St. Francis of Assisi - A Worldly and Heavenly Man

When we think about Saints, sometimes it’s easy for us to dismiss them as being holy from their birth. One may think many saints grew up with devout and pious parents, so of course, their children are saints, but this is not always the case. Unlike St. Dominic, who was in many ways saint-like from his childhood, St. Francis of Assisi shows us that not everyone starts as a saint, but most of us— like him— start as sinners attached to following our own will rather than the will of our Father in heaven.

St. Francis of Assis wasn’t someone who was raised with perfect faith. He wasn’t born to particularly devout parents, and like most of us, he grew up in a culturally catholic environment. Yet, he wasn’t the living embodiment of the Gospels he eventually would become. In his youth, he was good-natured and generous, a rich frat boy among his friends, a pampered prince smothered with the love of his enabling parents, a spendthrift, and a prodigal son. He was one whose concern was of temporal things, engrossed with the latest fashion trends from France, courteous to all, and wanting to be well-liked by everyone. He did not want to make a God out of riches like his workaholic businessman father, but instead, he wished to accumulate honor and prestige as a knight.

How did he transform from a worldly man to a heavenly man?

Born again and transformed by the pain, suffering, and love of God, who wounds and binds up (Job 5:18). Francis set out to fight in a battle in November of 1202, in which most of the men of his city lost their lives, and only the rich were captured and ransomed as prisoners. It was through suffering for one year in a subterranean prison— with its stale leftovers, tainted water, no facilities for bathing or latrines, and a breeding ground for malaria— that St. Francis' heart was formed to see the kind of vain life he was living in Assisi. After being ransomed by his parents at the age of 21, he returned home, where he was bedridden for one whole year.

After suffering from the debilitating effects of war & imprisonment, physical weakness, a frailer body, intellectual boredom, depression, and spiritual confusion, he no longer found joy in the parties and feasts he once enjoyed with friends. He was searching for that everlasting truth, that water that would not leave him thirsting again.

One night before going off to join the crusades, he dreamed that a man led him into a palace filled with knightly armor, saddles, shields, and spears. Thinking this dream was a divine sign of his sure chance to win honor and glory as a knight, he set off with some friends to battle. 22 miles away south of Assisi, he and his Knightley companions stopped for the night at Spoleto, where Francis developed a spiking fever. It became apparent to his friends that he could not continue the journey, so they asked him, “Where are you going to go, Francis?” Francis, shivering and half delirious, responded by sharing his plans for battle and knighthood when he heard the question, a whisper of the Holy Spirit of God asking, “ Who can do more good for you—the master or the servant?” Francis, realizing that he was serving the servant rather than the master, went back home as the Spirit had spoken to him and waited to see what he was supposed to do. 

Isn’t it like that in our lives, too? Sickness and our own weakness often wake us up to the reality that we aren’t living the life God wants us to live.

While on an errand at one of his father’s properties, he stopped by the dilapidated church of San Damiano for shade and saw a beautiful crucifix that survived the decay, and he heard the tender voice of God say, “ Francis, don’t you see that my house is being destroyed? Go, then and rebuild it for me.”

There are these moments in each of our lives where after our pride has been broken down, we are more open, ready, and willing to accept what the Lord has to say to us; this was that moment for Francis. And when we set aside our pride and are open to the will of the Lord, then Jesus can truly set the world on fire with his love, just like he did with the Seraphic Saint Francis of Assisi!