The Roots of Christian Mysticism Session 11
Summary of Br. Nicholas Alan SSF's "Francis of Assisi" talk, The London Christian Meditation Centre, St Mark's, Clerkenwell, 29 November 2005

Francis’ story

He was born in Assisi in about 1182 and lived there all his life. He grew up in a wealthy family. His father was a cloth merchant. Francis was quite a good businessman. His first biography paints a black picture of Francis as a spendthrift. His second biography didn’t paint such a black picture so it’s difficult to work out exactly what he was like but he was certainly very cheerful and popular and the life and soul of parties.

However there was clearly something in him which was not satisfied though he was not sure what.

He travelled with his father to France on business (hence the nickname Francis for he was really called John) and here he picked up troubadour stories which appealed to him. Francis wanted to be like these knights. Back in Italy he became involved in the battles between Assisi and neighbouring states. Assisi lost and Francis was captured and taken back as prisoner. Because he came from a wealthy family he was held for ransom. He was kept in a dungeon for a year before he was ransomed. This was the beginning of a turning point in his life. He was released still with ideas of chivalry in his head but then he had a dream in which it seemed to him that God spoke. God asked him whom he would rather serve, the master or the servant. Francis said he would rather serve the master. God asked him why he was serving the servant and told Francis that he should go back to Assisi and there he would find out what he should do.

The sequence of events is not clear but at some point he was out riding on his horse when he came across a leper. Francis, like most people at the time, had a great fear of lepers who were normally forced to leave their homes and live in leper hospitals. If they did move around they had to ring a bell to warn of their coming or sound a clapper- board. They were not allowed to drink from wells. Something made Francis want to get down and embrace the leper and this began to effect a change in him. He stopped being a pleasure-seeker and began wandering in churches.

He went into the church of San Damiano, just outside the city walls, to pray before the crucifix.

As he prayed he felt words come from the figure on the crucifix:
“Francis go and rebuild my church which, as you see, is falling into ruins.” Francis took this literally and began to beg for building materials to rebuild San Damiano. It was only later that he understood the Church as the people rather than the building.

He took money and cloth from his father and sold them. He gave the money to the priest and asked him to keep a light burning in the church. His father dragged him off before Bishop Guido of Assisi to try to get the bishop to talk some sense into his son. The bishop told Francis he must give the money back. Francis decided he had to commit himself to God and move away from his family. He gave away all his money and took his clothes off. He said, “Until now I called you my father, but from now on I can say without reserve, “Our Father in heaven.” He is all my wealth and I place all my confidence in him.” From then on we know very little about his family. We don’t know whether the conflict with his father was resolved.

He lived as a wandering holy man praying and preaching. He was regarded as a madman. Although some thought that he had discovered something. One friend Bernard of Quintivalle invited Francis for a meal. At night after they retired to bed Bernard wanted to find out if he was holy. He saw Francis praying through the night reciting only “My God and my all.” This impressed Bernard and he wanted to join him. Francis decided they should go and find out what God wanted them to do. So the two of them went to the church with another friend, Peter Cantanii. They decided to find the meaning of their call by opening the bible at random. The reading was the story of the rich young man to whom Jesus said: “if you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor.” They tried again and read, “Take nothing for the journey.” And finally, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow me.” They gave all their possessions away. As they were giving away their possessions a priest called Sylvester came up to them and said, “you did not pay me all you owe for those stones you bought to repair the churches.” Francis gave him a fistful of money and said he would give him more if he asked for it. They either begged for their food or worked in the fields and were given food in return.

Gradually new followers joined them and when there were twelve they felt they should have a Rule and become more organised. They went to the Pope and with the assistance of the bishop of Assisi secured an audience. There are various anecdotes associated with this meeting. One story is that the pope seeing how dishevelled they were told them to go off to the pigsty. Francis duly obeyed and then returned. A lot of groups were doing what the Franciscans were doing and the teaching of some bordered on heresy. Francis reassured the pope he was orthodox; that he was just preaching penance. The pope gave his approval in principle and sent them away to pray and then return to work out the detail.

Often when the brothers were moving around they stayed in leper hospitals and acted as nurses. Franciscans prayed simply. They didn’t have books. They prayed the “Our Father” and other set prayers. Sylvester joined them and as he was a priest he would have recited the offices. Francis got rid of his belt and wore a rope. He walked barefoot.

Prayers Francis prayed

In his prayers he was someone who was lost in the love of God. He talked about following in the footsteps of Jesus. He often quoted the passage “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) He used to like praying in caves. He went on 40- day retreats several times a year. Another passage he was fond of is 2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” For Francis, Jesus was a brother as well as a Lord. For Francis everyone and everything was a brother or sister. He found Jesus in the sacraments and was especially keen on the Eucharist. (At this stage it was not celebrated weekly). He wanted to venerate priests. He was also devoted to Mary and to Lady Poverty. He had a particular rapport with animals. It was unusual in medieval times to have an ecological attitude.

1) The Prayer before the crucifix

Most High, glorious God,
Enlighten the darkness of my heart
And give me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity,
Sense and knowledge, Lord,
That I may carry out your holy and true command.

2) The following passage is from the First Rule:

Therefore let us desire nothing else,
Let us wish for nothing else,
Let nothing else please us and cause us delight,
Except our Creator and Redeemer and Saviour,
The one true God,
Who is the Fullness of Good,
All good, every good,
The true and supreme good.
Who alone is Good,
Merciful and gentle, delectable and sweet,
Who alone is holy,
Just and true, holy and right,
Who alone is kind, innocent, pure,
From whom and through whom and in whom is
All pardon, all grace, and all glory. Amen

This shows an overflowing of his heart. He had no learning but just let the words flow. He was Christocentric. He kept coming back to the phrase “the son of man has nowhere to lay his head”.

3) The following prayer is one that Francis prayed though he did not write it. It sums up his relationship to Christ:

May the power of your love, Lord Christ,
Fiery and sweet as honey,
So absorb our hearts
As to withdraw them from all that is under heaven.
Grant that we may be ready
To die for love of your love,
As you died for love of our love. Amen

4) The Canticle of the Creatures sums up Francis’ relationship with the material world. This was written in Italian (one of the first things to be written in the vernacular) towards the end of his life. He wanted to do this for God to sum up his life. He sang it as a song and taught it to his brothers. He composed the first nine verses in a block. He subsequently wrote verses 10 and 11 for the brothers to sing to try to reconcile a dispute between a bishop and a mayor! The last verses he wrote when he was very close to his own death. Gradually his health had deteriorated. He couldn’t move and he was almost blind. A good treatment for blindness then was supposed to be cauterisation. The Doctor put the irons in the fire and planned to cauterise him from the eye to the temple. Francis talked to the fire before the Doctor came. He had great affection for fire and now he said Brother fire you know I have always loved you, now it is your turn to look after me. Be careful and let me live through this. The Doctor thought that Francis had more strength than others who had undergone the same treatment.

1 Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing,
2 To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
And no human is worthy to mention Your name.
3 Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures.
Especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day and through whom You give us light.
4 And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor;
And bears a likeness of You, Most High One.
5 Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
In heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
6 Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
And through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather,
Through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.
7 Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
Who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
8 Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire
Through whom You light the night,
And he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
9 Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
Who sustains and governs us,
And who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.

10 Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love,
And bear infirmity and tribulation.
11 Blessed are those who endure in peace
For by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

12 Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
From whom no one living can escape.
13 Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
For the second death shall do them no harm.

14 Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
And serve Him with great humility.

5) The Praises of God (1224)
You are holy, Lord, the only God,
And your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong, you are great.
You are the Most High, you are almighty.
You, holy Father, are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are love, you are wisdom.
You are humility, you are endurance.
You are rest, you are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches and you suffice for us.
You are beauty, you are gentleness.
You are our protector, you are our guardian and defender.
You are courage, you are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, great and wonderful Lord,
God almighty, merciful Saviour. Amen

He wrote this prayer after he had received The Stigmata.

Towards the end of his life he made one of his 40 day retreats to the mountain which he owned. This took place between August 15th (the feast of the Assumption) to September 29th (feast of St. Michael and All Angels). He had an agreement with a certain Leo, a friend and one of the brothers, to take food out to him once a day. The arrangement was that Leo would call out something like “the Lord be with you” and if Francis responded that would be the signal to take the food across. On this occasion there was no answer. Leo went across and saw Francis at prayer and a great light enveloping Francis. After a few moments he saw Francis talking to someone then the light went. Leo tried to creep away. Francis told him he had seen an angel or the figure of a man on a cross. As Francis had watched he had felt sharp pains in his hands, side and feet. He looked down and saw the wounds. He didn’t want to people to know so he wrapped up his hands and feet. Some of the brothers knew because they had to change the cloths.

He was ready to welcome Sister Death and he wanted to be laid out on the earth with nothing. The brothers did this for him. He didn’t die immediately though and so was persuaded to put on a borrowed habit.. He died two weeks later. It was 1226. He was canonised within two years of his death. The gift of healing was associated with him in life and in death he wrought many miracles. There were thousands of brothers throughout Europe by the time he died. He was ordained a deacon but never a priest.

There are many anecdotes about Francis. One story concerns a wolf which was terrorizing the town of Gubbio. Francis heard about this and decided he would go and talk to the wolf. He made the sign of the cross in front of the wolf and said; “Brother wolf I have heard about you. I will make you a deal. If you stop terrorizing the people of Gubbio I guarantee they will feed you for the rest of your life. The deal is made and the people seeing that the wolf has been tamed agree. There may be some truth in this story because during recent excavations a grave containing the bones of a very large dog has been uncovered at Gubbio where the wolf is said to have been buried.

Franciscan Spirituality

Clare was slightly younger than Francis. She grew up in Assisi at the time when Francis was repairing the church. She was still a teenager in a wealthy family when she decided she wanted to follow Francis and lead the life he led. One Palm Sunday she escaped home at the dead of night to meet him and the brothers at the Church of St. Mary the Angels where they had established a base. Francis gave her a habit to wear and sent her to a Benedictine convent. Clare however wanted to live as a Franciscan. It was decided that she should live a life of enclosed prayer. She became leader of a community at San Damiano and worked her whole life not to be endowed. She finally succeeded and her Order became known as the Poor Clares. They survived by the brothers going out begging for them. On her deathbed the Rule she had written was approved by the pope so she became the first woman to write a monastic rule that was approved. She was a lot better educated than Francis and a lot more literary. Her letters are well worth reading.

The following is an extract from The Third Letter to Blesses Agnes of Prague:

Therefore, dearly beloved, may you too always rejoice in the Lord. And may neither bitterness nor a cloud of sadness overwhelm you, o dearly beloved Lady in Christ, joy of the angels and crown of your sisters!

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!
Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!
Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance!
And transform your entire being into the image
Of the Godhead itself through contemplation.

So that you too may feel what his friends feel as they taste the hidden sweetness
That God himself has reserved from the beginning
For those who love him.

And, after all who ensnare their blind lovers
In a deceitful and turbulent world
Have been completely sent away,
You may totally love him
Who gave himself totally for your love,
Whose beauty the sun and the moon admire,
Whose rewards and their preciousness and greatness are without end.

Clare had the gift of healing. She is also patron saint of television because one day when she wasn’t well and confined to her room unable to attend chapel Clare told the sisters not to feel sorry for her as she had been with the brothers and heard them singing. They were a considerable distance and this reputation for remote vision made her patron saint of tv! There is something magical and mystical about Clare.

Jacopone da Todi

He was a troubled soul and a great poet. He had been a lawyer and happily married. His wife fell off a balcony and was killed. He discovered she had been wearing a hair shirt. He had not known about her life of prayer. This moved him to such an extent that he flipped and became a sort of fool. He joined the Friars and became a character living on the edge of the community. He wrote the Lauds about his own struggle with the faith. He was very conscious of his own sin and he was very critical of the church at the time. Eventually Pope Boniface put him in prison. He died soon after he was released. At the end of his life he had an experience which he captures in two poems and we can see that all his self-agonising vanishes and he is left with enormous peace and calm. He was completely emptied of self and was filled with the love of God.

The following is an extract from The Lauds:
In God the spiritual faculties
Come to their desired end,
Lose all sense of self and self-consciousness,
And are swept into infinity.
The soul, made new again,
Marveling to find itself
In that immensity, drowns.
How this comes about it does not know.

It is within and sees no exit;
It no longer knows how to think of itself
Or to speak of the wondrous change.
It knows only that it finds itself
Clothed in new garments.
Fused with God, it ventures forth
Onto a sea without a shore
And gazes on Beauty without colour or hue.

Participating in the essence of all creatures
It can now say, “All things are mine.”
The doors open wide, and entering within
The soul becomes one with God,
Possesses what He possesses. It hears
What it did not hear, sees what it did not know,
Possesses what it did not believe,
Savours that which has no taste…

The soul wills and yet does not will:
Its will belongs to Another,
It has eyes only for this beauty;
It no longer seeks to possess, as was its wont-
It lacks the strength to possess such sweetness.
The base of this highest of peaks
Is founded on nichil
Shaped nothingness, made one with the Lord.

Angela of Foligno

She was a great mystic, a very emotional affective person, a mystic of the heart and of the love of God. The intellectual side of the Franciscan tradition is represented by Bonaventure and Duns Scotus. She speaks of the suffering of Christ and identifies with that suffering. She was an hysterical person, shouting out in churches. She speaks of herself as entering into the side wound of Christ. She was very visual. She visualized herself lying down with Christ in his tomb. She went through great doubts but at the end experienced a great sense of serenity.

The following is an extract from her book:
Once I was at Vespers and was gazing at the cross. And while I was thus gazing at the cross with the eyes of the body, suddenly my soul was set ablaze with love; and every member of my body felt it with the greatest joy. I saw and felt that Christ was within me, embracing my soul with the very arm with which he was crucified. This took place right at the moment when I was gazing at the cross or shortly afterward. The joy that I experienced to be with him in this way and the sense of security that he gave me were far greater than I had ever been accustomed to:

Henceforth my soul remained in a state of joy in which it understood what this man, namely Christ, is like in heaven, that is to say, how we will see that through him our flesh is made one with God. This was a source of delight for my soul beyond words and description, and it was a joy that was abiding. From it I was left with such security that even if all that we have written were not true, there would not remain any doubt whatever in me that it was God at work in me and that, most certainly, he is responsible for this state. I was so completely certain that God was at work in me that even if everyone in the world were to say that I ought to doubt this, I would not believe them. This is why I am amazed now when I recall how I sought reassurance in the past and relief from my doubts, for now there can be no doubt whatever within me concerning the certainty that it was God at work.

My delight at the present is to see that hand which he shows me with the marks of the nails on it, and to hear him say, “Behold what I have suffered for you and for others.” The joy which seizes my soul in this moment can in no way be spoken of. And in no way whatever can I be sad concerning the passion; on the contrary, my joy is in seeing this man, and to come to him. All my joy now is in this suffering God-man.

Recommended Bibliography

Francis of Assisi Adrian House (London, Pimlico 2001)
St. Francis of Assisi: The Legend and the Life Michael Robson (London, Geoffrey Chapman; 1991)
Poverty and Joy: the Franciscan Tradition William J. Short (London, DLT; 1999)
A Sense of the Divine: A Franciscan Reader for the Christian Year eds. Brs. Austin, Nicholas Alan and Tristam (Norwich, Canterbury Press; 2001)
Saint Clare of Assisi: Her Legend and Selected Writings Christopher Stace (London, Triangle, SPCK; 2001)
Angela of Foligno: Complete Works, tr. Paul Lachance, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York, Paulist Press; 1993)
Jacopone da Todi: The Lauds tr. Serge and Elizabeth Hughes, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York, Paulist Press; 1982)