Father Richard understands the Franciscan vow of poverty through Francis’ commitment to live the gospel.
Francis initially needed no rule, no code of behavior, for his brother friars. He was quite satisfied with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and his instructions to the disciples. When Francis read the inaugural discourse of Jesus, he saw that the call to be poor stood right at the beginning: “How blessed are the poor in spirit!” Henceforward, Francis’ reading of the gospel considered poverty to be “the foundation and guardian of all virtues.” [1] The other virtues receive the kingdom only in promise; poverty, however, is invested with it already now and without delay. “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). [2]
Spiritual teacher Mirabai Starr shares some examples of how Francis lived out the beatitudes of Jesus:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
—Matthew 5:6
Francis inspired his followers to desire the liberation of their brothers and sisters as passionately as they themselves longed to be free. He modeled a spiritual path that combined private, contemplative prayer with active service in the world.
While Francis could easily have become the respected leader of a successful monastic community, removed from the distractions of society, he chose instead to immerse himself in the messy human condition, where he was often reviled as an embarrassment to the high society from which he came. Rather than accept a traditional endowment, Francis and his followers begged in the streets for bread, bricks, and firewood. He tended the sick and cared for orphans. He stood up against oppression wherever he encountered it, but he did so in such a loving way that he posed no obvious threat to the authorities and so managed to convert them to his cause….
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” —Matthew 5:10
Francis began and ended his religious vocation the victim of condemnation and rejection. When he first gave up his life of comfort and ease and took to the streets to live among the poor and beg for his most basic needs, the people of Assisi slammed their doors in his face and called him crazy. Multiple betrayals broke his heart, yet also opened him to receive the ultimate gift from Christ: participation in his passion through the stigmata. The full spectrum of Francis’s life—from joyful exaltation of the Lord to crushing self-doubt—reflected his living commitment to Christ’s teachings of love….
The Way of Love can be harrowing. It is not a path of convenience. It requires vigilance and discipline to speak for the voiceless, and courage to accept the consequences of ringing the bells that break the spell of complacency. Yet the fruits of such action are sweet. They are wild fruits, and they yield in abundance—enough to feed a whole kingdom, right here on earth. [3]
References:
[1] Prologue to Sacred Exchange between St. Francis and Lady Poverty, in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol. 1, The Saint (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1999), 529.
[2] Adapted from Richard Rohr with John Bookser Feister, Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2001), 111.
[3] Mirabai Starr, Saint Francis of Assisi: Brother of Creation (Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2007, 2013), 22–23, 27–28.
Image credit and inspiration: Dimitri Kadiev, Be Praised—mural of Francis and Clare on the side of the CAC (detail), photo of paint on adobe wall. Click here to enlarge image. This mural art on the outside of the CAC represents Francis’ love and acceptance of life in its varied and diverse manifestations.
Story from Our Community:
Growing up, I saw the Poor Clares each Christmas when they would drop off a gift for my father who was one of their physicians. Their gifts were always homemade, sometimes a lovely piece of artwork. My grandfather had known them and would stop by their chapel on Friday afternoons … to say a prayer. I sometimes dropped by to enjoy a quiet [respite] from the loudness and pain of our lives these days. I treasured the simplicity and quiet, and the value of animals and earth. I felt their gifts and space to be a nourishing spiritual presence in my life.
—Mary O.
