The Perfect Joy of St. Francis

[JReducation]

Wow! I am sorry I ever though St. Francis might be too sensitive for my taste. Only reason I say this is because I always hear the same stuff about him, but no one ever told me about this! That letter really hit me hard especially the part, “and the wiser and more powerful they may have been in this world, so much the greater torments shall they endure in hell.”

I guess one can be in law enforcement and strive to be a a good Catholic and humble while still having the authority that is temporarily given to him. Also, many people talk about Francis’ humility but in this letter he has humility and authority all in one! Thank you so much Br. JR this is helping me a lot.

Francis was very interesting. While he had the utmost respect for clergy and religious and would never utter a word of correction or complaint about them, to the point that he had brothers excommunicated for doing so . . . he also had a sense of command and authority over the laity that made them stop and listen.

What made the laity of his time stop and listen to him was that he was very submissive. He was not commanding others to be something that he was not. When he speaks to us, he speaks with power and he expects to be obeyed, whether you’re a friar or a layman. It made no difference to him. But the reason that he expected to be obeyed was because in his mind, he was telling you something that you should want to know. Why wouldn’t you comply? It was not about him, it was about what the message. He was so certain of the message of the Gospel, that there was no reason why any Catholic would not want to stop and listen.

In this particular letter to the rulers of the world, he starts off by referring to himself as “brother” and “servant”. He ends up telling them what they will receive in reward if they do their jobs according to the Gospel and what they can expect if they don’t. He does not mince words. The letter is short and to the point.

This letter helped to bring down the Middle Ages. The Secular Franciscans used this letter and rebelled against rulers who disobeyed the Church by refusing to fight in their armies and to pay taxes. There were thousands of them. The rulers could not execute and imprison them all. Monarchs had to find other ways to deal with each other that did not require an army and power.

We can also see in this writing and in his life that Francis believes in government. This is clear. He’s not an anarchist. He acknowledges the role of government to be the fulfillment of the moral order. However, those who govern must impose moral order by the example of their lives. Observe how he commands the rulers to pray and receive the sacraments. Francis points that the rightness and wrongness is determined by the Commandments.

Francis knew about Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. He understood that philosophy is the language of law. Unlike us, he knows that philosophy is a tool and democracy is a means. The real purpose of the tool and the means is to govern according to the Commandments.

He was the first Democrat. He believed in the power of people to make decisions. His order is governed through a democratic process. He was the first founder to prohibit males exercising power over women. Clare and her nuns were to be free of all interference from him and the brothers. The Secular Franciscans could be married, but wives were their husbands partners, not servants. Husbands were the leaders and protectors, not rulers. The husband and wife were to rule their home as Christ and the Church rule the world.

Civil authorities were to be just toward those whom they governed. Justice meant that they were to make it possible for their citizens to grow in holiness. They should begin by growing in holiness themselves. He was opposed to imposing the faith through law. Law was to be at the service of faith, not to dictate faith. When he meets the Sultan, he agrees to send brothers to Jerusalem and promises not to proselytize Muslims and Jews, but the Sultan must promise him that he will treat his prisoners and citizens with justice. A leader who enforces the law with justice, with the Commandments in mind and with the knowledge that he will be accountable for how he enforces the law, will gradually turn to Christ and his people will follow. If the ruler forgets to do so or if the people forget to take advantage of the freedom to live the faith, they will be forgotten at the last judgment.

I find this to be a very powerful message. This was not a soft man. He was a sensitive man. Sensitive and soft are different.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Melchior_1]

I’d love to read the book, but my reading list is rather substantial at the moment (Newman, Catherine of Sienna, Dominic). If some of you could post excerpts, I’d love to read them,

At the Life Teen group I help out at I’ve made reference a few times now about how in one of the worse times of crisis within the Church, we had two men step forward and obey the commands and will of God. Dominic and Francis were very similar, yet were very different.

 

[archangel04]

I find this to be a very powerful message. This was not a soft man. He was a sensitive man. Sensitive and soft are different.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Very well said! I’ve always been a “sensitive” type and have fought so hard to rid of it, but now I see that there is a difference between being soft and being sensitive to what God wants from us. I really needed to hear that message.

 

[asd72]

I really want to read it now! It’s next on my list when I go to the Catholic bookstore.

 

[TrueLight]

Very well said! I’ve always been a “sensitive” type and have fought so hard to rid of it, but now I see that there is a difference between being soft and being sensitive to what God wants from us. I really needed to hear that message.

It’s interesting that you should bring this up. Some parts of the book made me chuckle because of the way St Francis responded to his detractors. So even though he was humble and sensitive, there were times he said exactly what was on his mind.

When he first decided to leave his life of luxury as the son of a rich merchant, and begin to beg every day for his food, of course his old friends and acquaintances in the neighborhood mocked him.

One day, he decided to help a poor priest repair his broken down church, but Francis had no money because he had been disinherited. He went out into the town square and began to sing. Francis loved to sing and his singing touched people’s hearts.

Take a look at this excerpt:

“Why look. It’s Francis, who used to be admired as a hero.”

They all continued to mock him but he kept on singing until there was a big crowd around him. Then he began to speak.

“Do you know why I’m standing here singing?”

“To sell your sweat,” shouted someone. It was his brother Angelo.

“You couldn’t pay enough for it, “Francis replied. I’m selling it to our Lord. He gives what’s it’s really worth."

Then he went on to describe how he wanted to repair the old broken down little church in San Damiano. . He was hoping to get donations of stone, plumb line, a mortar and other things. In return, he would sing for them and pray for their salvation. He said he would sing another song and then take up a collection.

Suddenly, the greedy grocer shouted, “You won’t even get half a stone from me.”

“Of course not”, said Francis “because then you would have to split your heart in two.”

“Bravo” cheered the crowd. He had it coming to him. The grocer walked angrily away.

Ha!

 

[simple_soul]

It’s interesting that you should bring this up. Some parts of the book made me chuckle because of the way St Francis responded to his detractors. So even though he was humble and sensitive, there were times he said exactly what was on his mind.

When he first decided to leave his life of luxury as the son of a rich merchant, and begin to beg every day for his food, of course his old friends and acquaintances in the neighborhood mocked him.

One day, he decided to help a poor priest repair his broken down church, but Francis had no money because he had been disinherited. He went out into the town square and began to sing. Francis loved to sing and his singing touched people’s hearts.

Take a look at this excerpt:

They all continued to mock him but he kept on singing until there was a big crowd around him. Then he began to speak.

Then he went on to describe how he wanted to repair the old broken down little church in San Damiano. . He was hoping to get donations of stone, plumb line, a mortar and other things. In return, he would sing for them and pray for their salvation. He said he would sing another song and then take up a collection.

Suddenly, the greedy grocer shouted, “You won’t even get half a stone from me.”

*OK TL Maybe you or Br.Jay can help me here, I must be more messed up than I realize, when I read this part concerning the grocer I am taking St. Francis to be concerned enough about this grocer that he was aware of his heart being like stone and so he throws it in his face. How is that not being concerned about the mud on someone else’s face?

P.S…for others on this thread who might be confused about the “mud on the face” it is part of a discussion from a different thread on penance…*

 

[TrueLight]

*OK TL Maybe you or Br.Jay can help me here, I must be more messed up than I realize, when I read this part concerning the grocer I am taking St. Francis to be concerned enough about this grocer that he was aware of his heart being like stone and so he throws it in his face. How is that not being concerned about the mud on someone else’s face?

P.S…for others on this thread who might be confused about the “mud on the face” it is part of a discussion from a different thread on penance…*

Ha ha. That was early on his ministry. More later. Off to my mass trek.

 

[PrayRosary]

This is a great thread

 

[simple_soul]

Ha ha. That was early on his ministry. More later. Off to my mass trek.

Ok. I am looking forward to it.

 

[JReducation]

There is a lot of good stuff here. Let’s begin by clarifying that this is part of Traditional Catholic Spirituality. Francis’ spirituality is part of what has come down to us as the Mendicant Movement. Three schools of Spirituality drove the Mendicant movement.

Augustinian*: followed by the Trinitarians, Servites and Dominicans

Franciscan: followed by the Friars Minor, Poor Sisters, and Brothers and Sisters of Penance

Carmelite: followed by the Carmelite Friars

• we don’t include the Augustinians under the mendicants, because they began as monks and evolved into canons and later the Assumptionists would break off and become mendicants. By that time, the Mendicant Movement was very strong.

It was the Dominicans, Franciscans and Carmelites who took the lead. In order of sheer numbers, they were the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites. These three flooded Europe, especially the great universities, such as Oxford, which still has colleges named after them: Grey Friars (Franciscans), White Friars (Carmelites), and Black Friars (Dominicans).

At the Life Teen group I help out at I’ve made reference a few times now about how in one of the worse times of crisis within the Church, we had two men step forward and obey the commands and will of God. Dominic and Francis were very similar, yet were very different.

When speaking to anyone about the two Patriarchs of the Mendicant Movement, there are several points that the kids should know.

1. 
   *]They were absolutely obedient to the clergy, bishops and popes. The sins of the clergy did not deter them from obeying.
   
   *]They were compassionate toward sinners. They did not judge. They brought sinners home by showing them how to live the Gospel.
   
   *]Both had a preferential option for the poor. They understood that every soul had to be saved, but they also realized that Christ has made his dwelling among the poor. Therefore, Francis actually lived among the poor and Dominic did not live among the poor, but lived a very simple, limiting himself to what he needed, not what he wanted.
   
   *]One was a priest and the other was a layman. This is important, because kids often think that holiness can only be achieved by priests and sisters or that only priests and sisters can preach and teach.
   

   Very well said! I’ve always been a “sensitive” type and have fought so hard to rid of it, but now I see that there is a difference between being soft and being sensitive to what God wants from us. I really needed to hear that message.

   Part of Traditional Christian Spirituality is to present yourself before God as you are, even if it’s with mud on your face. When Francis begins his journey, he wrote this prayer, which he recited often.
   
   “My Lord and my God, I cannot turn back to what I used to be. I am a prisoner of your invisible power. You have wounded me with your light, and yet I wander around in the dark and cannot find you. I am so afraid and so lonely.”
   
   This is very classic spirituality that can be traced back to the early Fathers, which we have lost in everyday practice. Observe the elements of this prayer.
   
   1. 
      *]He acknowledge God as Lord.
      *]He acknowledges the temptation to go back to what he was and the realization that this is not the way to go. There is an internal conflict and he brings it before the Lord.
      *]He recognizes God’s power in his life. This is important, because God is in charge, not Francis.
      *]He also admits that the light in his life comes from God, not from him. Yet, the light can be painful. When there is light, we can see the good and the bad in us.
      *]He is not ashamed to admit that he is lost and that God feels very far away, which happens to all of us at one time or another.
      *]Finally, he admits his loneliness and fear.
      
      If we look at line 1 and line 6 what we’re looking at is the real way to pray. Prayer begins with the acknowledgement of who God is and concludes with who I am before God. It’s the same formula found in the Our Father.

 

[JReducation]

OK TL Maybe you or Br.Jay can help me here, I must be more messed up than I realize, when I read this part concerning the grocer I am taking St. Francis to be concerned enough about this grocer that he was aware of his heart being like stone and so he throws it in his face. How is that not being concerned about the mud on someone else’s face?

Francis was concerned with the mud on other people’s faces. In other words, he is concerned with sin. However, what he does is very different from what we try to do today. Francis lives his life washing the mud from his face. He has this exchange with the grocer at a time in his life when he is cleaning up his act. The reason that he and the grocer have the encounter in the first place is because Francis presents himself as a penitent who is trying to do something beautiful for God. He does not approach the grocer as his “savior”. He’s not out to rescue the grocer from his sins. The grocer must do that for himself. Francis simply points out to the grocer "we’re all siners.” It also important to note that Francis would have said nothing, had the grocer not initiated the exchange. This is very important.

Traditional Christian Spirituality has always spoken about God, virtue, vices, redemption, grace, the soul, the Church, Commandments and every means that God uses to save. The Masters of Christian Spirituality, such as Francis and others, never point fingers at people, unless they are engaged with the other person. They never went out looking for someone to convict. That was not their modus operandi. They invited through their words and their example. When they were approached, they said what they saw.

It’s also important to note that Francis makes the comment to the grocer without meanness or without bite. When we look at his life and his dealings with others, we find that he had quite a wit. He was fast on his feet. There is a difference between that kind of person and the person who sees himself as duty bound to rescue everyone from their sins, but does not begin by admitting his own sinfulness to those whom he is trying to save.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[rben20]

One of the reviewers on amazon put it as “great historical fiction and writing at its best”…

 

[rainbow1]

Br.Jay,
You said in an earlier post that there were 3 commands that were the root of Franciscan Rule…1)Take nothing for your journey 2)Deny yourself, and 3)Sell what you have and give to the poor…
I am wondering if Clare and her nuns wrote their own rule and if it stemmed from those same three commands?
Thanks so much for the information…

 

[JReducation]

One of the reviewers on amazon put it as “great historical fiction and writing at its best”…

The person who wrote the comment did not understand what Timmermans sets out to do. There are two ways that you can write about a saint: a biography and hagiography. A biography will give you a lot of data or not enough. However, it will not let you into the interior life of its subject. That’s not the purpose of the biography. It’s purpose is to give you the story from the point of view of the biographer. There are many biographies about Francis. The writers give us a lot of information with times, dates, events, causes and effects and then they add their interpretation of the events.

Timmermans, who wrote during the first-half of the 20th century, sets out to tell the story of Francis of Assisi. He does not refer to his work as a biography. He’s not going to give us dates, information about the times, events with their causes and effects and his interpretation of the events. He’s a hagiographer. He’s going to let Francis of Assisi tell his own story.

He is obviously very familiar with the early Franciscan writings about Francis. There were letters, journals, Church documents, Francis’ own writings, the biographies written by Thomas of Celano, who knew Francis and the biography written by St. Bonaventure who wrote during the 1250s, while many of the original friars and sisters were still alive. Then there were many songs and ballads about Francis that were composed after his death. They told stories of his life. Giotto captured his life in frescos, less than 10-years after his death. A hagiographer has all of these historical pieces, but he doesn’t want to put together a compendium. That’s too cold and too formal. He just wants to tell the story and let the reader feel the spirit of this man. He goes to these sources and picks whatever will help the reader feel the spiritual life of this man.

A hagiographer is not writing to entertain you. He’s writing for spiritual reading. He’s trying to get a message to you. He leaves out a lot of historical data. However, all of the stories that Timmermans tells us can be found in the ancient Franciscan writings, music, art and documents that tell us who Francis was. To keep the story going and to avoid making it into a textbook, he changes the order of some events. There are gaps of time that we know nothing about. He fills them in with probable occurrences.

The proper description of this work would be a historical novel. The story is true. The events are true. There are documents to prove it. The theology that it presents is consistent with Traditional Christian Spiritual Theology. The story is not told in the same format that one writes a history book. This had already been done. What inspired the author was the life of Francis. What he tries to do is to get Francis to tell his own story, rather than write it as a reporter. That would not be good spiritual reading. He writes it in the format of a novel, where the characters interact with each other, instead of a reporter telling you, “He said” then “She answered,” but this happened, etc.

We live in a society where people believe that they’re so sophisticated that they don’t realized how little they really know. If they had researched the book, Timmermans took his information from a writing on St. Francis by Pope Benedict XV. Pope Benedict XV was a Secular Franciscan who had a great interest in his spiritual father. It is he who first referred to Francis as “The Mirror of Perfection.” When the work was completed, the Friars and other Franciscan scholars reviewed it. The reaction was that it revealed a deep understanding of Francis and that it presented the whole Francis, not just those parts that can be measured by data. Franciscan scholars continue to say the same thing about this work. For this reason, Ignatius Press brought it back. It was out of print for over 25-years.

If you go Here and you look at the back cover, you’ll see that the source of the book was a previous writing by the pope and that it still receives the approval of Franciscan scholars.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[bethanysamuel]

Truelight , did the book also help you with your other thread in which you ask what the importance of poverty is for salvation.

 

[JReducation]

The Rule of St. Clare was inspired by the same Gospel precepts. Some adaptations had to be made, because they were not mendicants. They stayed in a monastery.

While it was essential to protect the privilege of poverty, it was also necessary to write a rule that could be lived inside an enclosure. The moment that you speak of an enclosure, you’re talking a about a building, which is real estate. Pope Honorius asked Francis to write a rule for the Poor Sisters (original name) that allows them to own real estate. Here is where many radical Traditionalists part company with Francis and Clare.

Francis believed that men had no business governing women and that women were quite capable of taking care of themselves. They knew what they wanted. They were smart enough to write their own laws. They could hear the voice of Christ as well as any man. So . . . he delegated the writing of the rule to Mother Clare.

To understand the Rule of St. Clare one has to know a little something about her and the dynamic relationship between Clare, Francis and Pope Gregory IX.

Clare agreed with Francis, that women did not need men to rule over them and that they could manage their own affairs. Here she was, 18-years old and the mother superior of a monastery. She had done the unspeakable. She had runaway from an betrothal arranged by her uncle who was the head of the Scific family. Worse of all, she didn’t run away to enter a nunnery. She absconded in the middle of the night, with a companion, to meet up with a band of beggars. She was an aristocrat. She was Lady Clare Scifit. Francis was a merchant’s son turned pauper. She was virgin and people were not too sure about him, because he had been the life of the party before his conversion. They were not sure how many flowers he may have de-petalled. From a very human perspective, this did not look good at all. However, Clare was determined that God was waiting for her and no man on earth was going to stop her. To complicate matters, she made religious vows without her guardian’s consent.

In a nutshell, we’re dealing here with a woman who was wayyyyyyy ahead of her time. From my point of view, I’ve never been sure if Francis was so convinced that men shouldn’t govern women or if he was more convinced that no male had better attempt to govern Clare.

Now we have this rule that has to be written and Francis does not want to be the one to write it. Pope Honorius has appointed Cardinal Hugolino as the protector of the Lesser Brothers and now the Poor Sisters. Cardinal Hugolino is pressing these two to come up with a rule. The pope is waiting. As luck would have it, Pope Honorius dies and Cardinal Hugolino is elected pope. He becomes Pope Gregory IX.

Clare wrote the rule; but Pope Gregory believes that it’s too hard on the poverty. He sends it back to her. She tries again. He still thinks it’s too hard. Remember, she’s basing it on the Gospel. He finally sends her a copy of the Rule of St. Benedict and tells her to live the Gospel as Francis taught her, but on matters of poverty, go with Benedict’s advice. Clare was broken hearted, but a Franciscan may never complain about a bishop without permission. She can’t complain.

Francis dies in 1226 and 18 months later, Pope Gregory comes to Assisi, on Clare’s birthday, July 16, to canonize Francis. He gives Clare permission to leave the cloister to attend the canonization. Big mistake!

After the canonization, he decides to visit with his old friends, the Franciscans. He was used to visiting them. At times he would take off his robes and dress in one of their habits and wander around with Francis, barefoot and all. Francis was his buddy and Clare was his friend. He asked her about the Rule. Noticing that Clare did not respond right away, he knew that something was up. He told her to speak freely. She asked him for the privilege to live absolute poverty as the Gospel said. Now comes Pope Gregory’s second big mistake.

He tells her that he wants to absolve her from the duty to follow such austerity and asks her what she thinks. Third mistake.

She comes back and says, “Your Holiness, if you absolve me from my sins, I would be eternally grateful and promise to pray for you, if I should get to heaven first. But it does not please me at all to be absolved from my duty to follow the Gospel.”

Not knowing what to say, Pope Gregory tells her to put her request for the privilege of poverty in writing. So begin many years of letters between Clare and the Apostolic See for the privilege of poverty. Cardinal Rinaldo Jenne, Pope Gregory’s nephew had been assigned to be the Cardinal Protector of the Franciscans. The Cardinal tries to persuade Clare to accept property, even if they live very simply, but he allows her to continue to discuss it with him. In any case, Pope Gregory died and Pope Innocent IV came to power. Clare and the Cardinal continued going back and forth on this question.

God will have his way. On August 9, 1253, Clare received a copy of a Papal Bull by Pope Innocent IV, Solet Annuere, which grants Clare and her nuns the privilige to decide for themselves, without outside interference, how much property they should own. On August 11, 1253, Clare died a very happy death. In Dec 1254, Pope Innocent IV dies and Cardinal Jenne, Gregory IX’s nephew, protector of the Franciscans, and apparently, Clare’s secret advocate who had pushed clare’s request, unknown to her, becomes Pope Alexander IV. Sept 26, 1255 he waves all the investigations into Clare’s life, as his uncle had done with Francis and Anthony of Padua and canonizes Clare, 25 months after her death. At her canonization he allegedly said that her love for poverty was the most convincing miracle he had ever seen.

Rule of St. Clare

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[simple_soul]

Francis was concerned with the mud on other people’s faces. In other words, he is concerned with sin. However, what he does is very different from what we try to do today. Francis lives his life washing the mud from his face. He has this exchange with the grocer at a time in his life when he is cleaning up his act. The reason that he and the grocer have the encounter in the first place is because Francis presents himself as a penitent who is trying to do something beautiful for God. He does not approach the grocer as his “savior”. He’s not out to rescue the grocer from his sins. The grocer must do that for himself. Francis simply points out to the grocer "we’re all siners.” It also important to note that Francis would have said nothing, had the grocer not initiated the exchange. This is very important.

Traditional Christian Spirituality has always spoken about God, virtue, vices, redemption, grace, the soul, the Church, Commandments and every means that God uses to save. The Masters of Christian Spirituality, such as Francis and others, never point fingers at people, unless they are engaged with the other person. They never went out looking for someone to convict. That was not their modus operandi. They invited through their words and their example. When they were approached, they said what they saw.

It’s also important to note that Francis makes the comment to the grocer without meanness or without bite. When we look at his life and his dealings with others, we find that he had quite a wit. He was fast on his feet. There is a difference between that kind of person and the person who sees himself as duty bound to rescue everyone from their sins, but does not begin by admitting his own sinfulness to those whom he is trying to save.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Thank you Br. Jay. I truly do believe this helps a lot to straiten out or untangle some of my knots.

 

[TrueLight]

Truelight , did the book also help you with your other thread in which you ask what the importance of poverty is for salvation.

Hmm. Yes and No. I understand the concept of trusting God for your everything. I also can see that the focus on attaining wealth can lead to distraction and focus on self instead of God.

I’m not so sure of the importance of poverty for salvation if that is true.

I believe also Br. JR, had said “poverty is holiness”. I might have missed the response, but I still need clarification on that.

 

[archangel04]

Hmm. Yes and No. I understand the concept of trusting God for your everything. I also can see that the focus on attaining wealth can lead to distraction and focus on self instead of God.

I’m not so sure of the importance of poverty for salvation if that is true.

I believe also Br. JR, had said “poverty is holiness”. I might have missed the response, but I still need clarification on that.

Me too. I am very poor lol I am not even close to middle class, but I sure don’t feel holy. I also wonder is those born into wealth, are they less holy than one who lives in poverty?

 

[TrueLight]

Me too. I am very poor lol I am not even close to middle class, but I sure don’t feel holy.

LOL.
Do you complain about your lack of funds, or have you learned to appreciate each and every thing that God gives you and find joy in that?

I know that with my next pay check, I am going to act as if I have to live on less and not splurge like I do. It’s going to be sort of like a penance. And maybe I will learn to appreciate what God has given me more.

I also wonder is those born into wealth, are they less holy than one who lives in poverty?

I think it tends to be harder for them. Not impossible, but hard.

Matthee 19:24
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."