By DEXTER DUGGAN
PHOENIX — Even one of the best-known saints of all hadn’t understood the paths God wanted him to follow without repeated prompting, a speaker told the Institute of Catholic Theology (ICT) as its new series of sessions began with the waning of summer.
The young Francis of Assisi, like his family and townsfolk, thought he was destined for greatness, but the general belief was this would be achieved through the nobility or knighthood, Rick Perry, a theology teacher at St. Mary’s High School here, told the September 4 session. The ICT is an evangelization program based here at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish.
However, Perry cited the passage from Mark where Jesus said that he who would be first must be the last and the servant of all.
In the world of Francis, the king ruled, the lords owned the land, the knights protected it, and the peasants produced on it, Perry said.
Before coming to St. Mary’s, Perry obtained two master’s degrees in theology, from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, and KU Leuven, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Belgium.
St. Francis, who eventually would see his path was to be poverty and humility, died at about age 44, in 1226, was canonized in 1228, and has a feast day of October 4, Perry said.
Choosing the way of a knight, Francis was defeated in a battle in 1202 and taken prisoner, but his father couldn’t pay the ransom to free him for a year, Perry said, adding that the young man became seriously ill and questioned what his greatness was to be.
Francis had a dream of having a magnificent palace and many knights as his followers, Perry said.
This was to come true in the sense of great spiritual attainment, but not literally as a worldly ruler.
The future saint heard of a papal army he could join and fight against excommunicated German emperor Otto for control of southern Italy, but then heard a voice saying to go back to his home and he would be shown what to do, Perry said.
He added that Francis recalled Jesus telling Peter to put away his sword, and the aspiring knight “starts to discern that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world.” But if not as a knight, where would his greatness be? “St. Francis is very conflicted. . . .
“What captivated him about the crucifix is the suffering of Christ,” and Francis saw his uncertainty joined with this suffering, Perry said.
Francis began going to frequent Confession, and to think in terms that “just like water, God goes downward,” condescending to come down to meet humanity, he said. “Francis now knows he had been looking in the wrong direction” and starts to think that the way to follow Jesus is through humility.
About 1203 Francis encountered a leper and saw he was to serve Jesus in the lowly, Perry said. “Lepers were one thing he could not stand,” but now he recognized God “calls him to be with the lowest and most rejected of society.”
The leper thought God had abandoned him, but when Francis kissed the man’s hands and feet, he realized he wasn’t abandoned, and Francis had joy at recognizing his role, Perry said.
When God told Francis to “go and rebuild my house, which, as you can see, is totally in ruins,” the future saint misunderstood this to mean that he literally had to repair a church building, Perry said, so he sold some expensive cloth from his father’s shop to get the necessary money.
When Francis’ plan didn’t work out, his father took him before the local bishop for correction, but Francis renounced his worldly ties and set out embracing poverty and prayer, Perry said, which led to his attracting followers and then the formulation of the Franciscan rule of radical poverty and humility.
In 1213 a noble donated land for Francis to build a hermitage on, then in 1224 Francis received the stigmata, Perry said.
Among books that Perry recommended are The First Life of St. Francis of Assisi, by St. Thomas of Celano, The Life of St. Francis of Assisi, by St. Bonaventure, St. Francis of Assisi, A Biography, by Omer Englebert, and St. Francis of Assisi: Passion, Poverty, and The Man Who Transformed the Catholic Church, by Bret Thoman, OFS.
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