St. Francis and the Franciscan Admonitions
St. Francis and the Franciscan Admonitions
Timothy Bouley
Dr. Peter Agnew Sources Of The West: pages 182-186 Admonitions: Francis of Assisi 9/28/08
Francis of Assisi was born in 1181, and was taught to read and write in Latin as a young boy. In 1205 Francis had a vision; this vision was interpreted to be a message from God to repair the church. After renouncing all of his belongings and receiving blessings from the pope, Francis set out to preach with his new order of monks, known as the Franciscans. To preserve the religious vocations of his brothers, Francis created the Admonitions. They were written during the foundational period of the Franciscan order. The Admonitions are instructions created to emphasize important virtues such as obedience, poverty, and humility.
In “Perfect and Imperfect Obedience” Francis speaks of the Lord’s Gospel “Every one of you who does not renounce all that he posses cannot be my disciple… He who would save his life will lose it” . In doing so, Francis is explaining that true obedience is not to one’s self, but, to God as well as one’s neighbor. True obedience is also shown through the sacrifice of themselves for their beliefs. Rather than renouncing one’s beliefs, the religious would suffer persecution for their brethren. In addition, Francis also emphasizes that with obedience comes understanding. As the Lord tells us to serve, it is important to know that we are the givers. Francis reminds us that those who have obtained high authority are no more important than those who wash their feet.
In another of Francis’ chapters “No One Should Be Scandalized at Another’s Fall”, we are told that sin is the only thing that should upset a religious; if any religious finds themselves “upset or angry for any other reason except charity, he is only drawing blame upon himself” . Religious’ live good lives by rejecting sin during periods of anger and agitation.
Francis’
Timothy Bouley
Dr. Peter Agnew Sources Of The West: pages 182-186 Admonitions: Francis of Assisi 9/28/08
Francis of Assisi was born in 1181, and was taught to read and write in Latin as a young boy. In 1205 Francis had a vision; this vision was interpreted to be a message from God to repair the church. After renouncing all of his belongings and receiving blessings from the pope, Francis set out to preach with his new order of monks, known as the Franciscans. To preserve the religious vocations of his brothers, Francis created the Admonitions. They were written during the foundational period of the Franciscan order. The Admonitions are instructions created to emphasize important virtues such as obedience, poverty, and humility.
In “Perfect and Imperfect Obedience” Francis speaks of the Lord’s Gospel “Every one of you who does not renounce all that he posses cannot be my disciple… He who would save his life will lose it” . In doing so, Francis is explaining that true obedience is not to one’s self, but, to God as well as one’s neighbor. True obedience is also shown through the sacrifice of themselves for their beliefs. Rather than renouncing one’s beliefs, the religious would suffer persecution for their brethren. In addition, Francis also emphasizes that with obedience comes understanding. As the Lord tells us to serve, it is important to know that we are the givers. Francis reminds us that those who have obtained high authority are no more important than those who wash their feet.
In another of Francis’ chapters “No One Should Be Scandalized at Another’s Fall”, we are told that sin is the only thing that should upset a religious; if any religious finds themselves “upset or angry for any other reason except charity, he is only drawing blame upon himself” . Religious’ live good lives by rejecting sin during periods of anger and agitation.
Francis’
Bibliography: Francis of Assisi, Admonitions, in Mark A. Kirshlansky, ed. Sources of the west, Vol. 1, 7th edition (New York: Pearson Longman,2008) 182-186