The Heart of St. Francis of Assisi

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him,
and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
And Jesus said to him, … “You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”
And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” And Jesus
looking upon him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have,
and give to the poor…and come follow me.”
— Mark 10:17–21

The rich young man, who “went away sorrowful; for he had many possessions” has a lot in common with the saint of the poor, Francis of Assisi. Like Francis, the rich young man – who tradition names as the Evangelist, Mark, himself – had everything going for him. Money, intensity, and an eager, fervent desire to fling himself wholeheartedly on to goodness and be welcomed by it. Like the rich young man, Francis’s desire left him restless and sorrowful until – if tradition is to be believed – they both sold what they had, gave to the poor, and followed Christ.

Francis Bernardone

Today, St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most popular saints in Western Christianity. Catholics, Anglicans, and even pagans are attracted to the humble friar. But how well do we know him, really? Francis has always been easy to love. As a young man, he was known by friends and beggars alike as a delightful person – as eager to pour gifts on the poor as he was to indulge himself. Francis was conspicuous – bright, flashy, generous, and full of enthusiasm.

Young Francis was someone it would be easy to know. He doesn’t challenge us – instead he is all friendliness, all enthusiasm, with few true convictions to make us uncomfortable. But “Jesus, looking at him, loved him,” and so he called him to something more.

Francis went to war and through it, both his health and his heart were broken. His health recovered, but Francis Bernadone’s heart was never the same. He tried to return to his old way of life, but Francis couldn’t go anywhere without Christ’s words whispering after him: “Come follow me.”

Meeting Lepers

St. Francis is famous for his humble welcome of lepers. But until he came back from battle and began to pursue repentance, lepers were a particular horror of his. Like so many healthy, beautiful people – Francis had a horror of disfigurement and suffering. It was only when he’d started asking Christ “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” that he began to see lepers as Icons of Christ instead of objects of pity.

After he began meeting lepers as other Christs, he was able to hear Christ, in the little church of St. Damian, say “my house is being destroyed…repair it for me.”

Brother Giles, an early companion of Francis, says that at the moment when Francis agreed to repair the church of the Lord, he began to bear the wounds of Christ in his heart. Soon after, Francis famously renounces his father, and all his possessions, stripping naked in the cathedral to give back all his earthly goods and follow only Christ.

Brother Francis and Lady Poverty

Francis lived by begging for scraps. He also begged for stones and slowly repaired the decaying church of St. Damian. All the while, Francis praised God publicly in the city of Assisi. In fact, Francis is one of the few Western examples of what Eastern Christians call the “Holy Fool,” saints unashamed of being simple for love of God. Holy Fools are well loved in Russian Orthodoxy, and in Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church, but are rarely so loved in the Western Church. Except Francis, whose extravagance translates so well to his life of repentance.

Brother Francis focused on courting “Lady Poverty.” He called Poverty his “bride” who was “fairer than any you ever saw.” He spoke everywhere around the city, praising poverty and calling for repentance. Soon, he had eleven disciples. Rich young men gladly gave up all their worldly possessions to be holy fools with him.

They built ragged hermitages surrounding the Portiuncula and begged for food that they quickly gave away to the poor. Francis petitioned the pope, who gave the new friars his blessing. The Poor Friars of the Franciscan Order had begun.

Throughout his life, Francis’s extravagance filled the hearts of all around him with joy and love of God. But now, it seems his life has been watered down for us – leaving the easiest to digest bits and removing the heart of Francis himself completely.

Nature Boy

If you’ve every been to a parish “Blessing of the animals on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi” (October 4^th) you probably know what I mean. There may be a brief mention of Francis preaching to the birds, or his conversion of the wolf of Gubbio. There will almost certainly be quotations from the Canticle of the Sun. But the intensity of Francis remains at a distance. He’s presented as that friend who adopts old cats from the Human Society and always remembers to recycle. Someone who makes you feel good about yourself when you pet a dog or put out some birdseed.

But Francis – who is called the Seraphic Father – isn’t trying to inspire small decencies. He’s trying to inspire us to renounce the world and follow Christ. In fact, most of the stories of the life and miracles of Francis have nothing to do with animals or ecology; they are imitations of Christ.

Humility and Charity

One of my favorite stories of St. Francis’s extreme humility is the Lent Francis spent on an island. In imitation of Christ’s fast in the desert, Francis fasted 40 days and 40 nights without eating any food. He brought two loaves of bread in order to tempt himself; and ate half a loaf in order to “cast forth from himself the poison of vainglory” (The Little Flowers of St. Francis, 40).

Francis knew that if he kept the fast perfectly, then he and his followers might be tempted to think too well of him. So he chose humility with all the enthusiasm of his nature. Another story tells of how in humility and charity, Francis recognizes that a fragile, young friar is incapable of the fast he is attempting. Francis brings grapes and bread to his brothers and orders them all to break fast together. In this way, he saves the young brother from shame and reminds everyone that their primary purpose is to love as God loves.

Universal Appeal

Perhaps one of the reasons we all love St. Francis so much is that his life is so full of legends and stories. It’s easy to pick and choose the ones that appeal to us and ignore the others. In that way, Francis is a lot like Jesus.

But that universality is also the reason why devotion to Francis can become so life changing. You might meet him because of a passion for ecology, a love of fasting, or a pursuit of intentional poverty – but Francis never stops at just one exit – he wants you to follow him all the way to Eternity.

For St. Francis of Assisi, animals, fasting, and the poor were opportunities to meet Christ and shower love upon Him. This is why he was able to embrace Sister Death with joy and confidence, while the larks “although it was twilight…came in a great flock over the roof of the house and, whirling around…with unusual joy, gave clear and evident testimony to the glory of the saint.”