Our Spiritual Roots : The Story of Francis of Assisi

Francis was born in Assisi in 1182, the son of a rich cloth merchant Pietro Bernadone and his wife, Lady Pica whom he possibly met on one of his many business trips to France. The child was baptised John, but his father named him Francesco, ' the little Frenchman' and it is by this name 'Francis' that he has become known and loved throughout the centuries. He died in 1226 at the age of 44. Francis was very outgoing and full of fun. It seemed that in his teens, he loved fine clothes, singing, feasting and revelry of all kinds. He was a generous and charming person and the natural leader of his friends. At that time, social change brought about wars between the nobility who were the landlords of the feudal system and the poor people of the communes in Assisi. Francis joined the side of the communes. The nobles fled to Perugia which in turn waged war on Assisi. Francis was taken prisoner and held for nearly a year. When he returned home, he became seriously ill. As a young man, he had been ambitious and desired more than anything to receive a knighthood. He was devastated as he saw his hopes of gaining a knighthood for bravery in war slip further away from him. At about the age of 22, he decided to join the Crusades in the hope of still realising this ambition. However, no sooner did he set off than he returned without going to war at all. Why? Well, while on his way to the Crusades, at Spoleto, Francis had a dream. He heard a voice say to him: "Francis is it better to serve the Lord or the servant?" He answered, "Sir, the Lord, of course." Francis realised that he was following his own desires and not the Lord's. Francis began to face his own limitations, and being a realist, he accepted them. It was the beginning of a slow unfolding process, but Francis began to realise that God was leading him to greatness, but in a very different way from his illusory knighthood. So Francis returned home knowing full well the misunderstanding and mockery this would cause him. Indeed his own father found it hard to comprehend the change in his outgoing, fun-loving and ambitious son. FRANCIS' ENCOUNTER WITH THE LEPER Francis had always had a fear of lepers - even the very thought of seeing them petrified him. One day, however, while travelling, Francis came very close to a leper, and, instead of bolting off in another direction, by a deep impulse of the grace of God, he not only handed the man money, but he took his rotting hand and kissed it. At this he experienced a deep inner joy and peace. He had overcome himself and from then on he left his worldly ways behind him and gave himself over to the Lord. He continued his care of the lepers and devoted himself to prayer and good works. Initially, everyone was convinced that Francis had gone mad. Even his friends were confused by his quiet and pensive ways - so different from the Francis they had known. They would mockingly ask him if he was in love. "Yes," he would reply, "I am going to marry a most beautiful and gentle lady called 'Lady Poverty.'" All during his life, he did give up all material goods and all worldly ambition to be one with the poor. FRANCIS, REBUILD MY CHURCH Francis continued to be very reflective as he sought to find his way in life. Soon after his conversion, while he was praying in the little dilapidated church of San Damiano, he heard a voice from the crucifix say to him, "Francis, go now and repair my church, which as you see is falling in ruin." Now in his happiness that God had given him something to do he went off to find money for the work. Taking a couple of bales of cloth from his father's shop, he headed for the market and sold it as well as his horse and brought the proceeds to the church. When the priest refused to take it, he threw the money on a window sill. Pietro Bernadone was so furious when he found out what his son had done that he would have nothing more to do with him. What was he meant to do? How was he to rebuild the Church? He started begging for stones so that he could do the re-building himself - but in time, Francis became aware that even this was not really what the Lord was inviting him to do. Slowly, he became aware that he was being invited to rebuild with living stones – to renew the life of the Church. Soon others, even some of the nobles, were drawn by his joyful example and sincere holiness and goodness to others. They too left all that they owned and joined him. Inspired by God, Francis gave his followers a way of life which was simply to live the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ as given to us in the Gospels. That was the challenge that he passed on to the three Orders he founded: the Friars Minor, the Poor Clares and the Third Order. Although Francis only lived to the age of 44, his life’s message of simplicity and the power of prayer has never faded. Today, St. Francis is a symbol of spiritual love, guidance and hope.