St. Francis Discerns His Vocation More Fully | Part 2: Life of Saint Francis of Assisi

A detail from a painting by Giovanni Cimabue, in the lower level of the Basilica at Assisi.

The National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi in San Francisco

Francis Discerns His Vocation
More Fully

Lessons from the Life of Saint Francis of Assisi, Part 2

One day in 1206, as Francis, now 24 years old, prayed in the tiny church in San Damiano, Christ spoke to him from the crucifix saying, “Rebuild my Church.”

So Francis set about the task of rebuilding the forsaken wayside chapel of St. Damian in the valley below Assisi. The crucifix at San Damiano. Although he believed that the task of “rebuilding” the Church was just a matter of stones and mortar, his life-style changed accordingly.

Many people thought that he had gone mad, and his family must have been embarassed by his behavior. Nonetheless, some were attracted to the simplicity and sincerity of his new life.

The growing friction between Francis and his father exploded publicly in October of 1206 when Pietro Bernardone pursued his son to the central piazza of the city and demanded repayment for all that Francis had squandered in his generosity to the poor—and for the money Francis had spent in his restoration work.

Before all the townspeople gathered there, Francis stripped himself naked, renounced his hereditary rights, and gave his fine clothes back to his astonished father. The Bishop of Assisi, who had witnessed the dramatic gesture, wrapped his cloak around the young man, who thereafter dressed himself in a simple flaxen tunic tied at the waist with a cord. Hence Francis solemnized his “wedding” with his beloved spouse, the Lady Poverty, under whose name he surrendered all worldly goods, honors, and privileges.

Whatever the attitude of the people around him, Francis began to recognize the true nature of God’s call. While Francis thought initially that he was called to reconstruct a dilapidated building—and though he also restored two other deserted chapels, St. Peter’s, some distance from Assisi, and St. Mary of the Angels of the Porziuncola in the valley below Assisi—he gradually came to recognize his vocation in rebuilding the spiritual life of the Church by bearing witness to the saving power of the Gospel.

Prayer

Saint Francis’ Prayer before the Crucifix:

Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me
true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity,
sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out
Your holy and true command.

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