Faith And Franciscan ism Fr. Patrick Donahue, T. O. R. Summer, 2001 Important Events In The Life Of Saint Francis At Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania there is a beautiful Chapel on campus. It is called the Immaculate Conception Chapel.
The chapel is open to all those wishing to visit, or perhaps worship and pray. Anyone visiting the chapel has the wonderful oppurtunity to see the beautiful stained-glass windows throughout the chapel, and in particular the six large windows depicting some of the most important events in the life of St. Francis. Having the oppurtunity to visit the chapel I would like to write about four of the six stained-glass windows of Franciss life. First, a brief background into Franciss life. Francis of Assisi was born in 1182 in Umbria, Italy.
Franciss father was Pietro Bernard one, who was a wealthy Assisi an cloth merchant. Francis mother was from a noble family of Provence. At baptism, Francis received either the name John, or Giovanni, but later his father changed it to Francesco, after his love for France where he did a lot of traveling for his work. At age twenty, Francis went with the townsmen to fight the men from Perugia, whom they were frequently at battle with. The Assisi ans were defeated this particular time, and Francis was among those captured for more than a year. In that time he became ill and he began thinking of eternity.
After his release he set about doing good deeds, repairing churches, and preaching brotherly love and peace to all those who would listen, Even the animals and birds stopped to listen to Francis preach. At a place called Gubbio there were some wolves causing havoc and Francis tamed them down. Francis charisma, his lovable, lively nature had people listening to him and wanting to follow him, which brings me to the 1 st window that I would like to discuss. The First Teritaries. Francis had such great courage to speak Gods word, that he left his family and set out for Rome.
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Francis along with some of his companions first received tonsure, then they were ordained deacons of the church. The group of men were called the Friars Minor. About 1211 they obtained a permanent foothold near Assisi, through the generosity of the Benedictines of Monte Sub asio, who gave them the little chapel of St. Mary of the Angels or the Porziuncola. (Robinson 4).
From this settlement came the Franciscan Order.
, whom of which Francis was the founder. In 1212, Francis met Clare, a young heiress of Assisi. Clare also had the same values in God, people, and the world, and left her family and followed Francis. Francis clothed Clare in a Minorite habit, with her head covered. Francis cut Clares hair to show her willingness to forgo her worldly possessions and thus received her to a life of poverty, penance and seclusion.
There were other pious maidens who joined Clare and they became known as the the first monastery of the Second Franciscan Order of Poor Ladies, or Poor Clares. The Poor Clares settled at St. Damian’s which also was given to them by the Benedictines. In May of 1217 the first general chapel of the Friar Minor was held at Porziuncola. The order was divided into provinces and Franciscan missions.
Francis continued preaching and people continued to follow him, so Francis devised the Third Order, and is now called of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance which was intended for lay people. This order was subdivided with the Secular Franciscan Order, The Regular T. O. R.
s. The Second Rule of the First Order of St. Francis is based on the three vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity. The 2 nd window to be discussed will be Christmas Mass at Greccio.
It was during Christmastide of this year (1223) that the saint conceived the idea of celebrating the Nativity in a new manner, by reproducing in a church at Greccio the praesepio of Bethlehem, and he has thus come to be regarded as having inaugurated the population devotion of the Crib. (7).
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Francis said, I should like to celebrate the coming feast of the Savior with you and to commemorate His birth in Bethlehem in such a way as to represent as perfectly as possible the suffering and distress that He endured in His infancy to save us. (Engle bert 271).
Thus Francis started the customs of Christmas Scenes as depicted in the stained-glass windows with Baby Jesus being held by his crib in the manger, surrounded by a shephard with his staff. with an ox and ass looking on.
While others looked at the play, Francis proclaimed the Gospel passage about the birth of Jesus. He started the custom of the play for the purpose of preaching, The 3 rd window depicts Francis receiving the Stigmata. The window is showing Jesus on the Cross with Francis standing below and to the side of the Cross with his arms outstretched to Jesus receiving the Stigmata, the five wounds of Jesus in his hands, feet, and side. Stigamtum is the singular version of the word, meaning wound. The Stigmata represents the deeper oneness between Francis and the suffering of Jesus Christ, Jesus presence on the Cross, and the agony Francis was in, was keenly connected to the suffering of Christ. This article explains that in 1224 Francis left Porziuncola for La Verna.
We know only that he chose to take with him a few friars according to his heart: Leo, Angelo, Illumina to, Rufio, and Masses, the faithful companions of so many other journeys. (Cooper 303).
Now arriving at Mount La Verna, the group could not help but gaze at the beauty of the place and countryside. Hundreds of birds and fluttered and sang around him, then covered him. Francis said to his companions: dear brothers, I believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is pleased to have us settle here, since our brothers and sisters the birds are giving such a joyous welcome. (305).
One day while Francis was praying there, suddenly from the heights of Heaven a seraphim with six wings of flame flew swiftly down. It was Christ who was in this form to manifest Himself to the Saint. Two of his wings covered his face, with two others he flew, and the last two covered his body. He fixed his gaze upon Francis, then left him, after imprinting the miraculous Stigmata of the Crucifixion on his flesh. (310).
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Francis, and his companions then left the mountain, but not before Francis bid farewell and gave the mountain a blessing. The last window shows Francis in Glory. The window depicts Jesus with a beautiful, glowing crown on his head, as Jesus is the King of the Jews. He also had on a long robe and was maybe sitting on a chair or a rainbow. Francis was looking up at Jesus with his arms outstretched as if giving himself to Jesus. Both are connected in glory in this window by the Stigmata.
Also, in this window are three angels watching Francis give his life offering to God. Most of Franciss life he was frail, thin and sickly. But in 1225 he became gravely ill and he stayed about two months in the garden of St. Clare at San Damiano. There he composed the Canticle of the Sun, it was also called the Canticle of our Brother the Sun.
The Canticle expressed the praise of the Lord giving us the sun, moon, water, wind, earth, fire, the stars and all of Gods creatures. There are many verses to the Canticle but one of the last verses is Praise be my Lord for our mother the Earth, the which doth sustain us and keep us and bringeth forth divers fruits and flowers of many colours and grass. (Hutton 291).
In 1226 Francis knew he was dying, almost blind and couldnt wal, he was taken to Portiuncula. Francis wanted Brother Angel and Brother Leo to come and sing the Canticle of Brother Sun.
On October the 3 rd Franciss some of Francis last words were a blessing. Behold, my son, I am called by God: I forgive my brothers, both present and absent, all their offenses and faults, and, in as far as I am able, I absolve them. I want you to announce this to them and to bless them all on my behalf. (Masse ron 123).
In conclusion, Saint Francis was founder of the Franciscan Order. Franciss charm and gentle ways had many people, animals, and creatures following him…
His person was in no way imposing, yet there was about the saint a delicacy, grace, and distinction which mad him most attractive. (Robinson 13).
