Franciscans – The Fra Angelico Institute for Sacred Art

St. Francis of Assisi: A “Nice” Man or a Soldier of Christ?

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What is the man-in-the-street’s perception of St. Francis of Assisi? Is it one that is only shaped by the art that portrays him as soft and sweet, as just the saint of ecology and cuddly animals? Is he a man to be taken seriously only because of his love for nature? A “nice” non-threatening man willing to compromise and make everyone laugh and feel good?

Was St. Francis non-threatening? He never physically or psychologically threatened anyone. Yet, he did confront people with his profound belief and commitment to the Gospel message. He was as non-threatening as Jesus casting out demons, moneylenders, or the tricks and insults of the Pharisees. He was as non-threatening as our Savior confronting a rabid judgmental crowd and extending His hand to the woman caught in adultery.

Francis was a man who embodied the justice and mercy of Christ. His mission was to joyously proclaim the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and explain how it directly applies to our lives.

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St. Francis was not a rebel, revolutionary, or environmental reformer. He did not rail against the sinful imperfections and established order of the 13th century Church.

However, he certainly did challenge the established religious and social conventions of his day. He asked his fellow Italians: “Does your life reflect the life of Christ, and, if not why not?” He was not a social reformer but a reformer of the soul and spirit. He waged war, not against his neighbor and the Church, but against the sinful imperfections he perceived within his own mind, body and soul.

He did love nature, but only in reference to God. His love was not simply for the value and beauty of nature itself. He did not divinize nature. To do so is an attribute of paganism; it is heresy. He believed that the natural world, and all that is contained pointed to and is an indication of the Holy Trinity’s truth, goodness and beauty.

St Francis knew that the natural world is a reflection of the Lord’s creative diversity. It is a mirroring of His intimate action and the expression of His love. Do not trees, flowers, birds and wolves, and the entire cornucopia of plants an animals do this by their very existence? They follow God’s intimate plan by existing, living, and in their own unique way, proclaiming the glory of God.

How did he know this? As a sacred warrior he knew it because he was a man of the Scriptures and Sacraments. The Gospels and the Eucharist were his sword and armor; they were his rations, the “kit,” he needed to do battle on behalf of God.

He did not do battle with sin and the materialistic world in order to compromise the Catholic faith and have a “let’s all be religious buddies” attitude that promoted a watered down faith and a feel good theological commonality of “your god is my god.”

He did not disrespect others; yet, when he met with the Sultan during his mission to the Holy Land he did not venerate the Koran or say that other faiths and religious traditions had the truth about God. He did exactly the opposite; he confronted the imams with the challenge of the Gospel. Yes, he confronted them with the Truth, and they refused to accept it.

He was a committed and militant Roman Catholic. He did not condescend or lord it over others in the spirit of triumphalism. His tactics involved conquering his sins, his natural desires, and the “normal” perceptions of the world. His overall strategy was to model and convince others to give full belief, glory, and worship, not to the world, but to our Lord Jesus Christ. This could be accomplished by attending Holy Mass, receiving the Holy Eucharist with a clean soul, and applying Sacred Scripture to their lives

St. Francis, of course, did love his fellow man, but he was at war with his own sinfulness. He was a saint that exuded joy, yet, in the privacy of his own cell he shed tears over what he perceived as his own sins and failings. He commanded his brothers not to be sad and dejected in front of others, rather, to go to their own cells and there beg God for forgiveness and humility.

So why add the words “sacred warrior” to the many labels of a man and saint that cannot be labelled? When all is said and done, St. Francis of Assisi, as a warrior, vanquished himself. He overwhelmed his worldly desire for the honors of military service. He overcame his passions and distractions. He was victorious over the common day desires for wealth, position, power, and yes, even the great gift of the love of a wife and children. In its place he strapped on the humble sacred warriors garments of love for the Eucharist and the Holy Scriptures. Poverty, chastity, and obedience to God were his cincture.

The painting below shows the wounds in Francis’ hands and side. For his extraordinary witness to the love of God Jesus blessed him with the stigmata: an award, an honor, a medal far above anything that the world could provide.

Cimabue, original name Bencivieni di Pepo, modern Italian Benvenuto di Giuseppe, (born before 1251—died 1302), painter and mosaicist, the last great Italian artist in the Byzantine style, which had dominated early medieval painting in Italy.

Let us echo the words of St. Francis in his short prayer: Praise and thanks to Our Lord, Jesus Christ, “My God and my All.”

A profitable source for study are the authentic quotations compiled by Fr. James Meyer O.F.M. in his The Words of St. Francis – An Anthology (Franciscan Herald Press: Chicago, 1952). Meyer’s Anthology is backed up with sixteen different scholarly sources specializing in determining the actual words of St. Francis. It provides excellent insights through Francis’ words on poverty, chastity, obedience, prayer, and the rule that his brothers and sisters in Christ are to follow.

I have written about the virtues of St. Francis before, on October 4, 2012: https://fraangelicoinstitute.com/2012/10/04/the-virtues-of-st-francis-of-assisi-a-model-for-sacred-artists . I mention this not to sound a tinny trumpet and jangly bells but to request, if possible, the reader become familiar with it since it sets the stage for this post.

All photos were taken at Assisi, Italy. The Basilica is pictured behind the statue of St. Francis.

Copyright © 2011- 2021, Deacon Paul O. Iacono – All Rights Reserved. Permission to reprint must be obtained from the author in writing. Students, and those interested, may quote small sections of the article as long as the proper credit and notation is given. Thank you.

God is a God of Compassion

“God of all compassion, Father of all goodness,

to heal the wounds our sins and selfishness bring upon us

You bid us turn to fasting, prayer, and sharing with our brothers and sisters.

We acknowledge our sinfulness, our guilt is ever before us;

when our weakness causes discouragement,

let your compassion fill us with hope

and lead us through a Lent of repentance to the beauty of Easter joy.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.”* Amen.

*Roman Breviary – Vol. 2; Third Sunday of Lent, Evening Prayer I, Closing Prayer, pg. 210.

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Rembrandt-The_return_of_the_prodigal_son — Rembrandt van Rijn, *The Return of the Prodigal Son*, c. 1661–1669.

St. Francis of Assisi, Simplicity, and Sacred Artists

Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. He is one of the patrons of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts. St. Francis reminds us how we admire, and should emulate, the virtues of the saints. When we meditate on the life of St. Francis – three characteristics of spirit – three virtues – emerge.

First, he was a simple man. He pursued simplicity. This does not mean that he was of limited intelligence, or that he pursued simplicity for simplicity sake, rather, it means that he tried, and was successful, at eliminating everything from his life that did not lead to, and enhance, his understanding and love of Jesus. In other words, we can see that he kept to what was essential in life: “God, the state of our soul, judgment and eternal life.”

He realized that “to be simple is to see things with the eyes of God. St. Francis pursued simplicity because he innately knew that God Himself is simple” (Fr. Ronald Knox 1936).

Other characteristics of Francis’ life are the virtues of faith and love. St. Francis understood that by increasing his faith, by praying for faith, by acting faithfully and lovingly, his spiritual muscles would be stressed, and as a result, he would grow stronger in faith and life.

Giotto (1226-1337), born the same year St. Francis died, painted these virtues of St. Francis at work when he portrays Pope Innocent III’s dream of Francis holding up the pillars of the Church. It was St. Francis, and his fellow friars, that would promote, and live in their daily lives, the virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience that would sweep the imagination of Europe and even gain the respect of the Eastern world.

One of my favorite stories about him that also illustrates this point occurred in the year 1219 – during the Fifth Crusade; Francis traveled to the Holy Land – where he was captured and beaten by the Muslims. St. Bonaventure tells us in his history of the Franciscan Order that St. Francis was brought before the sultan Al Kamil, and preached to him about love and the meaning of Jesus’ life. When he finished his sermon he then challenged the Sultan’s imams to a religious test to determine which was the true religion – Islam or Catholicism. The painting below, entitled Trial by Fire by Giotto, illustrates the drama of this moment.

“Francis said to the Sultan: “Please have a bonfire lit, and have your imam, along with me, enter the fire – so let it be that his God is the true God whoever emerges from the flames unhurt.”

The Sultan’s eyes lit up – now this is a man of faith. His imams, however, felt that they had better things to do. But from that moment on Al Kamil was so impressed with Francis that he gave the Franciscans safe passage to travel and stay unhindered – anywhere – in Muslim occupied territories; and as a direct result of this act, eight hundred years later, if you go to Jerusalem you will see that the Franciscans are still the Catholic Religious Order responsible for the maintenance of the shrines in the Holy Land.

Theologian Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio teaches us that “St. Thomas Aquinas explains that a virtue, like a physical muscle, is a habit – a power or capacity – that gets stronger when its exercised – and atrophies – when it is not;” and St. Francis, tells us that faith and love – prayer and service are the main muscles in our spiritual body.

Francis refused to let his spiritual muscles become weak. He exercised them regularly, we could say heroically, so that he would be able to endure all the tests, all the trials, that life presented to him. We need to ask ourselves, however, how did he do it? How did he exercise his spiritual muscles?

The answer is that he balanced himself. He was in harmony with the Lord, and, with himself as a person. He achieved this balance by harmonizing his active life (the life of an ordained deacon serving within the world) with the life of the Spirit (prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours, contemplation, Penance, and the Eucharist). Like the holy Gospel account of Martha and Mary, he imitated the Lord’s understanding by seeing that both were correct, service and prayer, both had their place and both were absolutely essential – especially prayer.

What a wonderful witness he is to us. His life and work always has something to teach, and challenge us, to greater acts of simplicity, service, prayer and love in our own lives.

As sacred artists we should be humble enough to study and learn from sacred artists who have come before us, but most importantly, we need to study sacred artists that are balanced in their spiritual and artistic lives. One artist that we need to study is Giotto because he is a wonderful example of a sacred artist that combined the principles of action and contemplation. He was balanced. He achieved simplicity in his portrayal of spiritual truths, and as a result, was able to witness to us the need for continual dedication to strive, within our own spiritual and artistic traditions, to serve the Lord and our fellow man by expressing beauty through our sacred art. St. Francis of Assisi pray for us.

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