Still raving like a madman, the people of Assisi tried to keep St. Francis in bed during his recovery from his days in prison. But his call was to come in a voice that spoke to him in his dreaming, that led him to seek out the sunlight and in what some biographers call the voice of love.
St. Francis of Assisi Hears the Voice
In a state of deep sleep, St. Francis of Assisi heard a voice. Thomas of Celano records the moment in the first written biography of the saint – by one who lived alongside him and knew him well.
“Who can give you more?” The Voice Said. “The master or the servant?” “The Master!” “Then why are you abandoning the master for the servant and the prince for the vassal?” And Francis said, “What do you wish me to do, Lord?” “Return to the land where you were born, and you will be told what you must do. Return home . . . “ The words were harsh, but the voice was gentle, because it was the Lord’s voice.’” God’s Fool: The Life and Times of St. Francis of Assisi, By Julien Greenbv
St. Francis Renounces the Wealth of His Father
In a frenzy of passion, St. Francis of Assisi took to taking the money from his father’s coffers and distributing it to the poor and homeless people who lived outside the gates of their placid estate. But this angered his father to no end and led St. Francis of Assisi and his father to a showdown before the town prelate.
In this moment, St. Francis of Assisi stripped himself of all his clothing and gave it back to his father saying that he did not want it. He wanted to be like the poor in the street and the beggars.
It was at this moment that he left his home, his family, his friends and embraced what he would later call Lady Poverty. He esteemed Lady Poverty above all else, and never strayed from that path from that moment forward.
The Prayer of St. Francis
The Prayer of St. Francis sums up the life he then began to lead and followed throughout his life:
“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, fiath.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
And where there is sadness, joy.
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi Embraces Asceticism
St. Francis of Assisi Rebuilds San Damiano
Sources: Saint Francis – A Film by Michele Soavi, Francis of Assisi Complete Writings in Three Volumes, The Saint, The Founder, The Prophet – Compiled by Regis Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., J. A. Wayne Hellmann, O.F.M. Conv., William J. Short, O.F.M., The Little Flowers of St. Francis – By Raphael Brown, Saint Francis of Assisi – By Thomas of Celano, God’s Fool: The Life and Times of St. Francis of Assisi, By Julien Green, Clare of Assisi, The Lady – Translation by Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., Francis and Clare: The Complete Works, Translation by Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., and Ignatius C. Brady, O.F.M., Clare of Assisi: Her Spirituality Revealed in her Letters – By Claire Marie Ledoux
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