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Saint Francis of Assisi (September 26, 1181
– October 3, 1226) was a friar and the
founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more
commonly known as the Franciscans. He is
known as the patron saint of animals, birds,
and the environment, and it is customary for
Catholic churches to hold ceremonies
honoring animals around his feast day of
October 4.
Francis, a son of a wealthy cloth
merchant in the town of Assisi, was one of
several children. He was baptized Giovanni,
which his father, Pietro Bernardone later
changed to Francis. In his youth Francis
indulged in revelry and fights, which later
caused him to be imprisoned for about a
year.
While in prison Francis fell ill and
during this illness, |
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he become contemplative. When he recovered, he
wanted to pursue a military career. However,
another illness, and another dream made him
return to Assisi. At Assisi Francis begun
leaning towards spirituality and prayer giving
up revelry and his wasteful ways. He became
pained by the plight of the poor and the sick.
He went on a pilgrimage to Rome and he wore
tattered clothes and stood fasting with beggars
at the door of the Basilica.
After his return to Assisi Francis heard a
voice calling him to “… go and repair my house…”
He promptly went to his father’s shop and loaded
a horse with drapery, which he later sold to
raise money for the restoration of St. Damian's,
a ruined chapel outside the town. The priest of
St. Damian’s, however, refused to accept the
money. |
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What Francis did angered his father greatly
that he disowned Francis and forced him to
give up his inheritance. Francis did and he
took the bow of poverty, throwing himself on
to works of charity and of nursing the
lepers.
The gospel of Luke (9:1-3) during Mass one
morning spoke directly to Francis. The
Gospel told of how the Disciples of Christ
were to possess “neither gold nor silver,
nor scrip for their journey, nor two coats,
nor shoes, nor a staff” and that they were
to preach repentance and announce the
Kingdom of God. After the Mass he gave up
what little he had left and, dressed in what
was worn by the poorest peasants, Francis
went out to preach penance, brotherly love,
and peace.
Slowly Francis began drawing followers who
left all their things behind to share his
bow of poverty, and set example by their
words and actions. |
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Francis then found it necessary to draw up a
written rules for his companions, who called
themselves the Penitents of Assisi. These first
rules were a collection of texts from the
Gospels. Then they went to Rome to submit the
rules for approval by the Holy See. Despite the
protest of other religious who saw the life of
Francis as unsafe and impractical, the rules
were sanctioned by Pope Innocent III, who saw in
his dream a “Poor Man of Assisi upholding the
tottering Lateran.”
Before they left Rome, the Penitents of Assisi,
or Friars Minor, received the ecclesiastical
tonsure. Francis was ordained deacon later on. |
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Later the Benedictines
of Monte Subasio gave the Friars Minor the
chapel of St. Mary of the Angels or the
Porziuncola near Assisi, as their home. Here
the first Franciscan convent was formed, and
subsequently, the Franciscan Order (Caput et
Mater Ordinis).
The Friars Minor went
to spread the Gospel to everyone, sleeping
in haylofts, grottos and church porches, and
worked with peasants and begged for food.
Nevertheless, Francis gained converts, among
them Clare and her sister Agnes, daughters
of a wealthy family in Assisi, who embraced
the bows of poverty and prayer of the
Minorite life.
St. Damian's later
became the first monastery of the Second
Franciscan Order of Poor Ladies, now known
as Poor Clares, which was started, with
Clare, and sister Agnes and the other pious
women who had |
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joined her, by Francis.
On Christmas of 1223, Francis conceived the
idea of celebrating the Nativity by reproducing
in a church at Greccio the nativity scene,
starting the popular Christmas devotion.
Early in August, 1224,
Francis went to meditate and fast with three
companions in preparation for Michaelmas. During
this retreat, Francis had a vision of the
seraph, and then there appeared on his body the
stigmata, visible marks of the five wounds of
Jesus, from which Francis suffered increasing
pain.
Suffering and almost
totally blind, Francis visits Clare at St.
Damian’s and composed the “Canticle of the Sun.”
Francis died on October 3, 1226, at the age
of 44. |
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The
Prayer of Saint Francis |
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O Lord, make me an
instrument of Thy Peace!
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light, and
Where there is sorrow, joy.
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not
so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand; to be loved
as to love; for it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal
Life. |
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The
Divine Praises" |
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You are holy, Lord, the only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom.
You are humility. You are endurance.
You are rest. You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage. You are our haven and our
hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful
Lord,
God Almighty, Merciful Saviour. |
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The
Canticle of Brother Sun |
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Most High, all powerful, good Lord, Yours are
the praises, the glory, the honor, and all
blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no
man is worthy to mention Your name.
Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun, who
brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his
splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the
likeness.
Praise be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and
the stars, in heaven you formed them clear and
precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and
every kind of weather through which You give
sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and
chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you light the night and he is
beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother
Earth, who sustains us and governs us and who
produces varied fruits with colored flowers and
herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give
pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and
tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace for by
You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister
Bodily Death, from whom no living man can
escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your
most holy will, for the second death shall do
them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord, and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.
AMEN |
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availability of
atypical art works. Entries are
generally based on the 1926-38 edition
of Butler's Lives of the Saints, with
the length of each entry varying from
one-half page to several pages. Short
entries giving written insight into the
lives of pious individuals are combined
with depictions rendered by artists such
as Raphael and El Greco. An inexpensive
tribute to art and faith more
appropriate for gift-giving than for
libraries. |
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