmas appears indeed to have been the favorite feast of Francis, and he wished to persuade the emperor to make a special law that men should then provide well for the birds and the beasts, as well as for the poor, so that all might have occasion to rejoice in the Lord. See the connection to animals now?
He returned to visit the Franciscans, and Clara and her sisters, and a few of his followers remained with him. He died at the Porziuncula on October 3 or 4th, 1226. His saint's day is October 4th.
Francis called for simplicity of life, poverty, and humility before God. He worked to care for the poor. Thousands were drawn to his sincerity, piety, and joy. In all his actions, Francis sought to follow fully and literally the way of life demonstrated by Christ in the Gospels. His followers, unlike the Cathari and Savonarola, were welcomed as no great threat to the Church.
What have we learned? The Holy Mother Church will not whack you if you do not call them Satan and tell them all to get rid of their finery? Sometimes fathers get their wish for their children in strange ways? If you love the Baby Jesus in the manger, you have Francis to thank? How about, we can all live on less than we think? Maybe that is my present lesson to myself.
If you are out there hugging lepers, disgusting a Sultan, throwing heralds into snow banks or just mortifying your flesh in San Francisco and want to forward this good news to someone else, pray do. Remember to keep my name and sig. attached so they know whom to blame.
Continually taking fire into my bosom,
J. Ellsworth Weaver
SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats