The Legend of St. Francis
Francis saw the goodness of God in created things, especially in created things that showed some truth about living the holy life. Among the birds he especially loved the Hooded Lark and used to say, “Sister Lark has a hood like a monk, and is a humble bird for she walks contentedly to find grain. And as she flies, she sings out sweet praises to God like a good monk whose main purpose is to praise God. Her plumage is the color of ground and is a reminder to the religious not to wear gaudy clothes but rather those of humble price and color.”
Because he always took pleasure in seeing these lessons in them, it pleased God to have them show a sign of affection to him in return. Late on a Saturday evening after Vespers when he passed away to the Lord, a great flight of Larks assembled above the roof of the house where his body lay. They circled around it turning like a wheel, singing sweetly as they flew, seeming to give the praise to the Lord that Francis loved so much. — Mirror of Perfection, 113
Surprisingly Monastic
Some years ago, a monk of our monastery began reading the various legends of St Francis. A Legend (from the Latin: “Something to be read”) was a medieval hagiography, often intended for liturgical use. It was, at any rate, intended to edify. Ideally, it was supposed to be historical, and the legends of St Francis generally are, but it was not a biography in the modern sense.
Many have tried to supplement the lack of a true biography by writing modern biographies of St Francis. Yet none of them approach the charm of the original legends.
Two things became obvious. The first is how monastic these legends are. Much has been made of how different the mendicants were from the Benedictines, yet to one who lives the life, what stands out even more are the similarities. Monasticism was the religious culture of the day, and St Francis seems to have been more happy to breathe it than is often thought.
The second is that none of the legends tell the full story. Each is incomplete, telling only part of the tale of the life of St Francis.
That is how this project was born.
Stringing together the Lives
Since no one legend told the whole story, the idea of stringing them together as one single legend began to take root. Could it be done? Would it be a good use of time?
The idea probably would have come to nothing if it had not happened that the very next morning, as this brother still pondered this idea and could not get the thought out of his head, he bore it to the Refectory for the meal. And it was then that he heard the words of the reader – for the Holy Rule of St. Benedict says that reading should not be lacking at the meal – “New reading: The Life of St. Francis by G.K. Chesterton”, and that decided the matter.
What the Project Is
In fact, this project is a little more – though not much more – than the original thought of merely stringing together the lives. It is true that nearly every sentence is taken from one of the legends or lives (the two terms are essentially synonymous) of St. Francis. But the problem of style intervened, and as the project got underway, it became apparent that it would require a little editorial leeway to unite the style of the different legends. Thomas of Celano, who composed the Dies Irae, has a terse and somewhat pious latinate style, whereas the Three Companions have a nearly homely style, and the Little Flowers are at one and the same time childlike and florid. So it seemed that a certain freedom in writing would better serve the project, even if this were at the expense of complete fidelity to the sources.
This is not a Scholarly Work
Besides sometimes making use of the freedom of a paraphraser and a troper more than the rigour of a translator, very little care has been taken about the historical nature of the materials involved. Yet a coherent St Francis comes through all the pages, and in giving the personality of the Saint, as the writings of the first hundred or so years present it, there may even be a deeper fidelity to reality than one gets merely from chronology and facts. For one thing, the voices of those that knew him and his early followers are heard directly, even though, where multiple contradictory accounts of a single story exist, the one is generally chosen that seems to fit the narrative best, or sometimes the multiple versions are woven together.
But why is a Benedictine Monk Spending so much Time Writing about St. Francis?
It all began with rereading The Little Flowers. Reading them as a monk seemed very different than reading it as a young person. Of course, one changes as one gets older. But the real difference is the different impact these stories make when one is in the monastic state in life rather than out in the world. What seemed most surprising was how (counterintuitively) the life of St. Francis seemed thoroughly Monastic, fully at home with the Benedictine ideal — counterintuitively because at first glance it is not so much the continuity with the much older Monastic tradition that strikes one, but the differences. As an example, monks live in monasteries, and monasteries are common property. But St. Francis refused to own so much as a trinket nor even to touch money. Again, monks make a vow of stability, and it is not seen as profitable for a monk to leave his monastery. St. Francis, on the other hand, had no place on which to rest his head.
It is the hope that in posting this project, there will be opportunities to reflect upon the monastic virtues and draw parallels, to show the great concord that exists between monastic life, as we understand it, and the spirit that stirred St Francis to great love.
A Connection with the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration
Silverstream has a special reason for looking at the life of St Francis: The foundress of the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration, Mother Mectilde, was Franciscan before becoming Benedictine. This is a remarkable story and one worthy of being told in greater detail. Yet she did not flee Francis so much as become attracted to Benedict.
The Project
The intention of this project is to post, little by little, a unified legend of St Francis along with meditations. These will be posted slowly, probably only one (or perhaps a few) a month, and with no deadline set. The whole series will be found here.
