FRANCIS OF ASSISI AND TRAITS OF HIS SPIRITUALITY

As a religious family belonging to the Franciscan Family and, moreover, Capuchin, Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) is the inspirer of our way of life. This man who, just in the Middle Age, made the Gospel his only rule of life, launched a new message to the world that continues to echo in every historical epoch.

Francis had before him a future that many would have liked to have but, fascinated by Christ and his Gospel, he decided to walk against the current: while everyone dreamed of climbing the social pyramid and becoming “higher”, he chose to share the life of the “minors” of the society of his time and create brotherhood with them; While many of his friends were striving to enrich themselves, he married “Lady Poverty” taking as an example “Christ and his poor Mother” and, while the winds of war blew around him, he wished everyone peace and good. Stripped of everything for the love of Christ, he clothed himself with the richness of faith, trust in Providence, humility and simplicity; he felt he was a brother to all creatures and this led him to live the perfect joy of the Gospel. His communion with the Lord made Francis a contemplative man, capable of looking at the world with the eyes of God and approaching his brothers with an attitude of mercy.

These traits of the life and spiritual experience of Francis of Assisi, which also characterized that of Clare, the feminine face of Franciscanism, are the basis for our lives as consecrated women who have God as their only good (Const. 2).