Reflection essay on St Francis of Assisi (Religion & Theology Essay)

REFLECTION ESSAY ON ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Author's Name
The Institutional Affiliation
Course Number and Name
Instructor Name
Assignment Due Date
Reflection Essay
Introduction
St. Francis of Assisi was Italian monk, founder of the mendicant Franciscan order named after him. Numbered among the saints by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. St. Francis’s activities caused the onset of an unconventional stage in the evolution of monasticism in Western Europe. The missionary preacher of the Franciscan order was called to sow the ideas of repentance and peace among the people. Renouncing the world only internally (unlike the former hermit monks), the Franciscan had no moral right to withdraw himself from earthly problems. Coming from a very noble and prosperous family, St. Francis dedicated his life to preaching and good works (Wolf, 2005).
In 1209, having heard during the Mass a fragment of the parting words with which Christ accompanied his disciples to preach about the coming of the kingdom of heaven: “Take with you neither gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for the road, no two clothes, no shoes, no staff ", FA made the decision to transform his own poverty-stricken life into an apostolate. Prayer had to give way to sermon. He made a vow of complete seriousness: FA objected to his followers using dwellings or churches, begging or occasional hospitality as a source of food. Feeling a duty to lepers for their sake, not for his own that he was more than a saint among the saints; he was one of his own among sinners. "The Lord called us not so much for our salvation as for the salvation of many, (Wolf, 2005)"
St. Francis Christianity, because it preached: not renunciation of the world, but poverty, as an imitation of Christ; not condemnation of the rich, but love for them and help; not fighting priests, but obedience and respect; not hermitism, but apostolic missionary work; not self-torture, but acceptance of nature, nature; mystical joy, not gloomy severity; not book prayers, but hymns to God and the world. The essence and meaning of St. Francis were and were revealed in an act, an act.
Virtues espoused by St. Francis
Therefore, all the virtues of Franciscanism are performed, carried out by action (Wolf, 2005).
1 The Virtue of Compassion - Compassion with Christ. Everything good and worthy is given to a person by God, and only suffering is chosen freely. Martyrdom likens a person to the suffering Christ; only voluntary suffering can be called human merit proper.
2 Rejoicing in Christ - Franciscanism stands out from the spiritual atmosphere of its time with a sense of presence, stay of Christ in the world. Confidence in the involvement of God and the world eliminates the apocalyptic horror, the horror of being forsaken by God. F. preached the joy of repentance, stay in God, and the happiness of an inescapable feeling of gratitude to the Creator. The Franciscans were seen only merry, rejoicing and called "God's buffoons." St.Francis taught that a smile, and not crying, should support the spirit and faith in people. However, the Franciscan virtue of rejoicing is by no means identical with the optimistically sensual upsurge of the Renaissance, since sings supernatural joys, through which...