Francis of Assisi and His World is a historical biographical book on St. Francis, the founding father of the Franciscan order in the Catholic church.  The book covers Francis’ entire lifespan and touches on the continuation of the Order after his death.  His life reminds us of Antony, Augustine, Gregory the Great, St. Benedict of Nursia and other heroes of the faith- all having the common strand of being rich in worldly position and goods, but abandoning hope in those to serve and follow God with great passion and impact. To sum up his life would be difficult, but I found five themes in Francis life that are especially resonant in this biography:  moments of revelation, moments of contrition, self-disciple, submission to authority and intense personal joy.

What moves me powerfully about Francis is his passion for following the Lord’s direction without hesitation or concern for “balance”.  Like Francis, I believe many people (including myself) want to respond without hesitation to God’s voice.  But unlike Francis we often convince ourselves (or allow others to convince us) that we must concern ourselves with our future.  What Francis did in his life, was completely abandon the thought of taking his life in his own hands.  This inspires me. Here was one example in Francis life:

In the midst of his preparations, Francis had a dream. He found himself in his father’s house, which had been transformed into a palace filled with arms. Instead of bales of cloths, he saw saddles, shields and lances. In one room, a beautiful bride waited for her bridegroom. Francis heard a voice saying that all this was for Francis and his knights. When Francis woke, he was ecstatic...[1]

Another thing that impacted me about the biography was Francis’ discipline. Francis ability to master asceticism was not derived from a supernatural gift of sustenance. He had to work at bringing his actions into subjugation of his will.   Many of the things Francis did, seemed to come as much from a clear understanding of personal work ethic as it did from a “gift”.  And this was a primary thread throughout his Rule, which stipulated such strong adherence that its following could only produce like people.  He says:

A little while later, Francis was riding his horse near Assisi (apparently this took place before the rift with his father) when he saw ahead of him a leper standing in the road. He determined immediately to do something sweeping, something dramatic to change his attitude. He dismounted, walked up to the man and personally gave him a coin. But this still was not enough to a man of Francis resolve. So he bent over, drew his lips near the mans decaying hand and kissed it. The man replied by giving Francis a kiss of peace; Francis did not recoil. Then Francis remounted his horse and went on his way.[2]

While it is hard to dislike Francis and his relentless pursuit of God, Francis deep devotion to poverty may have been inordinately self-effacing. Some of his practices and beliefs not only likely led to his early suffering and death, but also brought unnecessary burden on those who followed him with fervor.

Product Link: Francis of Assisi and His World

Review by Kim Gentes

[1]Mark Galli, “Franics and His World”, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), Pg 25
[2]Ibid., Pg 49