The Simplicity of St. Francis of Assisi
(and how we can imitate him in our lives today)
by Helen Caldarone, OFS (1931-2024)

In doing research for this formation topic, I had to think a lot about the meaning of the word "simplicity" in connection with St. Francis and how it would have been manifested in his life. I had to begin by identifying what I don't think it means; i.e., it certainly doesn't mean easy or simple-minded. So what I do want to speak about is simplicity as "transparency", as having as "childlike" quality, as his radically Gospel-based life, as his total identity with Christ and the Church, and his disinterest in sophistication or worldliness in any form.

A. TRANSPARENCY

Perhaps you've heard the story of a young girl being shown by her mother around a beautiful cathedral. While talking to her daughter about the stained glass windows, the mother asker, "Do you know what a saint is?" The young girl replied, "Yes. They are people who let the sun shine through." St. Francis and all the other saints of the church are exactly that - people who let the Son of God shine through.

St. Francis had no ego, no hidden agenda, no interest in manipulating others for his own purposes, no self-absorption, no time for self-indulgence, no trouble acting decisively to resist temptations (remember when he threw himself into rose bushes loaded with thorns when fighting temptations against chastity), and no trouble making decisions because he allowed the will of God to be his will.

St. Francis saw self-will as the evil in the sin of Adam and Eve. He knew that self-will leads only to disobedience and self-exaltation (see- 2nd Admonition) "He who wishes to save his life, must lose it." (Lk 9:24)

This lack of ego freed him to truly see others, to respond to their needs, to see Christ in them. There is the story of a young friar who was in great bodily pain and distress from his attempts to emulate St. Francis' regimen of fasting and penance. Becoming aware of the young man's suffering, St. Francis found food, prepared it and, in a beautiful act of charity, sat down to eat with the young man. I like to think that the young man returned to his fasting and penance with a renewed resolve much more than if he had been chastised for his momentary weakness.

B. A CHILDLIKE QUALITY

A young child is absolutely dependent on mother and father and must totally trust that daily needs will be provided for. St. Francis had a radical childlike trust in Divine Providence - he knew that His Father in Heaven would provide for the bodily needs of his brothers and sisters. For example, when he called a Chapter assembly of the First Order (now over 2000 strong) St. Francis had prepared to deliver admonitions and exhortations but had made no provision for food. He left that to Divine Providence. And, miraculously, on the first day of the assembly, held in an open tract of land near Assisi, a wagon train could be seen approaching from the direction of Perugia loaded with food and supplies of all kinds.

If an activity was not going to draw him closer to Christ, St. Francis was not interested. How much time do we all spend in useless or, at least somewhat unnecessary, pursuits? Will we not have to answer to a just and loving God for wasting the time on earth which is His gift? Yes, we all have many duties, chores, tasks in our secular life which are not directly involved with prayer but St. Francis showed us how to turn them into acts of love. How simple to deepen our Franciscan spirituality in this way; how much more we could accomplish and what a wonderful witness to the world we could become!! So many saints and holy people led lives so similar to St. Francis in this way - Mother Teresa, Padre Pio, Pope John Paul II, in our own lifetime.

God did provide and continued to provide for Francis because this is the way St. Francis lived his entire religious life. He was God's troubadour, greeting in times of sorrow and sickness, or joy and good health with his songs, music, poetry and his love of all Creation.

C. A GOSPEL BASED LIFE

We are familiar with the life John Bernadone might have lived. He was much interested, as a youth, in the glory to be had in a military career or he could have inherited his father's successful business, living as a wealthy merchant in Assisi with many friends and a busy social life. But, on February 24, 1208, the Feastr of St. Matthias, he listened to a reading of the missionary discourse from St. Matthew's Gospel (Ch. 10) and his life would never be the same. He walked away from fame, wealth, ambition and glory. Instead, he has achieved a level of fame, love, respect and devotion far beyond the daydreams of his youth.

He embarked on a life as a poor itinerant homeless preacher proclaiming a message of penance and peace and never looked back. This direct and unequivocal response to the Gospel demonstrates his total lack of concern for human respect. Carrying a wooden bowl, he often went door-to-door in Assisi begging for food. Instead of embarrassment he was filled with joy - he said that the food he collected this was the most delicious he had ever eaten.

The Poor Man of Assisi identified completely with the life of Christ. He transformed the mystery of the Nativity into popular spirituality at Greccio. He saw in the Eucharist, Christ's humility and poverty - God coming to us in the guise of bread and wine to feed and nourish His people. And, immersed in meditation on the Passion of Christ on Mt. Alverna, St. Francis received the gift of the Stigmata on Sept. 14, 1224. It is as though the Gospels were incised into his soul.

D. IDENTITY WITH CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH

Today, many people want Christ without "the demands" of His Church. Interested in "spirituality", they seek to divorce it from "organized religion" seeing the latter as corrupt or, at least, burdensome and getting in the way of a spirit-filled life. St. Francis saw clearly that those who attack the Church are attacking Christ Himself. Do you recall the words Christ addressed to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus? "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" St. Francis knew that Christ takes attacks on His Church personally... the Church is His beloved bride.

Like many other saints, St. Francis was the source and origin of renewal and reform in his time - a very difficult moment in Church history. The mission St. Francis received from Christ on the San Damiano Cross was simple, yet, profound - "Rebuild My Church which you can see is in ruins". His simplicity is so beautifully revealed in his response to this mission - beginning with bricks and mortar, St. Francis, in simplicity, attracted several friends and companions of his youth to join him in a rebuilding project close to home - one that all could understand and relate to. Didn't it need to be done? Didn't it provide an enclosure for St. Clare and her sisters? And didn't Christ lead St. Francis and his "little brothers" to understand their broader mission? Even Pope Innocent III, who approved the first Franciscan Rule, saw a vision of a "little man" dressed in rags, holding up the Church.

Within a very short time, there were thousands of "little brothers" sent two-by-two by St. Francis to all the countries of Europe and the Near East accomplishing Christ's mission. Even Pope Innocent III, who approved the first Rule, had been given a vision of a "little man" dressed in rags, holding up the Church.

St. Francis had great reverence for all priests as "other Christs". There is the story of a town whose populace were scandalized in their parish priest. St. Francis, upon being asked to intervene for the town with the offending priest, went to the town. He immediately approached the priest, knelt down and kissed the priest's hands - not only giving a good example to the townspeople but also reminding the priest of his ordination and the sacred work those hands were to perform. How much better to pray and give respect to priests than to criticize and spread gossip about them!!

Today we live in another very difficult time in Church history. If our lives would only radiate the virtues of faith, hope and charity, and if we defend the Church as the Body of Christ, we would enable others to see the His Church as the light of Christ in an otherwise dark and hostile world.

E. LACK OF SOPHISTICATION AND WORLDLINESS

As he grew closer and closer to Christ, St. Francis understood that many of the things the world puts a high value upon are worthless in the sight of God and vice versa. (2nd ltr./Custodians). St. Francis kept himself and his message very simple - he didn't get in God's way. His total lack of sophistication and erudition made him in his own day, and also in our time, the most approachable of saints.

We know very little about the level of education he received - but we do know that he was not interested in providing advanced education for his "little brothers". He wasn't interested in book learning or in establishing universities, in owning property or in building large monasteries. Too often, in our own day, we see that education doesn't necessarily bring one closer to God. It seems that the simpler and less learned or sophisticated we are, the closer we can be to Christ. If we allow it to, an education can fill us with pride that only serves as an obstacle, separating us from Christ and His Church. When St. Anthony of Padua wrote for permission to teach sacred theology to his brother friars, St. Francis answered him, saying "It pleases me that you teach sacred theology to the brothers, as long as you do not extinguish the Spirit of prayer and devotion with study of this kind.

So many theologians, throughout the history of the church, become caught up in dissent with the Magisterium. If our education doesn't bring us to share the wisdom of St. Francis, perhaps we have not become truly educated. St. Francis did not condemn knowledge; he condemned knowledge for its own sake saying, "If they know the words but do not have the Spirit, their knowledge is dead".

Let's not be impressed with university degrees, our own or those of others. Rather, let's be aware of how little we know that will help us reach holiness. Let's use the things of this world, as St. Francis did, and try not to be too impressed with the world or with ourselves. A very effective way of doing this is to be poor and humble, living a simple life in the style of St. Francis and St. Clare - to use our Franciscan vocation to give glory to God alone - to become less so that He might become more.

Presented by Helen Caldarone, OFS (d. 2024) at the April 2007 Divine Mercy Fraternity meeting at Vero Beach, Florida. Helen was Formation Director of the Fraternity.

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