Celebrating St. Francis of Assisi (Copy)

Oct 11

Letter from the Pastor
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Oct. 13, 2024

Finding Francis and Clare of Assisi

Last weekend, we celebrated the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of our parish. After each Mass, a few people approached me asking for a “good book” on St. Francis. As I mentioned in my letter last weekend, I believe St. Francis, although born over 800 years ago, continues to speak to us today.

Truthfully, his story is not that different from ours. After trying to find his identity in the world, he ultimately realized that our true identity resides in our relationship with God, and our true joy comes from that relationship.

The first biography of St. Francis was written in 1228 by Thomas of Celano, soon after St. Francis was canonized. In 1260, St. Bonaventure wrote another biography, commissioned by the Order, and was considered the “official biography” of St. Francis. These books are very good and give great insight into the life of St. Francis. They are, however, a product of their time and are a bit harder to understand than a contemporary biography, given their historical context and different writing styles.

Of course, we always connect St. Clare with St. Francis. She was not just a follower of St. Francis. She was a holy person in her own right. I prefer to see them as fellow travelers whose lives directly influenced the other’s. His preaching in the public square captured her imagination, but her desire to follow Christ was truly her own. She was an independent thinker, a woman of courage, and a woman whose strength allowed her to face the many challenges in her life. Like St Francis’, her charism and holiness attracted the attention of many people of their time. Even the pope, Alexander IV, had known her personally for many years. He had such admiration for Clare that he and his court visited her as she lay dying in the dormitory of the San Damiano church.

In response to the request for a “good book” on the life of St. Francis, I asked the friars, some parishioners, and a few friends what they would recommend. Of course, I asked for recommendations on St. Clare as well. Each book has its own style and level of detail. Some take the historical perspective, while others are more spiritual in nature.

One interesting note is that contemporary scholars began looking more deeply into the life of St. Francis. It was about twenty years later that they began to investigate the life of St. Clare. Subsequently, we have more books on St. Francis than on St. Clare.

We are in the process of creating a resource page on Sts. Francis and Clare for our parish website. At this point, the page is limited but has a fuller description of these books. If you would like to speak with someone about the lives of St. Francis or St. Clare, the local Secular Franciscan Fraternity or the parish’s Friends of Francis and Clare are two groups that are available along with the friars and sisters of the parish.

Happy reading.

Resource Page for St. Francis and Clare