St. Francis of Assisi
On The Grapevine 15
St. Francis was walking in the woods when a brother friar brought him a rabbit who had been caught in a trap. St. Francis set it free, admonished it to be more careful, and the rabbit hopped up into his lap. Francis brought the rabbit a few steps into the woods, and again the rabbit followed him and hopped into his lap. In the end, his brother friar had to take the rabbit far into the woods to make it go on its way.
A soldier and the son of a wealthy merchant, St. Francis invested himself to prayer, and eventually was told by God to repair his Church. Francis took this literally at first, and fixed up the local church - it was only until later that he realized God was calling him to repair the Church, to strengthen it in the face of scandals, avarice, and heresies. He vowed himself to a life of serving God in poverty, much to the chagrin of his father. St. Francis was a simple, active man who served God and took nothing for granted, preaching and loving God in nature and in all his gifts.
"Francis was not a reformer; he preached about returning to God and obedience to the Church. Francis must have known about the decay in the Church, but he always showed the Church and its people his utmost respect. When someone told him of a priest living openly with a woman and asked him if that meant the Mass was polluted, Francis went to the priest, knelt before him, and kissed his hands -- because those hands had held God."
He drew many to him, and eventually the order of Franciscans was born. They sold their goods, gave to the poor, took nothing, begged, preached the love of God and took up their cross daily. There is so much more to be said about St. Francis. You can read more about him HERE.
- Meagan
A soldier and the son of a wealthy merchant, St. Francis invested himself to prayer, and eventually was told by God to repair his Church. Francis took this literally at first, and fixed up the local church - it was only until later that he realized God was calling him to repair the Church, to strengthen it in the face of scandals, avarice, and heresies. He vowed himself to a life of serving God in poverty, much to the chagrin of his father. St. Francis was a simple, active man who served God and took nothing for granted, preaching and loving God in nature and in all his gifts.
"Francis was not a reformer; he preached about returning to God and obedience to the Church. Francis must have known about the decay in the Church, but he always showed the Church and its people his utmost respect. When someone told him of a priest living openly with a woman and asked him if that meant the Mass was polluted, Francis went to the priest, knelt before him, and kissed his hands -- because those hands had held God."
He drew many to him, and eventually the order of Franciscans was born. They sold their goods, gave to the poor, took nothing, begged, preached the love of God and took up their cross daily. There is so much more to be said about St. Francis. You can read more about him HERE.
- Meagan