The Life Of St. Francis Of Assisi Essay, Research Paper
St. Francis of Assisi was born in Umbria in the twelvemonth 1182. He was a kid every male parent hoped for, he was filled with life, a determined and brave person. He was gifted with instead good expressions, qualities that attracted friends and a gift of leading. His male parent was an highly affluent merchandiser in Assisi. But this boy, his front-runner, was the 1 who broke Peter Bernardone s bosom. The male child turned on his male parent, and in a barbarous event that finally resulted into a public scene. St. Francis of Assisi stepped off from his male parent, his concern and left his male parent in a province of huge emotional agony.
Francis joined the armed forces at the age of 20. Prior to this day of the month ( 1202 ) , the favoured boy showed his parents that he would wish to follow his ain life, non in the footfalls of his male parent. After his hitch, he struggled heroically in one bloody conflict, but his troop experienced licking. Taken captive of war, he was held confined for several months, so released and sent place. His parents were joyful and made up to him for the long months of agony by lavishing him with fondness. Francis likely enjoyed having excess money the most from this.
Bing a captive of war did take a toll on Francis. His organic structure became so ill that he about died and it took over a twelvemonth to retrieve. It was during this twelvemonth that for the first clip in his immature life, he did some serious pondering. He explored the age old jobs, What am I? , Where do I come from? , Where am I traveling, What is this universe? and What is love? .
St. Francis was an Italian Catholic and a gifted poet. As an Italian, his bosom moved of course to deep fondness, love and enjoyment. As a poet, he could see right through the result of those replies. One dark during a dream, he saw his house turned into a castle. The walls of this castle were hung with glorious armoury, streamers, shields, and blades all instruments of war. Suddenly he heard a voice, it explained that this was to be his castle, the assemblage topographic point for all his knights. The weaponries were theirs, the streamers, and items of their countless conquerings. To finish this fantastic dream, a gorgeous bride awaited him. St. Francis awoke charmed. A few yearss after that, he left Assisi to travel to Southern Italy to enlist. He reached Spoleto, where he rested and so kip. Yet once more, he heard the voice. However, this clip, it asked the inquiry, Francis, who can make more for your, the retainer or the maestro? Francis, basking some sense of practical political relations answered, Why, the maestro! . Now came the inquiry that changed the class of Francis life, and in many ways, the class of human history. Why so are you seeking the servant alternatively of the maestro, the liege alternatively of the prince? the voice spoke once more. Francis acknowledging the voice as that of Christ, all of a sudden grew weary of retreat. Lord, what will You hold me make? inquire Francis. Return place, Your vision will hold its religious fulfilment through Me. replied the voice. Francis so returned to Assisi. Although the occupants of Assisi rejoiced at his return, Francis was known as their leader during the clip, they shortly sensed that Francis had changed. Something was disturbing him. The townsfolk concluded that Francis had fallen in love. Francis comrades would inquire him who it was. Francis had to reply, but he couldn T state them that it was person who he barely knew or person that he was somewhat afraid. So he said to his friends, I do drachms of taking a married woman, and she whom I shall get married is baronial, so rich, so just and so wise, that non one of your has seen her like.
Francis tended to go forth his house and journey to the many caves located in Assisi. A friend who saw that Francis was involved in something even more deep than agreements for a nuptials, and who had the apprehension to maintain quiet about it, frequently accompanied Francis to the retreat. Even so, Francis ever entered and stayed entirely.
One twenty-four hours, he went inside the cave and accepted holy poorness and on the footings of God demanded the life of the sanctum Gospel. He vowed to carry through whatever God had commanded him to make. Francis so travelled to Rome, gave away his ownerships, gave his apparels to a merchandiser and dressed in shreds and joined a group of mendicants. Bing one with the hapless made him experience good. Shortly after, he returned to Assisi to confront a funny enticement. He deferred charitably as possible to giving away his vesture, fall ining mendicants and destructing his Italian pride so that he could implore. But each retreat, each conquering of ego, cost him a awful attempt. One thing remained for him to give up and as he wrote subsequently, it seemed for him a acrimonious thing. He must one time and for all renounce that organic structure, and his repudiation took a fearful turn.
In those yearss, Europe was full of lazars. These feared people crept organize the border of one town to another, seeking nutrient and shelter, a bell tied about their cervixs to warn people of their propinquity. One twenty-four hours, on a route near Assisi, Francis came face to face with one of these persons. Young Francis ran in fright and panicked. He acknowledged the state of affairs, returned to the lazar, and set some money into his foul custodies. Francis had now set his class and rushed to its logical decision. He went seeking for more lazars to assistance, happening a infirmary full of them. He gathered them all and promised them that he would function their demands. Giving them what money he had, he kissed each on the cheek and left.
One twenty-four hours, Francis was walking past a destroyed chapel of St. Damian merely outdoors Assisi. He entered the topographic point and knelt before a rood to pray. Suddenly the Christus spoke to him and said, Francis, travel and mend My Church, which as you see, is falling in ruin. Francis accepted the bid for what it was. First, he needed money, which he could easy get from his male parent. Unfortunately for Francis, he left on a concern trip. Francis went down to the store, loaded his Equus caballus with fabric and left on his ain concern trip. He sold the stuffs and returned to the chapel of St. Damian. The priest who occupied the chapel was amazed by his young person. First, the immature adult male kissed his custodies, pressed a poke of gold into them and so announced he was traveling to mend the priest s church. Poverty had non dulled the discretion of the priest. He perfectly refused the money and looked at Francis suspiciously, whose repute had barely been that of one who worked around churches. However, the priest permitted Francis to stay and work on the church, but non to utilize the money.
Unfortunately, Francis father returned from his trip and discovered the larceny of his ownerships and that his boy was losing. He so darted to St. Damian s church. Fortunately for Francis, he located a cave in the nearby hills, which he used as shelter for himself from his male parent. Anger and defeat filled Peter Bernardone, who treaded back to Assisi.
Francis held out for some yearss and so walked into town to confront his male parent. The citizens of Assisi must hold been shocked when they saw Francis. Thin and picket, his apparels rough and his custodies hard from labor, he looked like a living dead. Peoples began bombarding him with stones and clay, the crowd gathered and started scoffing at him. Francis father heard what was traveling on and he saw what was go oning to his boy. He barged his manner through the crowd, took his boy indoors and chained him in the basement. A few yearss subsequently, Francis female parent unchained Francis and allow him get away. Immediately, he was back at St. Damian s church. At this clip, Peter Bernardone appealed for civil prosecution of his boy. Francis ended up giving the money and apparels that he stole back to his male parent. Francis so left Assisi and headed to the mountains environing the metropolis for an unknown ground. On his manner, a group of stealers ambushed him, happening nil, they threw him into a ravine full of snow. Cold and moisture, Francis crawled out of the ravine and made his manner to a monastery, where the monastics at that place gave him shelter, in exchange for labor in their kitchen. Extreme cold and hungriness resulted Francis to travel to Guibbio, a small town near Assisi, where he met an old friend. Finally, Francis returned to St. Damian s and continued the Restoration of the church. Not merely did Francis now lack money, he was obliged to implore for the stuffs he needed to work on the church. A godly presence filled Francis, enabling him to reconstruct chapels for the following 2 to 3 old ages. While at Mass in 1209, at St. Mary of the Ang
ELs, a church which he restored, God revealed, through the Gospel read by the priest, the full life s work of Francis. After Mass, Francis asked the priest to explicate the Gospel to him. The priest interpreted the reading as the Disciples of Christ must possess nil, they were merely to prophesy the word of God and repentance of wickedness. Francis, filled with avidity, exclaimed, This is what I long with all my innermost bosom to make.
He began to prophesy people the people of Assisi, something that caused him absolute humbleness. Within the following twelvemonth, 11 work forces asked Francis if they could be his followings. Some of them brought with them money, which he forced them to give to the hapless if they wished to follow him. These 11 work forces were the first followings of Francis. Not so long after that, during one of Francis dream, he saw, a great battalion of work forces their footsteps still resound in my ears as they come and go harmonizing to the bids of holy obeisance. The trunk roads are crowded with them, coming to this topographic point ( Assisi ) , from about every state. There are Frenchmen coming, Spaniards speed, Germans and Englishmen running and a enormous throng speech production assorted other linguas hastens here.
In the twelvemonth 1209, Francis wrote a Rule of Life, for his present and future followings to follow. This Rule of Life was used at steering his followings to walk in the footfalls of Christ. It was composed chiefly of Gospel texts and a few principles. Francis saw the universe as this followers monastery. Rather than adhere them to the gracefully controlled arch of cloistered subject, he was inspired by God and by the demands of his times to direct them into the terribly disorganised universe. If the universe was their arch, their organic structures were their cells. Francis believed nutrient and vesture were non the job, since God would help them through their expedition. The followings were instructed to populate the Gospel and give good illustrations to people enduring by wickedness. Francis labelled his followings as the Little Brothers, or Frati Minori in Italian, a name which has come down today to us in the rubric Friars Minor.
In 1209, Francis set out with his 12 followings for Rome, take a firm standing on seeking the blessing of Catholicity from Pope Innocent III. The Catholic Pope was hesitant at first when Francis presented his instance. In those yearss, Rome was the place of discretion, a young person couldn T enter the papal Chamberss seeking cosmopolitan blessing of a signifier of spiritual life. Innocent III so thought over the determination sagely. During a dream after his interview with Francis, he saw the tremendous Roman basilica of St. John Lateran trembling on its foundations, contending non to tilt over. Abruptly, a small adult male appeared and threw his organic structure against the edifice, miraculously keeping it up. The small adult male was Francis. Through his dream, the Catholic Pope called back Francis and listened to him yet once more. Innocent III so consulted his personal advisers and concluded that Francis s thoughts had value and farther to deny their cogency would be to deny that one could populate a life described as ideal in the Gospels. Innocent III so gave his support and promised more definite understanding if Francis program proved more realistic.
A decennary subsequently, Francis followings grew to over 3000 work forces. They returned to Assisi with the Pope s blessing for their Catholic manner of life. The St. Mary of the Angels church given to them by the Benedictine monastics became their central offices. All their operations were initiated from this little edifice as more and more people joined them. During this period, Francis established his Second Order of thoughtful adult females and his Third Order for work forces and adult females populating in the universe. At this clip, he met an 18 twelvemonth old adult female, Clare di Favorone. Clare had heard Francis prophesying one twenty-four hours and shared her adversities with him. She told Francis that she was committed to giving her full life to God and to populate in the same poorness as Francis and his followings. Shortly after this occurred, she left her household and became a follower of Francis.
On the dark of Palm Sunday, 1212, Clare met with her comrade Lady Pacifica and they both hiked to the church of St. Mary of the Angels, where Francis and his followings were waiting. Francis so trimmed Clare s drawn-out aureate hair. Clare so vowed her confederation towards the belief of poorness, celibacy and obeisance to God. The Second Order of St. Francis, besides known as the Poor Clares and Poor Ladies of Assisi, made its entryway into the history of the universe.
Old ages passed and the intelligence of Francis and his followings broadened throughout Italy. When Francis visited little towns, a big crowd would garner to see him, church bells would peal and people would run to see him.
During the 4th Lateran Council in 1215, Dominic Guzman requested that Francis and himself merge their Orders, but Francis wasn t really interested. Francis thought that Guzman s perceptual experience of the function of Christ was excessively straightforward, as if Christ was an ordinary individual. Even though Francis rejected Guzman s petition, they remained close friends and the friendly relationship of their Orders has continued for more than 700 old ages.
In 1217, Francis order had grown to such an sum that he had to set up and sketch of organisation. He instituted a set of states, which were run by curates, who explained the duties to the followings.
During Pentecost in 1217, Francis sent his followings past Italy s boundary lines to both Pagan and Christian districts. His followings set out to France, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Portugal and Syria. 100 old ages subsequently, he had gained an extra 30,000 followings to his Order. Two old ages subsequently, Francis left Italy on an incredible missional enterprise. He travelled to Damietta, Egypt, where he crossed wars being fought by reformers and Saraceans. Incredibly, he survived a stay inside the Saracen cantonment and even had a treatment with Melekel-kamel, Sultan and commanding officer of the Mussulman force. Francis advised the Sultan that he be baptized, something, which the Sultan strongly thought approximately. The Sultan fearing that his people wouldn t accept the ordeal is what kept Francis petition from taking topographic point. However, the Sultan did let Francis and his followings to prophesy throughout Egypt.
Five of Francis followings left Portiuncula and journeyed to Morocco. Here they proclaimed themselves as King of Kings, Jesus Christ. This resulted them being cast into ironss amidst the town square. Liing at that place naked, they courageously confessed and proclaimed their religion. Townspeople dragged them by their cervixs and repeatedly kicked them in their dorsums. The King offered to salvage them if they converted to Islam. They refused and the Kind beheaded them with his blade on the topographic point. When Francis heard about this, he exclaimed, God be praised! Now I truly know I have five brothers!
The enlargement of Francis Order continued, set uping followings many stat mis off. These followings had ne’er seen Francis before and wished to make so. In 1220, Francis called a General Chapter. At this meeting, he resigned as Minister General, for the intent of giving himself to the full to fixing a more comprehensive regulation of life for his followings. The following three old ages of Francis life were highly nerve-racking. He worked to develop the Franciscan Rule, a regulation that would let his followings to populate the Holy Gospel with the greatest sum of single autonomy and the lower limit of ordinance. Cardinal Hugolino, the late Gregory IX, assisted Francis in the completion of the Rule of in 1223. All this attempt took its tool on the wellness of Francis, he started recognizing that he was approaching the terminal of his life. Since he believed he had lived like Christ, he pleaded to decease like Christ.
In 1224, accompanied by a few followings, he marched up the Alvernia Mountain, near Assisi to pray. At this clip, Francis and Christ shared words with each other. Extreme exchanges were made between both sides. Francis told Christ about his petition, to his admiration, the crucified figure of Christ surfaced to him. When Francis stepped back, he discovered that his organic structure had lesions located in the same five countries that Jesus suffered on the cross.
During the last two old ages of Francis life, his wellness was destroyed. He felt enormous hurting in his eyes, lien, and liver, tummy and have contracted malaria. Francis knew his last yearss were approaching. He asked his attenders to sing to him, for Francis enjoyed the sound of music. St. Francis died on October 3rd, 1226, while singing his nature vocal, Canticle of the Sun.
