The Little Flowers Of St Francis Of Assisi

These stories of St. Francis and his first followers have inspired millions of people over the centuries. Since they were first committed to paper, they have motivated people to become better followers of Jesus (not St. Francis). For that reason, they have endured unlike any other early Franciscan literature. Many of the stories are known to us from other biographical sources, but in some cases, here they are expanded or made more florid. This edition of The Little Flowers is unique in its physical beauty as well as its editorial arrangement. For the first time, the stories have been arranged in the most likely chronological ordering of when they happened - rather than following the traditional ordering of them handed down for centuries. As a result, today's reader is now able to read The Little Flowers as a biograpical narrative of the life of St. Francis and the world-transforming movement that he founded.

The Little Flowers Of Saint Francis Of Assisi ... Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Little Flowers of St. Francis (Italian Fioretti di San Francesco) is a body of work divided into 53 short chapters, on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi which was composed at the end of the 14th century. The book has been the most popular account of Saint Francis' life and relates many colorful anecdotes, miracles and pious examples from the lives of Francis and his followers (such as Saint Juniper). The text was the inspiration for the Roberto Rossellini’s 1950 film Francesco, giullare di Dio (“Francis, God’s Jester”) which was co-written by Federico Fellini.

This collection of folk tales, legends, and narratives about the life of Francis of Assisi and his followers appeared about seventy-five years after the saint’s death, in the early fourteenth century. The writings have remained popular ever since due to their beauty and charm, and because they are the nearest thing to a biography of Francis that exists. They are the source of many of the most famous stories about Francis—including the accounts of his preaching to the birds and of his receiving of the stigmata—and they are based on stories that circulated about him in the years after his death. Robert Hopcke and Paul Schwartz provide the first truly new translation of the Fioretti in forty years, and in doing so they bring the spiritual classic up to date, using contemporary language to show Francis to be a living, breathing human being who walked the streets of Assisi in a state of spiritual, physical, and social enlightenment, through his own existence making Christ real in the world. The translators have also edited the work to present the stories that most powerfully present Francis’s spirit and teaching.

Here is a book that generation after generation has taken to its heart, for it lives and breathes the spirit of St. Francis as no other book has ever done. It is irresistible. The warmth of Franciscan love and joy radiates from every page. The best-loved stories of the Poverello and his followers are all here: Francis's sermon to the birds... the Stigmata... the wolf of Gubbio... the preaching of St. Anthony... the soaring "Canticle of Brother Sun"... the lives and sayings of Brother Juniper and Brother Giles. This edition -- the only complete version -- has been translated into modern English by Raphael Brown, the well-known Franciscan scholar whose own deep feeling for St. Francis has helped him capture the spirit and flavor that gives these writings their indescribable charm. Truly universal is the appeal of this book, extending to people of all faiths and of every intellectual level. It is wise, very funny, rich in human wisdom, inspiring. Above all, it is a love story... the story of how the Little Poor Man taught the world about the love of Christ, and how this love can be lived and enjoyed by everyone.