St. Francis’s life began as any other man of his time. He was a wealthy
individual who was preoccupied with material comforts. This preoccupation also
led him to fear the poor, especially lepers. St. Francis then entered into a
conversion that led him to be an alter Christus. He gave up all his material
possessions and embraced poverty and welcomed the poor and needy into his life
with open arms. he ignored the ridicule he received from both his family and his
peers and entered this new way of life and became dedicated to helping people in
need. St. Francis’s conversion began after he had been imprisoned for a year
in a foreign country. He returns home and falls ill and is bedridden for another
year. He then sets out for another war, but is called home by the beckoning of
God. His conversion is gradual as he begins slowly working with the poor and the
lepers. Francis eventually becomes estranged from his family and is brought
before the Bishop of Assisi by his father. Here Francis publicly renounces his
inheritance, strips his clothes, and begins his journey in search of God’s
Kingdom. Francis is ridiculed by his friends and his peers, but he endures the
humiliation and continues his work with the poor. Now Francis begins to imitate
Jesus and begins preaching, this leads to many men following Francis and
creation the Franciscan Order. These men went throughout the cities and
countryside helping the poor and rebuilding the church both physically and
spiritually. For the rest of Francis’s life he spread the word of God, and in
his death he received the great honor of Sainthood. St. Francis not only touched
the lives of people in his own time, but he also touched the next generation
with his teachings he has left behind. The mere mention of St. Francis’s name
brings to mind poverty. This is a man who gave up all his worldly possessions
and joined the beggars in the streets. St. Francis’s reasoning for doing the
was to become closer to God and his kingdom. Francis’s relationship to poverty
can be defined by these lines, “holy poverty stands high above all the virtues
that prepare in us a dwelling place for God...” (Sacrum Commercium). It also
states that, “blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus said, “for theirs is
the kingdom of Heaven.” As Francis interprets the Bible, God enters your life
only when you are poor in spirit, and when this occurs the kingdom of Heaven is
made available to you. St. Francis and his followers took these words to heart
and lived every day of their lives following these lessons. Becoming closer to
God was the sole reason for Francis’s vow of poverty. Accompanying this vow he
also believed he had the solution to war. St. Francis taught his followers that
if they had possessions that they would need arms to defend them. He believed
that possessions led to violence, hatred, and war. Individuals self worth is to
often measured by how money they possess of what possessions they have. Without
possessions mankind would all be on equal footing and there for less problems
would exist. Today reality shows us that such a way of living is not possible.
In today’s world, instead of flaunting our wealth, we can share and try not to
measure people to these standards. When one brings these teachings into the
twentieth century it is hard to imagine actually following them as St. Francis
did. When I think of myself and all the materials that we possess; giving
everything up is not an option. We are a selfish human race as a whole, and we
thrive on buying the newest technology and latest fashions. Giving our time by
volunteering and giving to various charities are two small ways we, even as
college students, can make a difference. It may not appear to be as radical as
St. Francis’s conversion but if everyone contributes in a small way it will
make a world of difference.