A R T E .:. V I V A

FRANCIS'S IDEALS

• Service to humanity, particularly the poor and helpless.
• This was, curiously enough, combined with the ideal of the crusade. Francis believed that they should seek to convert the Muslims rather than simply fighting them.
• Francis was uninterested in intellectual pursuits. He felt that religion was a matter of the heart, not of the mind.
• He was imbued with a romantic ideal, considering himself a troubadour of God and a wooer of Our Lady Poverty.
• He also felt himself to be a part of the natural world, a startling break with the past tradition of viewing Nature as an enemy to be subdued.
• He did not view humility as an exercise to subdue the sense of self, but was humble because he felt himself to be humble. Humility was, for Francis and his followers, a recognition and acceptance of one's self.
• He was a practical mystic, emphasizing the need for personal, direct and individual union with God.
• His sense of piety was a natural one. His obedience to the Church was based upon his own lack of interest in theological matters.
• He and his followers were filled with a sense of personal joy that was evident to all who crossed their paths.

# posted by alvaro @ 8:58 p. m.