First Encounter with Francis of Assisi

Description

Damien Vorreux, who died in 1988, was a French scholar who began to publish French translations of the early Franciscan documents in the early 1950s. His deep knowledge of those documents and his understanding of Francis were the inspiration for this classic presentation of Francis of Assisi/. Published in French in 1973 and first offered in English by Franciscan Press, Jean-Francois Godet-Calogeras - who worked with Vorreux in Paris - combines the latest scholarship and the most current English translation of the Early Documents with his own translation of the writings of Francis in offering this new edition of First Encounter with Francis of Assisi. This shot text is an excellent introduction to Francis and the world in which he lived. Foreword 7 Preface: Why You? 9 I. The Century before the Outbreak 11 The Golden Century 11 The Century of the Commune 12 The Crisis of Monasticism 14 Structure and Heresies 14 Pilgrims and Crusades 15 Knights and Troubadours 17 The Century of Lay People 18 II. “I was seized by Christ” 21 Umbria and Assisi 21 Milord Bernardone and Lady Pica 23 Captivity: A Year’s Retreat 24 Among the Lepers: A Hard Novitiate 25 The “Go!” that Creates Prophets 28 “Leave Your Home!” 29 A Reading of the Gospel 30 In a Christendom in a State of Council 31 “The Jugglers of God” 33 The Spread of the Order 34 A Sense of the Human 37 Our Brother Saracens 38 The Stigmata 40 Death 42 The First Generation of Franciscans 44 III. The Spiritual Universe of Saint Francis 49 The Composition of the Writings 49 The Major Themes of the Writings 51 1. The Incarnation 53 2. Glory 55 3. Gift 57 4. The Word of God 58 5. Eucharist 60 6. Pilgrimage 62 7. Imitation 64 8. Mission 66 9. The Spirit 67 Living the Gospel in Fraternity 69 Lyricism and Spirituality 71 Suggested Readings 73 I. Early Documents 73 II. Modern Biographies 73 III. Saint Francis and His Spirituality 73 Further Readings 75 I. The Writings of Saint Francis 75 II. Deeds and Sayings 94 Chronological Table of the Life of Saint Francis 106