FRANCESCO TAKES IT ALL OFF
(THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHRISTENDOM AND CHRISTIANITY)

Devotional by Roger Griffin, Ph. D.
November 24, 1996

It is a day early in the first decade of the fourteenth century. In the court of the bishop's palace of a hill town in central Italy, there is a scene of confrontation. Pietro di Bernadone, a rich cloth merchant, accuses his son, Francesco, of taking cloth from him without permission and then selling it to obtain money to use in helping the poor. The young man strips off all his clothing and hands it back to his father. Bishop Guido then robes Francesco in his own cape. It is both an inspiring event and a sad one, for Francesco was literally fulfilling Jesus' command to his followers to forsake one's own family, if need be, to follow him. The Francesco of the story is of course the man history knows as St. Francis of Assisi. We've all heard of various aspects of his life and of the Franciscan order of friars in the Catholic Church, an order responsible later for the establishment of the first Christian missions among the Native Americans of Texas.

The most important thing for us to remember about Francis is that following his conversion experience, he tried to be like Jesus. He dedicated himself to helping the less fortunate by becoming one of them. He had known prosperity, comfort, and pleasure. He turned his back on all of these things for the sake of others. Francis' family did not understand what had happened to him. Pietro imprisoned his son in the family residence for a time, hoping that he would come to his senses. Eventually, the family situation led to the scene in the bishop's courtyard.

Francis' understanding of his mission in life developed over time. He looked around him and saw that the Church was in trouble. There was developing a rich and powerful papal monarchy in Rome which bore almost no resemblance to the original movement of Jesus and his disciples. Francis observed that the medieval Church was not even maintaining the faith among those who looked to it for spiritual succor. Many church buildings had fallen into ruin. He began to repair several in the neighborhood of Assisi. One such was a small structure about a mile west of Assisi which housed the Church of St. Mary of the Angels. It became his favorite place of spiritual refuge and refreshment. He gave it the nickname the Portiuncula.

One day in 1209, Francis was attending mass in the little church. During the reading of the Gospel, he heard the call of God that sent him forth on his life mission. Francis became a traveling preacher, proclaiming the kingdom of God, calling his hearers to repentance, and seeking to help the neediest people of society. In his Testament, written late in his life, Francis related how his movement began. "When God gave me some friars, there was no one to tell me what I should do; but the Most High himself made it clear to me that I must live the life of the Gospel. . . . Those who embraced this life gave everything they had to the poor. They were satisfied with one habit which was patched inside and outside, and a cord, and trousers. We refused to have anything more."

Soon more men and women gathered about Francis at the little church which became the headquarters of the growing movement. Francis' lifestyle demonstrated that his understanding of the Church was different from that of the popes and bishops, but he was politic enough to seek the approval of Innocent III for the formal establishment of his order of friars. The original Franciscan rule consisted of three passages of Scripture: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you possess, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me;" "Take nothing for the journey, neither staff nor purse, nor bread nor silver nor two coats;" and "If anyone wishes to come behind me, let that person deny self and take up his cross and follow me." Francis and the "Minor Brothers," so called to identify them with the lower classes of society, scattered to preach and to minister to the sick and poor.

Soon there were Franciscans in several countries of Europe. The movement quickly grew beyond Francis' ability to lead it. The latter part of his life, he was no more than one of the members of the order that his life had inspired into being. Even before Francis' death, the movement began to move away from the ideals of its founder. It became a strong supporter of the Papacy at a time when it desperately needed reforming and also became associated more with educating the rich than with service to the poor. Surely, this caused pain to Francis.

In 1226, when Francis was still in his forties, his health broke. As he lay dying on the ground near his beloved Portiuncula, he asked to be taken inside the little church. There he died. He was later buried in a crypt of a church, built in memoriam to him, just outside the north walls of Assisi.

In the summer of 1995, my wife, Wilma, and I visited Assisi. One of the most impressive sites to us was the Portiuncula. The little church is still there. Within a fairly short time, a huge basilica was built around it. It is very beautiful in its own way, with its great nave, trancepts, choir, and altar. But it does not reflect the life and spirit of Francis. Rather, it speaks volumes about the problems of the medieval Church. I have since learned that one day a priest, acting as guide to a group of tourists, called attention to the great basilica, saying, "That is Christendom." He then pointed to the small simple Portiuncula and said, "That is Christianity."

Amen.