"Francis, go and build up My house, which as thou seest, is falling into ruin." To fulfill this command of Our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual Church. Francis' humility, purity, and true joy inspired many men and women to conversion and a deeper faith. Others joined with him in serving God and the poor; thus began the Franciscan Order.

Never ordained to the priesthood, St. Francis nonetheless was a preacher of great renown and a miracle-worker of the first order curing, prophesying, casting out devils, turning water into wine, and raising people from the dead. Indeed, though not arranged in typical biographical form, The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure conveys a picture of the Saint through his miracles, his sayings, and his holy life that renders an indelible impression of a man totally transformed in God and by God.

Prologue 1. To begin with, the first principle from Whom all illumination descends as from the Father of Light, by Whom are given all the best and perfect gifts (James, 1:17), the eternal Father do I call upon through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that by the intercession of the most holy Virgin Mary, mother of God Himself and of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and of the blessed Francis, our father and leader, He may enlighten the eyes of our mind to guide our feet into the way of that peace "which surpasses all understanding" (Eph., 1:17; Luke, 1:79; Phil., 4:7), which peace our Lord Jesus Christ has announced and given to us; which lesson our father Francis always taught, in all of whose preaching was the annunciation of peace both in the beginning and in the end, wishing for peace in every greeting, yearning for ecstatic peace in every moment of contemplation, as a citizen of that Jerusalem of which that man of peace said, with those that hated peace he was peaceable (Ps., 119:7), "Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem" (Ps., 121:6). For he knew that the throne of Solomon was nowise save in peace, since it is written, "His place is in peace and His abode in Sion" (Ps., 75:3). 2. Since, then, following the example of the most blessed father Francis, I breathlessly sought this peace, I, a sinner, who have succeeded to the place of that most blessed father after his death, the seventh Minister General of the brothers, though in all ways unworthy--it happened that by the divine will in the thirty-third year after the death of that blessed man I ascended to Mount Alverna as to a quiet place, with the desire of seeking spiritual peace; and staying there, while I meditated on the ascent of the mind to God, amongst other things there occurred that miracle which happened in the same place to the blessed Francis himself, the vision namely of the winged Seraph in the likeness of the Crucified. While looking upon this vision, I immediately saw that it signified the suspension of our father himself in contemplation and the way by which he came to it. 3. For by those six wings are rightly to be understood the six stages of illumination by which the soul, as if by steps or progressive movements, was disposed to pass into peace by ecstatic elevations of Christian wisdom. The way, however, is only through the most burning love of the Crucified, Who so transformed Paul, "caught up into the third heaven" (II Cor., 12:2), into Christ, that he said, "With Christ I am nailed to the cross, yet I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal., 2:19); who therefore so absorbed the mind of Francis that his soul was manifest in his flesh and he bore the most holy stigmata of the Passion in his body for two years before his death. Therefore the symbol of the six-winged Seraph signifies the six stages of illumination, which begin with God's creatures and lead up to God, to Whom no one can enter properly save through the Crucified. For he who does not enter by the door but otherwise, he is a thief and a robber (John, 10:1). But if anyone does enter by this door, he shall go in and go out and shall find pastures (John 9). Because of this John says in his Apocalypse (22:14), "Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, that they may have a right to the Tree of Life and may enter in by the gates into the City"; as if he were to say that one cannot enter into the heavenly Jerusalem through contemplation unless one enter through the blood of the Lamb as through a gate.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Additional Contributors Include Alfred Cismaru, Melvin G. Williams, Thomas T. McAvoy And Others. Essays In The Judaeo-Christian Tradition.

Additional Contributors Include Edward J. Power, C. F. Burgess And John D. Dwyer. Essays In The Judaeo-Christian Tradition.

Additional Contributors Include Alfred Cismaru, Melvin G. Williams, Thomas T. McAvoy And Others. Essays In The Judaeo-Christian Tradition.

Additional Contributors Include David M. Rogers, R. E. Burns And Stephen W. Eaton. Essays In The Judaeo-Christian Tradition.

A Commentary With An Introduction And Translation By Emma Therese Healy.

Additional Contributors Include Robert J. Starratt And William G. Herron. Essays In The Judaeo-Christian Tradition.

Additional Contributors Include Robert J. Starratt, William G. Herron, Anthony Nemetz And Others. Essays In The Judaeo-Christian Tradition.

A Commentary With An Introduction And Translation By Emma Therese Healy.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!