This biography had a lot of information on St. Francis of Assisi. He was a very
generous man who founded the Friars. Along the way he accomplished many good
deeds. He gave all that he had to the poor so that they could live a better
life. The only things he needed were food, shelter, and companionship. St.
Francis of Assisi was born in September of the year 1182. He was born to a rich
merchant named Pietro di Bernardone. In 1202 he was held prisoner for several
months over a dispute between Assisi and Perugia. This was followed by a period
of illness. He didn’t like the way his life was going so he turned to prayer
and service for the poor. In 1206 he officially turned down his fathers fortune.
To help bring his life to good he decided to become a hermit. This attracted
many followers. He preached about the idea of having a simple life of following
the Gospels. When Pope Innocent III found out about his good works Francis was
ordained a deacon. His followers increased in population and were called friars,
which is a lower form of Francis’ name. In 1212 he got help from Saint Clare
and established a branch for women called the Poor Clares. In 1221 Francis made
a new edition for the lay people called the Third order. After a long life of
hard work he finally retired from leading the friars. At this time he was given
the stigmata or imprint of the wounds of Christ on his own body. He also wrote
the Canticle of Brother Sun. He died October 3,1226. He was canonized a Saint in
1228 and his Feast day is October 4. This book taught me that Francis was a rich
man before he converted his life. I thought that he was always poor and he was
showing appreciation for the things around him. This act of kindness makes me
think of him as even a better person. This book also taught me that he didn’t
have that many followers at first. When he started it was just him. In 1221 he
had eleven. Over more than ten years he hadn’t made many followers. This book
taught me that Francis not only gave up his fortune but he firmly believed in
being poor. Not for one second would he have thought that being rich would have
helped him more. From his point of view he had all he needed with him. This book
taught me that people made fun of him for what he did. How could you make fun of
someone that is doing such a great deed? He wasn’t hurting anyone. He was just
helping people. This book taught me that he made more than a Franciscan order.
He also made an order for women and for lay people. His teachings were for all
people, and not only religious people. I liked this book because it got deep
down into St. Francis’ life and showed all of the good points. It sends out a
good message to all people that read the book. I didn’t like the book because
it had a lot of stories that made the book kind of boring. They talked too much
about rules instead of talking about what he did. The book was also to my liking
because they used more action than normal biographies do. Normal biographies are
usually all facts. This one had some stories and some neat quotes. St. Francis
was a great man that teaches us a great lesson in courage. He gave up all that
he had to just to help other people. These days that is very rare. People just
don’t want to follow in his example anymore. All Catholics should imitate his
teachings.
