Saint Francis Nature Mystic

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973.

This book examines one aspect of the life and thought of Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan monastic order. Contemporary interest in Francis has focused on his attitude toward nature. Sorrell argues persuasively that Francis' ideas can only be properly understood in their thirteenth-century context. Through close analysis of Francis' writings, Sorrell shows that many of Francis' beliefs concerning the proper relation of man to the natural world have their antecedents in scripture and in the medieval monastic tradition. Other Franciscan ideas and practices, however, appear entirely original; his nature mysticism, his concept of familial relationships with created things, his extension of Christian almsgiving to creatures. Sorrell insists, however, that only by seeing Francis in terms of the Western traditions in which he arose can we appreciate the true originality of this extraordinary figure, and the relevance of his thought to modern environmental concerns.

Alongside St. Ignatius, who founded the Jesuits, St. Francis of Assisi is widely regarded as one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic Church due to his work establishing religious Orders that have done an incalculable amount of good and service for societies. Like St. Ignatius, St. Francis also got his start as a soldier who experienced a vision that put him on a more divine path. St. Francis eventually became a pillar of the Church, both living in poverty to assist those in greatest need and in establishing the Franciscan Order, the Order of Poor Clares, an enclosed order for women, and the Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance. Near the end of his life, he became the first person recorded in history to bear the stigmata, the Passion wounds that Christ suffered in crucifixion, which only added to his ultimate aura and legacy. "To say that the writings of St. Francis reflect his personality and his spirit is but another way of saying that they are at once formidably mystic and exquisitely human; that they combine great elevation of thought with much picturesqueness of expression. This twofold element, which found its development later on in the prose of mystics like St. Bonaventure and in the verse of poets like Jacopone da Todi, and which has ever been a marked characteristic of Franciscan ascetic literature, leads back to the writings of the Founder as to the humble upper waters of a mighty stream. St. Francis had the soul of an ascetic and the heart of a poet. His unbounded faith had an almost lyric sweetness about it; his deep sense of the spiritual is often clothed with the character of romance. This intimate union of the supernatural and the natural is nowhere more strikingly manifested than in the writings of St. Francis."

Who am I really? What is this life truly about? These are the questions that are being asked more often each day because of the growing amount of unhappiness and dissatisfaction people are feeling in their lives. In this book, St. Francis, himself helps to clarify and answer these fundamental questions through channeler Cheri Harris. He chooses the most pressing issues we are facing today, both personally and socially, and examines and discusses each one. He shows us how our conditioning, upbringing and societal beliefs have influenced and distorted our thoughts and ideas. This deteriorating way of thinking has created negative patterns, destroyed our clarity on what is essential in our lives, and has caused us to strive for things that hurt rather than help us. St. Francis boldly and firmly asks us to deeply reflect upon and to question our motives and behavior, pushing us to move beyond our limitations and fears. From already having experienced a human body, knowing the feeling of despair, and now being able to see the bigger picture from the other side, St. Francis' wisdom transforms and leads us on the true path of peace, love and integrity. All people, no matter what one's nationality or faith, will connect to the heartfelt energy St. Francis transmits within the pages of this book and to the down-to-earth style of writing he uses to convey his messages.In 1980, Pope Paul the 2nd named St. Francis the Patron of Ecology and if he were still alive today, St. Francis would be considered an environmentalist. Because this book contains so many messages on nature, it will appeal to those concerned about the environment as well.A Message From St. Francis will have long-term appeal since it can be used as an inspirational daily guide, like the I Ching or Tarot cards. Simply close your eyes and open the book to a page that feels right; you will be guided to what your soul wants you to learn on that particular day. Readers will also turn to a specific message in the book to find the answer to a current pending problem.

The life of St. Francis of Assisi was a paradigm of simplicity, humanity, and love. In today's busy world, his practices have enormous appeal, described in this inspiring work by John Michael Talbot, the founder of The Brothers and Sisters of Charity, a lay order based on the Franciscan principles of simplicity and self-sufficiency. In The Lessons Of St. Francis, Talbot and co-author Steve Rabey demonstrate the enduring significance of Franciscan wisdom. Organized by topic, such as Simplicity, Humility, Compassion, Solitude, Service, and Prayer, each chapter includes excerpts from the writings of St. Francis, as well as those of his followers and biographers. Combining deep spiritual insights with the offer of a saner, less chaotic way of living, The Lessons Of St. Francis offers wise advice on how to incorporate these virtues into our own lives today.