The Prayer of Saint Francis
"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light, and
Where there is sorrow, 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."105 - Saint Francis
Love Conquers All
Francis of Assisi lived an unparalleled life of joy and love. His compassion for all people and all of Nature is represented in poetry, drawings, paintings and frescos around the world. Like the lives of the other saints, his early years did not predict the impact his life would have on the world.
Francis of Assisi had a very wise answer for every situation and person. He was consistent in his message and his actions throughout his life. Whether directed at nobility or beggars, his message was always “love.”
Love is an unwavering truth of our humanity. Francis did not need theology or philosophy to explain it. His commitment to this truth meant constant right action.
For Francis to choose love in every situation meant that his actions had to demonstrate his love. He could not just think about love and do something else. For Francis, love was a verb. It meant taking the right action at every opportunity.
Italy In The Thirteenth CenturyThe 13th century was characterized by the urbanization of Europe, military expansion, and intellectual revival. The cities of antiquity had been clustered around the Mediterranean. By 1200 AD, the growing urban centers were in the middle of the continent, connected by roads or rivers.
France, England and Spain had developed into sovereign nations. Elsewhere in Europe, the Catholic church asserted its power over all the Christian world. The Crusades were the military arm of the Church, expanding the empire into Egypt, Palestine and Northern Africa.
The Early Life of Francis
Francis was born in 1182, in the busy trading city of Assisi, in what is now Italy. The territory of Assisi occupies the northern part of the Umbrian valley, bounded by Mount Subasio and the hills that separate it from the Tiber Valley. It is a beautiful region, with rolling hills, vineyards, pastoral valleys and wide open clear sky.
Francis’ father, Pietro Bernardone, was a wealthy textile merchant. Francis was raised in an environment of wealth, with many good friends and contacts that he gained from his father’s business. Francis planned to follow him in his trade, although he also had dreams of being a troubadour or a knight. His mother, Pica, belonged to a noble family of Provence, France. He derived his name and his love of the Troubadours from this side of his heritage.
Although he showed little aptitude for school or business, he charmed everyone around him. He loved to sing and entertain his friends. He was always courteous, kind and cheerful.
Most of his friends came from the noble classes above his own class, but Francis was welcomed among them. No one loved pleasure more than Francis; he was smart, funny, sang merrily, delighted in fine clothes and had a dramatic flare. He soon became the favorite among the young nobles of Assisi, “the leader of the civil revels, the very king of frolic.”106
In his father’s business, it was Francis who attracted all the clients. It was Francis’ good cheer, helpful attitude and quick wit that they enjoyed. He always extended a helping hand and had a “heart of gold.” He was a great salesman, and his father’s textile business thrived.107
There were countless times when Francis extended his aid to the poor so much that his father thought it endangered his business or hurt his profits. Francis would take off at a moment’s notice to offer a beggar a cloak for the the cold, leaving the merchandise unattended. Once he left the shop in search of a woman beggar whom he had pushed aside when he was busy. He wandered the streets until he found her and gave her money. His attention to the suffering of others began long before he dedicated his life to the church.
Depression Transforms Francis
When Francis was 20, he and his friends joined the war in Perugia, not far from his home of Assisi. They were captured and held as prisoners of war for one year. Francis tried to keep everyone’s spirits uplifted and optimistic. He entertained them by singing songs and telling stories. He was so intent on relieving the suffering of others that he never noticed his own. By the time of their release, Francis was nearing a complete collapse.
A short time after arriving home, Francis became delirious and had to stay indoors in bed for several weeks. His nights were full of unexplained fevers, nightmares, visions and voices in his head. He never felt fully conscious or able to wake himself. He also never felt like he was sleeping. The only thing that brought him back to consciousness was the sunlight on his bed every morning.
Francis developed a love for the sun during this illness. His nights were so tortured that the rising sun brought him relief and joy. He began to get out of bed in the morning to greet the sun, and again in the evening to watch the last rays.108
As Francis slowly improved, he walked outside to be in the sunshine; at first he roamed to the end of his street, and eventually outside the walls of Assisi and into the countryside. His nights remained difficult. He would again fall into delirium and have fevers. As the sun rose and shone over the city, Francis experienced the light enveloping all the buildings and trees. As he walked in the countryside, he saw how the sunlight bathed everything in its glow. He began to experience ecstatic states of bliss and oneness with all of nature.
After the illness, Francis was more reflective. He spent time alone, walking in the countryside, waiting for those ecstatic states. He continued to go out with his friends and have parties at his house, but all the festivities of his nightlife were losing their charm. He was often distant and pensive in the company of his friends, and they began to tease him about being so distracted. They thought he was in love.
A Failed Crusade
Francis was looking for meaning and purpose. As invading German forces pushed toward Rome, Assisi put together a volunteer army to fight under the French knight, Walter of Brienne. Francis had a very prophetic dream and was filled with enthusiasm for the cause of saving his country and fighting in the army of the Pope.
He mounted his horse with all the gear of a Crusader and proudly joined the volunteers before they left the town of Assisi. He rode around and called out to his friends that he would come back as a great knight.
On his first night out, his illness returned with its fever and delirium. Francis was forced to stop and spend the night in the town of Spoleto.109
In that state between sleep and wakefulness, he heard voices and believed they were from God. The voices told him to return to Assisi; the war he would fight was not on the battlefield. When Francis mounted his horse the next morning, he thought the dreams were just his illness. He thought he headed out in the right direction to rejoin the others, but after a long days journey, he looked up and saw the gates of Assisi. Too tired with the fatigue of his fever and the long ride, he rode slowly into Assisi.
Francis was not met with compassion. The townspeople had only curses, scorn, laughter and taunts for him. He was humiliated. He had been so proud to ride off on his horse, and now had to wake every morning to his failure.
Francis was confused and depressed. His friends had a difficult time cajoling him back to the parties and nightlife. Almost daily, he began to visit the little church of San Damiano, imploring God to make his purpose clear.
For a long time, Francis received no clues and no signs from God about what he should do. Then one night, in a state of half dreaming, he heard the voices again, "Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin."110
Taking these words literally, Francis went to his father’s warehouse and found some rolls of fabric that he could take to a local fair. He sold all of it. Then he sold his horse. He returned with the money to San Damiano and offered all of the money to begin rebuilding the church. The priest knew Pietro Bernardone well enough to wait until his return before accepting the donation.
Pietro Bernardone was a merchant and his son had taken valuable inventory. This was by far the most costly of Francis’ escapades. His father was becoming more enraged with each incident and this turned out to be the last. He dragged his son before the bishop, who had power to make civil determinations at this time. Francis’ father wanted his money back, and he wanted to disown Francis from the family fortunes before he could squander any more of it.
Francis made it easy for him. He returned all the money, stepped out of the clothes he was wearing, and told his father, "Hitherto I have called you my father on earth; henceforth I desire to say only, 'Our Father who art in Heaven.’”111 Naked, Francis walked away from his father and out of town.
The Franciscan Friars
Francis had made his commitment to God by walking away from his worldly father. It surprised everyone, but for Francis it was the only logical thing to do. He took a few days to wander the countryside. He felt joy and freedom, not misery.
Returning to Assisi, Francis wore the simple, hooded robe of the peasants, with a rope tied around his waist for a belt. He began the restoration of San Damiano by walking the city begging for stones. Going out and retrieving stones, cutting them to fit, positioning them correctly and cementing them in place was tough work. It was a time of introspection for Francis. As he moved stones, he contemplated all that he had been through.
The work of repairing San Damiano strengthened Francis. His work became an ongoing meditation. He realized that every time he helped the poor or lifted a stone to the wall, he was doing God’s work. He tried to imitate the simplicity of the life of Jesus. His interior life became confident and sure. It took over one year to rebuild the church, but when Francis finished, he knew how he wanted to proceed.
Francis started preaching in the region around Assisi. He called the people of the countryside to brotherly love. The people of Assisi had already stopped making fun of Francis. They began to admire his determination and commitment.
It did not take long before others volunteered to join him; a successful merchant was first, followed by a priest from Assisi. Francis brought his two companions to the cathedral at San Damiano. As was the custom, he randomly opened the Bible three times on the altar. Each time it opened, he read passages where Christ told His disciples to leave all things and follow Him. "This shall be our rule of life", exclaimed Francis, and led his companions to the public square, where they gave away all their belongings to the poor. They wore the rough, hooded robe of the peasants, like that of Francis.112
Francis wished to emulate Jesus in his gospel of peace and love. He did not want property to corrupt that purpose. He believed in the purity of the teachings and example of the life of Jesus. He rightfully observed that the Catholic church became corrupt through its accumulation of wealth.
When the number of his companions had increased to eleven, Francis wrote the first Rule of the Friars Minor. It was very short and simple. Francis asked that scholars and priests not try to interpret the Rule. “Just as the Lord helped me to state and write the Rules simply and plainly, so you must understand them simply and plainly without interpretation.”113
One of his first followers was a scholar who “realized suddenly that salvation does not rest in man’s knowledge of the things that are true, but in living and acting according to the truth.”114
Francis always emphasized that the expressions of love and peace must be given freely. If people, animals, and nature felt his love, they would respond in kind.
Francis began preaching in fields and town squares. As Francis and his teachings gained in popularity, the priests invited him back to give sermons in their churches. His father now showed great pride in his son who attracted so many followers.
Lover Of Animals
Francis was known to speak with all kinds of animals. Birds greeted him and sang in chorus. Animals watched over him or followed him wherever he went. He was simply extending his radiant love to them. They understood they were in no danger with Francis.
One day, as Francis came into a village, the birds flew all around him and sang without stopping. When it came time for Francis to give his sermon, he realized no one would be able to hear him above the joyful songs of the birds. Looking up, he asked them to be quiet while he talked. “When he had blessed them with the sign of the cross, they sprang up, and singing songs of unspeakable sweetness, away they streamed in a great cross to the four quarters of heaven.”115
In one town, Francis encountered a hunting party on the way to track and kill a wolf that was raiding the town’s livestock. Francis asked to go along. When the wolf was spotted in a field, Francis asked the men to let him go out alone and talk to the wolf. The hunting party was very afraid of the wolf, but with gentle reassurances, Francis persuaded them to let him try.
To their surprise, the wolf did not run away or attack. The wolf licked Francis’ feet and bowed down to him. Francis knelt in the snow and spoke with the wolf, which became playful and puppy-like. Francis turned and walked back toward the hunting party with the wolf dutifully at his heels.
The men stood in awe and fear until they could see that his love had transformed the “beast” inside of the wolf. Francis asked the men to let the wolf into the city and care for it. He promised them this wolf would not hunt again. The wolf became a favorite of the village and the people cared for him until he died. They erected a statue of Francis with the wolf in the town square. It was a reminder of his lesson that even something feared is deserving of love.
Beggars and Bandits
One evening when he arrived back at the monastery, Brother Angelo excitedly told Francis how he had chased off three highway robbers that had come begging for some bread. The villagers had cornered the bandits in the woods for weeks, and were starving them out. Angelo declared that the men were brazen and impudent to come to the monastery for food.
Francis was more surprised by Angelo’s reaction to the bandits than anything else. How could his own disciple act without love and compassion? Francis sent Angelo to find the bandits, accompanied with bread and wine from the monastery table. He asked Angelo to beg their forgiveness in Francis’ name, and invite the bandits to return to the monastery.
When Francis brought them into the monastery he talked to them with brotherly love. There was no tone of admonishment or judgment in his voice. Brother Angelo was humbled by the boundless heart of Francis and the strength of his actions.
Francis found no need for punishment in changing human hearts. “Severity induces fear; punishment deepens the abyss of loneliness; and only brotherly love can unite all of creation as one great family of God.”116 The bandits were able to see the good in themselves because that is what Francis saw in them.
Pilgrim Of Peace
Francis went to the Holy Land in 1221. He did not go as a Crusader, as he idealized in his youth, but as a peacemaker.
Francis first spoke to the Crusaders in their camps at the Port of Damietta, Egypt. He was dismayed at the Crusader’s lust for blood and the treasure they were stealing. He told them that it was their own evil behavior, not the Muslims, that kept them out of the Holy Land. He begged that they not enter the Holy Land until they had purified their souls. “It is greed and hatred that keeps you from the Holy Land... If you wear a cross on your armor, wear it also in your heart... Swords win blood, but love wins souls.”117
Against passionate pleas for common sense, Francis left the Crusaders encampment at Damietta and set out for the Muslim camp. As when Anthony walked unharmed through the streets of Alexandria during the Christian persecutions, Francis walked unharmed all the way to the tents of the Muslim leader.
Francis asked permission to speak with Malik al Kamil. He was politely received and invited inside. The two men spoke in French and understood one another. They expressed their love for Mohammed or Jesus Christ, respectively, and neither could be persuaded to renounce his own faith. The meeting ended with graciousness and courtesy.
Francis was allowed to tour the Holy Land, protected by the Muslim guards of Malik al Kamil. By his love, understanding, peaceful words, and actions, he gained entry to all the holy places of pilgrimage in the middle of war.118
Meanwhile in Damietta, the Muslim and Christian armys took up the bloody battle where thousands were killed. Francis understood he could not change the course of their actions. They were not going to listen to him.
Francis’ later years
Francis had always insisted that the Franciscan Friars abstain from owning property. He never believed it was necessary to maintain an organization. His ideal was that the Franciscans remain forever as a band of wandering minstrels for God.
In the time since Francis had begun teaching, he had attracted thousands of followers. Men and women, monastics, and entire families had followed his ideals. Among the brothers, there were many who longed to build beautiful churches and libraries. Others wished to organize and administrate, creating structure for the Franciscan Order.
By the time Francis returned from Egypt, he found an entire organization had been created in his absence. Mansions had been accepted as gifts to be used for libraries and monasteries.
A new home had just been donated to the Franciscans in Bologna. The brothers were filled with excitement, planning a festive opening ceremony. When Francis arrived, he was dismayed at the luxurious mansion. He asked them what had become of their vows of poverty. His friars could not calm him, and he walked out on the ceremony.119
Shortly after this, he resigned from the administrative duties and his leadership of the organization. Initially, one of Francis’ most loved and devoted brothers, Pietro dei Cattani, took leadership, but Pietro only lived for a few more months.
Brother Elias and Cardinal Ugolino took control of the Franciscan order and requested that Francis rewrite “The Rule.” They intended to ease the restrictions, making it easier to follow. Francis tried to stop them, but he found it very difficult. Brother Elias and Cardinal Ugolino were both completely devoted to the Franciscan order and wanted to see it survive and flourish. For Francis, it was a losing battle.
Many of Francis’ most loyal brothers protested that he had let his power slip away. “I am not my brother’s keeper” was all that the disheartened saint could answer. He vowed that the only remedy was to teach through his example.120
Francis did not work officially within the Franciscan Brotherhood again. He led by his example, which had always been his most powerful tool. He continued to transform hearts, and light the way for those who would listen.
Peace, Joy and Love
Francis contracted a severe eye inflammation while he was in Egypt. No one in Italy could cure it, and he suffered with it until his death. When it began to deteriorate, he had to stay inside in the dark because the daylight was so painful for him. He could only go outside at night.
This was the man who adored being out in the sunlight, enjoying flowers, and walking with the songs of birds. Although this condition would have been miserable for anyone else; Francis was the exception. Ever the optimist, and the one to point out the good side of any situation, Francis now exalted the moon and stars, the night birds, and the quiet breezes of the evening.
The doctors tried every remedy, but failed to find a cure for his pain, or for any of the other symptoms. He had to be attended to 24 hours a day by doctors, brothers, and nuns. They all loved Francis deeply and worried over his worsening condition. Even in his severe pain and illness, Francis sang to them and made them laugh.121
As he lay near death, he offered up his life of peace to heal one last conflict. The bishop and the municipal pastor of Assisi were locked in a bitter dispute. Using his own illness as a pretext, he asked each of them to appear at his side at a particular hour. They both arrived not expecting the presence of the other.
Francis sang his “Canticle to Brother Sun” with his two disciples. As the singing came to an end, Francis added another stanza, “Blessed are they that keep themselves in peace.” The two gentlemen were so moved by the moment that they begged forgiveness of Francis and of each other, and were reconciled.122
The final stanza of the “Canticle to Brother Sun” welcomes Sister Death. Francis could be heard singing until almost his final hour. At his death, birds are said to have flown into the air circling and singing their praise.
Francis died in 1226 and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. The statue of the little man in the brown robe, saint of love and compassion, surrounded by doves of peace, is known throughout the world.
Lessons of Saint Francis
Although Saint Francis also had depression as a central part of his change into a saint, I have included his story because he is the greatest example of how we should act. Saint Francis is revered because he chose to act perfectly in all situations. If we could follow his example in even minor ways, the world would be a much better place.
Many followers of both western and eastern philosophies speak of the duality of the world. This duality is seen by many to be the work of the devil, or to the eastern world, delusion. Disease and health, pain and pleasure, loss and gain—these are all examples of the opposites that hold together our false reality.123
I often hear the idea that once we attain enlightenment, we live in bliss. If bliss is defined as great joy, is that just one side of duality? I think something may have been lost in the translation of the original meaning.
If enlightenment brings bliss, why were the saints in this book suffering until the end? I think it is because bliss does not mean happy, it means acceptance that everything is part of the same oneness: as I noted in the chapter The Art of Seeing Depression, “It’s all milk.” Depression is just as much a part of bliss as any other state. Peace, love, and joy are naturally felt, even when you are also experiencing great pain. If you read what Saint Teresa, Saint John of the Cross, or Saint Francis had to say, it will become clear: bliss is not the opposite of duality, it includes duality as a subset.
Picture two small circles next to each other. One is pleasure and the other is pain. The common concept is that we get to a point that is outside of them both and move to another circle where there is only peace, love, and joy. Bliss is incorrectly thought of as beyond the duality, a place where pleasure and pain do not exist.
Now picture a larger circle with the pleasure and pain inside of it. Picture it with all conditions inside of it: pleasure, pain, gain, loss, happiness, sadness, health, illness, etc. If you focus on the big circle, you are in bliss, even though you are still experiencing some of the elements inside. If you lose the perspective of the big circle, you feel only the small circles, and the pain seems more intense.
Some people think that the problem is that we have wrong thinking. They propose that we catch ourselves thinking sad thoughts and replace them with happy thoughts, as if that is going to change the picture. It is the same as focusing on the two small circles. We will never fully understand our condition until we begin to focus on the big circle and find meaning in our experiences. As long as you think that sad thoughts are an illness you will not find the advantage of your condition.
The example of our saints is that they got to a point that they were in the same state of oneness no matter what happened to their body or mind. Saint Francis was in incredible pain at the end of his life, yet had the ability to keep focused on the big picture. It is not that he was somehow separate from his experiences; he experienced them just as you and I would. But since he was focusing on the big picture, he was in bliss. Bliss is the state that is not affected by the duality.
As our saints grew in understanding, they still experienced the pain, but from the perspective of bliss it did not affect them as much. That is why Saint Teresa said: “All these illnesses now bother me so little that I am often glad, thinking the Lord is served by something.”124
It takes the perspective of extreme pain for some of us to see the truth of bliss. The Depression Advantage is that we have the chance to understand something that few ever will.
Footnotes:105 Prayer attributed to St. Francis in 13th century, www.worldprayers.org
106 Robinson, Paschal, St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909, Robert Appleton Company, N.Y., Vol.6, p.221, www.NewAdvent.org
107 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p.159
108 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p.165
109 Jewett, Sophie, God's Troubadour, The Story of Saint Francis of Assisi, 1910, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, N.Y., www.catholicforum.com
110 Robinson, Paschal, St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909, Robert Appleton Company, N.Y., Vol.6, p.221, www.NewAdvent.org
111 Robinson, Paschal, St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909, Robert Appleton Company, N.Y., Vol.6, p.221, www.NewAdvent.org
112 Robinson, Paschal, St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909, Robert Appleton Company, N.Y., Vol.6, p.221, www.NewAdvent.org
113 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p. 270
114 Ibid., p.196
115 Canton, William, A Child's Book of Saints, The Little Bedesman of Christ, 1906, E.P. Dutton & Co., N.Y., www.gutenberg.org
116 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p. 246
117 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p.246
118 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p.245
119 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p.254
120 Ibid., p.258
121 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p.263
122 Fulop-Miller, Rene, The Saints That Moved the World, Reprint ed. 1991, Ayer Co. Pub., N.H., p.268
123 Paramahansa Yogananda, Aurobiography of a Yogi, 1993, Self Realization Fellowship, L.A., p.486
124 Teresa of Avila: Mystical Writings, ed. Tessa Bielecki, 1999, Crossword Publishing Company, NY. p.119
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