Saint Francis and Clare lived a life of poverty and happiness as well as great labor. Not only great labor but sickness and pain that came with it. The conversion of both of the saints helped them find God and experience marvelous and alluring changes. Francis and Clare not only made a huge impact on the people of the Franciscan world but made a huge impact in each others lives. Every step of their journey to complete their spiritual mission of God, came along with them the help of the Holy Spirit. The saints’ lives were a faithful journey imitating the life of Jesus Christ. Francis and Clare were known as saints who took the Gospels literally by following all that Jesus said and did no matter the consequences or difficulties.
In the beginning
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of Saint Francis’ life, he was born into a very wealthy family in late 1181 or in early 1182 AD in Assisi, Italy. Francis’ real name was Francis Benadon. His father’s name was Pietro Benadon and his mother’s name was Pica de Bourlemont. Francis himself was sent to the schola minor at the Church of San Giorgio, a primary school for young boys of Assisi. (Reluctant Saint: Donald Spoto 18) His mother and father decided to have Francis baptized in the San Rufino Cathedral, the same place Saint Clare was baptized. Francis’ father owned a cloth business that he eventually started helping out with the role of apprentice when he was old enough and prepared for the job. From when Francis was a kid to when he was in his teenage years, he always wanted to have a good and fun time, he was playful; often called a play boy. He spent a lot of time with his friends and with many girls, and got in trouble at school and around the town. He wasn’t in control of what his future looked like because his future consisted of taking over the cloth business and extending the wealthiness of the Benadon family. He knew that his father had it all planned out for him already… “His son was now in training to become a successful man of the world, and conspicuous consumption and the accumulation of pleasurable experiences were a necessary part of that training.” (Spoto 24) Francis was so blinded by the dream of being successful. All he dreamed of was night hood and nobility. Determined for success, Francis decided to participate in a war in 1201 that was between France and Assisi. At the time he was about twenty years old. Instead of achieving victory for Assisi, Francis was captured and taken into captivity. During the period of imprisonment, Francis got very ill and suffered badly with malaria fever. He did not only get sick but experienced a complete change of heart and grew closer to the Lord. Francis prayed, prayed, and prayed while he was in his cell. One night Francis had a vision which encouraged him to really think about what he was doing with his life. Francis found God with the help of the Holy Spirit and changed his ways for the better to follow Christ. From then on he forgot about the importance of materials goods and wealth and started to lead his life towards simplicity, joy, and humility. After Francis was released from captivity, he returned to his hometown, Assisi. Francis, who was in search for conversion, was led to a church called San Domiano. While he was praying there, God spoke through the crucifix to Francis saying “Francis, rebuild my church.” When God said this Francis knew and believed that it was God. He acted right away and started scrubbing the churches stone floor. He started repairing all the abandoned chapels in the town, including St Mary of the Angels. This section of the Seasonal Features American Catholic article explains what the townspeople thought of Francis…. “He was, for a time, considered to be a religious "nut," begging from door to door when he could not get money for his work, bringing sadness or disgust to the hearts of his former friends, ridicule from the unthinking.” (Foley O.F.M. 1) For Francis thought that God was telling him to physically repair and rebuild the building that he was in. In addition to God’s command, Francis immediately went to his father’s shop, took fabric and then sold the fabric for money to buy materials to help repair San Domiano. When Francis did this, his father was outraged and thought of it as an act of theft. For wanting Francis’ act of “stealing” to be resolved, his father took him to the Bishop to publicly accuse Francis for what he did. After that Francis’ father made a community towns meeting, that Francis and all the townspeople attended. Francis stripped of his clothes in front of the people and officially disowned his father and his wealthy lifestyle….. “and said that he was now recognizing only his Father in heaven, not his father on earth.” (Encyclopedia) This was just the beginning of Francis’ conversion. From then on Francis became a servant and a friend of everyone, especially the lepers. He nourished the lepers, begged with them, and loved them by kissing and hugging them. Francis’ conversion in his life formed and developed his complex character…. “ This idea deserves some consideration if we are to understand the development of the complex character of Francis of Assisi, whose conversion was really the arduous work of a lifetime, not the settled, simple effect of a single moment.” (Spoto 46) At the end of the period, Francis had heard a sermon that he absolutely loved and would be part of his major conversion. The sermon was in Matthew 10:9, telling in which…. “Christ tells his followers they should go forth and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is upon them, that they should take no money with them, nor even walking stick or shoes for the road.” (Catholic Online 3) Francis started preaching to his town and devoted himself to a life of poverty and care for the sick and poor. His preaching focused on caring, loving, and peace. He was very different from all the other preachers. Francis loved everything and believed whatever God made was good. He is the patron saint of animals and ecology and his feast day is October fourth. Francis started to gain more and more followers and created a group called the Franciscan Brothers/the Franciscan Order. With whom Francis traveled to the church of Rome to get permission from Pope Innocent III to preach to all people. Right after the Brothers got permission, they immediately started preaching. The outcome of preaching was not good. The people made fun of them, no one ever listened, the crowds sometimes threw mud at them, and were even called “un-welcomed beggars.” But some people among the crowds listened and even changed some peoples hearts. Saint Clare of Assisi was one of the few people in the crowds listening and following the Franciscan Brothers. Clare was born in 1193 in Assisi, Italy. She was taught to read and write as well as do needlework and spin yarn. Early in her life she showed interest in a calling by the Lord to help the needy and the less fortunate. The women in her childhood were very religious: based on prayer, works of mercy, and service to the poor. When Francis would preach, Clare loved every bit of what he said and she was willing to change her life for it. One night she snuck out of her parents house and sought out Francis secretly.
She begged him to help her so that she also can live out the Gospels. At the time Clare was eighteen years of age. Francis promised her that he would help in every way because he could see that many people would follow her example in times to come. Then Clare founded a little group of her own for women called the Poor Clare’s. Saint Clare is the patron saint of television, good weather, eye disease, etc and her feast day is on August eleventh. Clare took good care of Francis when he was in the process of death. After Francis died she continued to pursue the Franciscan way of life until her death in 1253. Two years after Clare’s death in 1255, she was canonized a saint but Pope Alexander …show more content…
IV. During the many years of sickness, Francis gained even more followers than before. He gained about three thousand friars who joined the Franciscan Order. After Francis’ four years of sickness he decided to take a daring journey to Egypt and the fifth crusade. He was going to try and convert the people, make peace among them, and complete God’s spiritual mission. While he was in Egypt, Jerusalem was captured and the fifth crusades started to begin. He also met and gained respect from the Suiton of Egypt. Many bad things happened to Assisi and the Franciscan Brothers while Francis was gone. Francis’ brothers betrayed him by having possessions, making more traditions, and allowing a division between the community. Everything started to fall apart when he went to Egypt: his health and his values. Francis started suffering greatly in body and soul because his eyesight was wearing down, he felt death in his soul, his brothers let him down, and it was his last stages of conversion.
Francis wrote a poem called the “Canticle of Creation.” Some examples given by Dan Krieger are…… “He used the language of courtly love to express suffering, thanking Brother Flea for biting him and reminding him of the suffering of Christ. He thanked Brother Sun for burning his skin and “Sister Moon” for providing light with which to light his path through the night. Francis embraced Lady Poverty with the good manners of a gentle knight.” (Krieger 1) In the poem the metaphors for sun, moon, water, fire, and death are brothers and sisters. “Canticle of Creation” is still seen and used today. In the end of his life before his death, he went on a personal forty day retreat up to Mount. La Verna. While on Mount. La Verna, Francis received the stigmata which was the same thing Christ received. In the book “In the Footsteps of Francis and Clare,” the stigmata is described well by Bonaventure… “After true love of Christ transformed the lover into His image, when the forty days were over that he spent in solitude as he had desired, …. the angelic man Francis came down from the mountain, bearing with him the likeness of the Crucified, depicted not on tablets of stone or on panels of wood carved by hand, but engraved on parts of his flesh by the finger of the living God.” 7 (Roch Niemier 4,5) The
stigmata was the resemblance of the fulfillment of his mission to live out the Gospels. Francis had completed God’s command and so he was finished. When Francis was close to his death, he went home. Knights were sent from Assisi to guard him so that no one could take him away. At age forty four Francis welcomed Sister Death. Saint Francis of Assisi died on October 3, 1226 A.D. in Assisi, Italy. Two years after his death in 1228, Francis was canonized a saint by his former protector Pope Gregory IX. Francis and Clare are well recognized by the determination and success of living a life according to Jesus Christ. Overall, Francis was a great man. He restored his life, obeyed and took God’s command into action to complete his Christ-centered life. Francis brought back and built the people of the church that is now the Franciscan lifestyle of many. Francis heard God’s call in captivity, believed that it was God, and obeyed God by putting His command to life through Francis’ life. Abraham, The Blessed Virgin Mary, and Saint Clare all performed the elements of the virtue of faith as well. Their imprint on history are the men and women who identify with his vision in the Franciscan way of life. (Saint Bernardine Monastery 1) Francis and Clare are and always will be a lasting inspiration to the millions of people in the world today and forever more.
While Cortes would go away, leaving his country under the power of his vice rulers, many started to think of ways of killing Cortes to overthrow his power. Between the times he would leave to follow his wish to explore the rest of the world, he was opposed by many and even targeted by many. The race to becoming the Governor had started among the all of those who either claimed to be better than Cortes, or simply wanted to increase their power. Cortes’ empire had now officially seen a downfall,
This central theme of light again appears in Canto XXIII, where Dante contemplates the symbolism of Christ as light. "Outshining myriad lamps beheld I then/ one Sun who kindled each and all, as ours/ kindles the stars that throng his high domain;/ and through the rays, poured down in living showers,/ the radiant substance, blazing on me, tried/ my mortal vision beyond my mortal powers." (Bergin, 111) Thus, Dante realizes that has been enlightened far beyond the length of what reason can describe.
Colonial Latin American society in the Seventeenth Century was undergoing a tremendous amount of changes. Society was transforming from a conquering phase into a colonizing phase. New institutions were forming and new people and ideas flooded into the new lands freshly claimed for the Spanish Empire. Two remarkable women, radically different from each other, who lived during this period of change are a lenses through which many of the new institutions and changes can be viewed. Sor Juana and Catalina de Erauso are exceptional women who in no way represent the norm but through their extraordinary tales and by discovering what makes them so extraordinary we can deduce what was the norm and how society functioned during this era of Colonial Latin America.
In chapter two, ‘Francis and His Companions,’ Cunningham exposes the considerable growth in Francis of Assisi’s influence, as he recounts his companions that joined him after deciding to live his life. The chapter is significant because it exposes how Francis of Assisi’s gospel is different from the orthodox Catholic practices, which recognized the pope, as the sole Vicar of Christ. (Cunningham 32). This chapter is important in my life because it reinforces my conviction God is the almighty and all-powerful, and all people regardless of the status of the needed to worship
This historical study will define the important role of Hernan Cortes in the colonization of Mexico in the age of the Spanish conquistador. Cortes was an important figure in Mexican history because of his discovery of Mexico at the Yucatan peninsula in 1519. During this time, Cortes became a historical figure that represented the “conquistador” system of conquest throughout the Mayan and Aztec Empires during the early part of the 15th century. The fall of these indigenous civilizations marked the beginning of Spanish colonization of Central America. Cortes was a significant figure because of the primarily military style of coercion and conquest that sought to annihilate the indigenous peoples of Mexico, and to claim Spanish territory. These conquests contributed significantly to the blend of indigenous and Spanish traditions of Mexico’s national history. Cortes represents the first phase of colonization for the Spanish empire in terms of the violent and aggressive nature of the Spanish Conquistador in the discovery of Mexico. The image of the Spanish conquistador as an often violent and ruthless colonizer is defined the invasion and destruction of the Aztec empire in Mexican history. In essence, a
The traditions my parents instilled in me at a young age are important to me. They are part of my Latin culture and identity. One of the most important traditions that I value the most is our devotion to “La Virgen de Guadalupe” (The Virgin of Guadalupe), and although I don't go to church or share a specific a religion, I believe in La Virgen as a protector and a guardian figure and maintain her presence in my daily life.
For most of the people in the Spanish-speaking world, religion is a large part of daily life, and a large percentage of those people are Catholics. According to America Magazine, in 2010, the largest population of Catholics in the world resided in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mexico has the second-largest Catholic population of any country in the world, with 85 percent of its residents identifying themselves as practicing Catholicism (Catholic). One of the main beliefs of the Catholic faith is the sanctity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.
The Lady of Guadalupe is a huge part of the Mexican tradition, and how many people look up to her in a very godly way. She is important, because she reminds people of their appreciation for their own cultures, along with the other cultures that are all over the world. The Lady of Guadalupe is someone that is the exact replica of the Virgin Mary. But, the only difference is, is that the Virgin Mary is a saint that is represented in the European culture, and the Lady of Guadalupe in the Aztec and Native culture of Mexico. The lady of Guadalupe is a positive influence on different religions, especially Christianity.
...spread their religion and did not stop until their death. It is interesting to find out that there were people like that , that dedicated so much of their lives for a cause. I am sure other saints accomplished as much as St. Boniface, but to my knowledge, he seemed like the most active and aggressive. He not only prayed for change, he went out and made it happen. He took journey’s that lasted years, traveled aimlessly at times, from one ship to another converting pagans and spreading the word as he went along. He even went on these missions in his elder years, though dangerous for his age, he continued until his death.
Contrary to common belief, saints are not perfect. Saints simply seek Christ more than anyone else. Saints understood the need for Christ in their own lives through their own experiences. St. Teresa of Avila did not live a perfect life, although she strived to after her conversion. St. Teresa, after living in the world, realized her desperate need for a personal relationship with God, but by no means was she perfect.
St. Francis was an Italian Catholic and a talented poet. As an Italian, his heart moved naturally to deep affection, love and enjoyment. As a poet, he could see right through the outcome of those answers. One night during a dream, he saw his house turned into a palace. The walls of this palace were hung with glorious armory, banners, shields, and swords – all instruments of war. Suddenly he heard a voice, it explained that this was to be his palace, the gathering place for all his knights. The arms were theirs, the banners, and tokens of their countless conquests. To complete this wonderful dream, a gorgeous bride awaited him. St. Francis awoke charmed. A few days after that, he left Assisi to go to Southern Italy to enlist. He reached Spoleto, wh...
Even though many of his writings and sermons did not last, The Canticle of Brother Sun has survived the many centuries and is now looked at as one of Francis’ greatest writings. The Canticle is a poem which talks of the different aspects of nature, such as earth, wind, and water, and praises God for creating them. The Canticle also contains many parallels to the gospels. After his experience in the church, Francis was inspired by the life of Jesus. As G. K. Chesterton says, “Francis of Assisi was a mirror of Christ”. Francis saw great promise in the life that Jesus lived in the gospels and tried to be an example of Him through his own work. The poem reveals many of Francis’ own teachings of chastity, poverty, and obedience along with the call to respect nature.
Saint Catherine of Siena is the saint that I have chosen to be my saint. She was very interesting to me, and her story was very intriguing. She is the patron saint of fire prevention, bodily ills, sick people, miscarriages, nurses, and illness. She was canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II. Her feast day is now celebrated on April 29.
Francis was famous for his love of all creation. He called for simplicity of life, poverty, and humility before God. He worked to care for the poor. Thousands were drawn to his sincerity, piety, and joy. In all his actions, Francis sought to follow fully and literally the way of life demonstrated by Christ in the Gospels. He died in 1226, at the age of 44.
Saint Francis of Assisi was a uniquely spiritual man who gave up a life of wealth and position to lead a life of poverty in accordance and service to God. Embracing a life according to the Gospels, Francis went on to establish a Monastic Order, known as the Franciscans. In the midst of the political climate within the religious community of Italy, Francis emerged a champion for the poor and sick, with humility and no regard for himself. Francis exhibited his love for God through his love and admiration for all of God's creation including nature. The principles of Saint Francis are as relevant today as they were in thirteenth century Italy; service and love to all of God’s creation.