St. Francis of Assisi G. K. Chesterton – G. K. Chesterton's classic study of St. Francis. «St. Francis was above all things a great giver; and he cared chiefly for the best kind of giving which is called thanksgiving. . . . He knew that the praise of God stands on its strongest ground when it stands on nothing. He knew that we can best measure the towering miracle of the mere fact of existence if we realize that but for some strange mercy we should not even exist. . . . From him came a whole awakening of the world and a dawn in which all shapes and colors could be seen anew.» –G. K. ChestertonThe patron saint of animals, birds, and the environment, Francis of Assisi led the rediscovery of nature in the Christian West. This magnificent spiritual biography by the phenomenally popular G. K. Chestertona convert to Catholicismchronicles the beloved saint's calling, his extraordinary life, and his influence in the Church. Its charm and wit will appeal to even the most secular-minded readers.How fitting that Francesco Bernardone was born just after the Dark Ages when the world was awakening. He started out as a colorful troubadour with a fondness for French poetry, extravagant with money . . . until the sight of a beggar seeking alms opened his eyes to a world beyond himself. The scene so moved him, he vowed to God that he would devote his life to the poor and embrace a life of simplicity. This sense of humility and generosity continues to call to each of us today. With great affection, Chesterton explores the life and times of St. Francishis joyous devotion, his sense of compassion and love for all creation, his visions and miracles, his stigmata, and his band of followers that became the Franciscan Order. Praising this great and original man who became one of the most popular figures in Christendom, the author calls him «a poet whose whole life was a poem.» Here is a stimulating read for Chesterton fans, Christian readers, and anyone looking for a burst of pure inspiration.
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G. K. Chesterton. St. Francis of Assisi
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Chapter I The Problem of St. Francis
Chapter II. The World St. Francis Found
Chapter III. Francis the Fighter
Chapter IV. Francis the Builder
Chapter V. Le Jongleur de Dieu
Chapter VI. The Little Poor Man
Chapter VII. The Three Orders
Chapter VIII. The Mirror of Christ
Chapter IX. Miracles and Death
Chapter X. The Testament of St. Francis
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Table of Contents
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G. K. Chesterton
St. Francis of Assisi
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This is not to be confused with mere self-righteous sensationalism about the wickedness of the pagan world. It was not so much that the pagan world was wicked as that it was good enough to realise that its paganism was becoming wicked, or rather was on the logical high road to wickedness. I mean that there was no future for "natural magic"; to deepen it was only to darken it into black magic. There was no future for it; because in the past it had only been innocent because it was young. We might say it had only been innocent because it was shallow. Pagans were wiser than paganism; that is why the pagans became Christians. Thousands of them had philosophy and family virtues and military honour to hold them up; but by this time the purely popular thing called religion was certainly dragging them down. When this reaction against the evil is allowed for, it is true to repeat that it was an evil that was everywhere. In another and more literal sense its name was Pan.
It was no metaphor to say that these people needed a new heaven and a new earth; for they had really defiled their own earth and even their own heaven. How could their case be met by looking at the sky, when erotic legends were scrawled in stars across it; how could they learn anything from the love of birds and flowers after the sort of love stories that were told of them? It is impossible here to multiply evidences, and one small example may stand for the rest. We know what sort of sentimental associations are called up to us by the phrase "a garden"; and how we think mostly of the memory of melancholy and innocent romances, or quite as often of some gracious maiden lady or kindly old parson pottering under a yew hedge, perhaps in sight of a village spire. Then, let anyone who knows a little Latin poetry recall suddenly what would once have stood in place of the sun-dial or the fountain, obscene and monstrous in the sun; and of what sort was the god of their gardens.
