Finished reading: Spectre: Origins by C.W. Lemoine 📚

Currently reading: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis 📚

After completing the previous book on the life of St. Francis, I decided to pick up this story. Alison also gifted this book to me last Christmas, and since I was fresh on the life and characters of St. Francis, I thought it was a good opportunity to read about this next chapter in the Franciscan movement.

Given that it covered largely the same subject matter as the other book, there was some overlap between this book and How Francis Saved the Church. This book, however, went much deeper into the stories and also took the perspective of an outsider looking in.

The book’s main focus is that of Brother Elias, a childhood friend and early follower of Francis, and how he changed personally and Franciscanism after the death of their founder. Elias has been lionized by some and despised by others, and many of the facts and stories are subject of incomplete historical record. What is clear, however, is that Franciscanism had to transition from following a personality, to taking on a spiritual discipline of its own.

Having made a pilgrimage myself to Assisi nearly a decade ago, and reading these two books, I now have a very clear understanding of the life, thought, and spirituality of St. Francis. Confronting this radical way of life is our modern societal decay.

Culture swings back and forth like a pendulum throughout the ages, but I can see clear parallels between the culture that Francis renounced and the one that we find ourselves in today. The core sickness is a fundamental rejection of the dignity and beauty of every human person, in particular.

The solution that Francis gives us is not a revolution, but rather something much more achievable. A radical conversion of self, a fixing of one’s own life, and letting that example and momentum ripple throughout all of history.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

ISBN: 9781594716010

Finished reading: The Enthusiast: How the Best Friend of Francis of Assisi Almost Destroyed What He Started by Jon Sweeney 📚

Currently reading: The Enthusiast: How the Best Friend of Francis of Assisi Almost Destroyed What He Started by Jon Sweeney 📚

I love when I approach a book with preconceived notions about the subject matter and end up walking away pleasantly surprised. Alison got me this book for Christmas and, based on its title, I figured it was a biographical account of the life of St. Francis. I’m familiar with some of the folklore surrounding his life, but have never actually read a book about his life story.

So I dove in.

What I found was much better. Instead of a historical recounting based on the available information we have about Francis, Jon Sweeney does something very clever. He acknowledges the “theological gloss” that has been assigned to Francis and the stories of his life and instead focuses on the big picture.

Sweeney sets up the narrative by starting with a small fact or scene from Francis’ life, and then unpacks the meaning from the event. Going further, he then shares how it relates to Francis’ worldview, in conjunction with the cultural and geopolitical events of his day. He then brings it full circle by applying it to the modern era.

I found this approach refreshing. Sweeney didn’t claim to have new information, nor did he make a judgement as to the credibility of the stories that we all know. Instead, he presents an accessible recounting of how Francis saw the world and responded to it.

If you know a lot about the life of St. Francis, you’ll need to check your knowledge at the door. If, like me, you have a low level knowledge, this manuscript does an excellent job of laying out not the facts of Francis’ life, but the essence of his spirituality and worldview. In this way, I come away from the book understanding the man Francis, not just the historical Francis.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

ISBN: 9781594716461