Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis.
“In beautiful things he saw Beauty itself, and through his vestiges imprinted on creation he followed his Beloved everywhere, making from all things a ladder by which he could climb up and embrace him who is utterly desirable.”
Saint Francis (1182-1226) is one of the most iconic Catholic saints. Although a wealthy merchant’s son, he publicly stripped himself before the Bishop of Assisi in renunciation of his family inheritance. Embracing poverty, he traveled to the extremity of medieval Christian devotion to become a revered caregiver to society’s outcasts and wretched, while championing the brotherhood of all creatures to whom he regularly preached.
Commissioned by the Franciscan Order in 1260 to write an official biography of the saint, Bonaventure (1221-1274), Franciscan mystic and theologian, produced a carefully researched and captivating portrait of Francis for all posterity. The Life of Saint Francis is written in a devotional, yet elegant style which draws the reader close to a man fervently alive with the love of God.
The passionate intensity with which Francis acted was daily renewed by his devotion to the virtue of piety. The “mirror of eternal light” in which he contemplated the mysteries of God’s love was, of course, Jesus Christ. Francis however understood that Christ is a reality that can be seen present all around us. For it is the nature of love to express itself as goodness. Each nook and cranny of creation therefore is a gifted epiphany of divine love. A tracing of the eternal heart of Christ.
“With a feeling of unprecedented devotion he savored in each and every creature—as in so many rivulets—that Goodness which is their fountain source. And he perceived a heavenly harmony in the consonance of powers and activities God has given them.”
Humility and reverence before nature, the animals and plants of the earth, sun and moon and stars, and the presence of each person, especially the poor; this practical veneration for what is clear and definite and real allowed Francis like the Apostle Paul centuries before to hear inexpressible mysteries of which “men are not permitted to speak” (2 Cor. 12:4).
Piety gave birth within Francis to a sweet compassion, says Bonaventure, which transformed him into a living icon of Christ in the world. Two years before his death, led by divine providence, Francis made his way to Mount La Verna in the Tuscan Apennines for a period of fasting and prayer. In contemplative ecstasy, he was “borne aloft into God” and saw a vision of a six-winged Seraph. The empyrean sight imprinted on his body “the secret of the King.” He received the sacred image of the Crucified in his flesh, the stigmata.
Francis was certainly a man of great devotion. And although his life was short, he lived it with an intensity that most of us never manage on the best of days. As I read The Life of St. Francis I am reminded of the great practical value of piety in living a full life—reverence as the path for making the most of my time as well as the means for obtaining peace of mind; respect for the mystery, beauty, and order of creation that is the mark of friendship with God.
“Our task is to preach the gospel. Use words if necessary.” — St. Francis of Assisi
