How Did Francis's Life Contribute To Personal And Spiritual Development

Now came the question that changed the course of Francis’ life, and in many ways, the course of human history. "Why then are you seeking the servant instead of the master, the vassal instead of the prince?" the voice spoke again. Francis recognizing the voice as that of Christ, suddenly grew weary of retreat. "Lord, what will You have me do?" asked Francis. "Return home, Your vision will have its spiritual fulfillment through Me." replied the voice. Francis then returned to Assisi. Although the residents of Assisi rejoiced at his return, Francis was known as their leader during the time, they soon sensed that Francis had changed. Something was troubling him. The townspeople concluded that Francis had fallen in love. Francis’ companions would ask him who it was. Francis had to answer, but he couldn’t tell them that it was someone who he hardly knew or someone that he was slightly afraid. So he said to his friends, "I do dram of taking a wife, and she whom I shall marry is noble, so rich, so fair and so wise, that not one of your has seen her like".

I was professed on Palm Sunday, April 15, 1984. There were four of us – Janice and Dick McCarthy, who now belong to St. Clare fraternity in Delaware. Jerry Hopp, who is now enjoying his reward in the communion of saints. We were professed at St. Elizabeth’s Church, Ellerslie Avenue, in Baltimore City. Our formation director, who shall remain nameless, left the Order after losing an election. In 1983-84 we had many people seeking a deeper spiritual way of life, through the Secular Franciscan Order. At the time I was in initial formation, Mary Our Queen had two groups. Our group started before the second group, but they were professed first. We asked for more time to discern because we became aware of how serious a commitment we were

Francis believed that the church was too rich while others were suffering and went out to instill these beliefs, much like the beliefs of Jesus, in those around him. Francis lived a life that consisted of only the bare necessities and when meeting someone poorer than them, they would willingly offer something up. When confronted by the bishop as to why he led such a poor life, Francis said "If we had any possessions we should need weapons and laws to defend them." Francis began preaching up to 5 villages a day and even began preaching to animals, although he was looked upon as “God’s fool” because of this. Legend has it that Francis once talked a wolf out of killing and preached to hundreds of birds who simply sat and listened. Francis deeply loved nature and considered nature to be an equal, a brother. Francis drew thousands of followers that chose to live Francis’ way of life. In 1224, Francis received another vision from God that left him with the holy wounds of the stigmata, which would be visible for the rest of his life. Francis then died October 3 1226, at age 44 in Assisi. He was later canonized a saint on July 16, 1228 by Pope Gregory IX. St Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals, merchants and

Columbia is on the top left part of South America. The people there have unique religion and culture, such as sports, food, celebrations and literature.

The society that Francis lived in is different from the society I live in today. In fact, many people in today’s society including myself have the notion that Francis dying at the age of 44 was tragic and that he was in the prime of his life. However, people in the society that Francis lived deemed him fortunate to have lived for so long. Similarly, individuals living in today’s society and during Francis’ time relied on money, goods, and material things as the key to their happiness” (Spoto xix).

At the beginning of his life Saint Francis was going down the wrong path and drank and partied. For a short period of time after this he was a soldier, when he was fighting in a war he was

The Middle Ages was a time of new creation and discovery. This time also impacted the Catholic Church and the way it operated. A mover and shaker is a powerful person capable of starting big events and impacting other people and their life. Ignatius Loyola is considered a mover and shaker because his actions and teaching are still present in the future generations.

Catholicism has always been an integral part of my life. I can remember from very early on standing in church and being overcome by the slender of the church and also the mass itself. As I grew up my love for Christ only became greater however my perception of God changed greatly. When I was younger I saw God as someone to be feared and obeyed, However as I matured I discovered that God wasn’t someone to be feared, but rather God was someone to love. Through this change in perceptions I began to see God as more of a friend and role model, someone I could talk to whenever I was in trouble, lonely or in some cases just wanted to share life events. Through this class I have grown even closer to God. Seeing the devotion and love Saint Francis and Clare had for God inspired me to once again alter my perception of God. I see God in a new light in that God isn’t asking us to be perfect, but just simply to try our best.

I was unable to attend Theology class today (Tuesday, September 6) due to waking up this morning with a very high fever. I went to the doctor's today and do have a doctor's note if necessary.

One of the most important gifts of the Holy Spirit is courage. To me, courage is the ability to face your fears and stand up for what is right. It is required to be able to serve God in the harsh world we live in today. We could face ridicule wherever we go, and we must have the courage to continue to do what is right regardless. If we cower in fear at the smallest of obstacles, then we are showing God that we do not care enough to serve and love him. Having courage will show that we do care. Even if sometimes we don’t think we have any courage, I am confident that God will provide at the time of greatest need for such an influential virtue.

“Every day He humbles Himself just as He did when from from His heavenly throne into the Virgin's womb; every day He comes to us and lets us see Him in lowliness, when He descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the altar.”

A major issue that would cause Francis to believe he was not good enough and resign was the issue with Brother John of Cappella. Helping the lepers would be one of Francis’s first task of leaving the world and gain God’s mercy yet he would be outraged by the actions of John of Capella and his community helping the lepers. His reaction to this would be to appeal to the pope for assistance to abolish this movement yet a question that remains is the reason he would want to stop it. Thompson does gives a possible reason by saying,” John’s leper project threatened to professionalize such service, thereby allowing most friars to avoid it. … Last thing Francis wanted was for his order to become a group of social workers or hospital attendants. The Lesser Brothers were called to live according to the

Hello Hannah. Your discussion board is quite interesting. From your writing, I have gained an deeper understanding of the view of John Calvin, an influential church figure. It is important to note that one must not take the image of God as simply a metaphor, but understanding what it means and how it is represented in humans life. While it may not refer to physically attributes, the image of God, according to Calvin, lies at human nature, the mind, the soul and the heart. Thus, it can be said that our system of value revolves around the Lord's image. Similarly, Thomas Aquinas stated that the image of God is connected to human's intellect. Before the fall, the divine nature and being aid human in the struggle between reasoning and temptation.

Francis’s ascetic life style and which of the two I agree with more, I came up with the following. First, I believe that St. Francis had the best intentions in his way of living; yet, thinking of asceticism in someone’s everyday life seems almost too perfect. I feel as though this type of person, who claims to do all for God, is trying to be God. To live your life with no indulgence, constant self-discipline and never doing things for yourself is comparable to living a perfect life which only God can do. To explain further, I do not believe St. Francis’s view of life was sensible.

One of the greatest problems Augustine struggles with in the course of his spiritual journey was with the image of God. Augustine was struggling with the idea that anything not occupying space could still have an existence. For a long time, he pictured God as “a secret breath of life” or like sunlight, when he shouldn’t have been “picturing” him at all. “My eyes are accustomed to such images,” he writes, “and my heart accepted the same structure.” In Book IV, Augustine was trying to conceive how God could have beauty and magnitude as attributes; he failed to realize that “you [God] yourself are your own magnitude and your own beauty.” This error led Augustine further into problems of trying to imagine God. Under the influence of Manicheism,