Learnng from St. Francis of Assisi

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

This is a saying of Francis of Assisi, a man devoted to God and immersed in the Holy Spirit. St. Francis of Assisi was born Giovanni "Francesco" Bernardone into a wealthy Italian merchant family in 1181. As a youth, he was known for carousing. On his way to the Crusades, in full armor, he had a dream in which God told him to build up his crumbling church.

Later, in a dramatic moment of prayer in the abandoned Church of San Damiano, he heard a voice coming from the crucifix which challenged him to rebuild the church. At first he thought it meant that he should rebuild San Damiano. Gradually, Francis realized that God meant that he should "rebuild" the Church at large. From that moment he learned that living a Christian life would place him in opposition to the values of his society and set him apart from family and friends and many of his own age.

He became a charismatic penitent. He took a vow of poverty and began traveling, preaching, and working to help the sick and the poor. A group formed around him, becoming the Franciscan order.

At first Francis sought to live a life of solitude and prayer. Within a few years he came to see God was calling him to give new momentum to a movement already present among the Christian faithful, a life of conversion - the challenge to LIVE the Gospels in his daily life. Francis found that other men of Assisi were attracted to the same vision - to follow Christ and His Apostles. Soon there grew a small commune which settled on the outskirts of a town near the abandoned Church of Our Lady of the Angels. Here a new Order in the Church was born. Today it is known as the Franciscan Order.

Before Francis died in 1226 at the age of 44, he founded three Orders. His gift to humankind was his love of God as he experienced Him in all of His creation. His legacy lives on in those Christians today who seek to inspire in themselves and others the ideals of peace and justice of the gospels, and to live the Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life.

There is much we can learn from studying the life of Francis and his deep devotion to God and his rich love for others.