FVE 1101_ModuleI I_ part II.pdf

Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas Module 1: Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God Lesson 9_ The Characteristics of Faith 1. Faith is a grace Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. According to St. Thomas of Aquinas: "Befor...

Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas Module 1: Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God Lesson 9_ The Characteristics of Faith 1. Faith is a grace Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. According to St. Thomas of Aquinas: "Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.” 2. Faith is a human act Believing is possible only by grace and the interior help of the Holy Spirit. But it is no less true that believing is an authentically human act. Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed is contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason. In faith, the human intellect will cooperate with divine grace. 3. Faith and understanding The submission of our faith might nevertheless be by reason. There are external proofs of God’s Revelation and it is joined with the internal help of the Holy Spirit. The miracles of Christ and the saints, prophecies, the Church's growth and holiness, and her fruitfulness and stability are the most certain signs of divine Revelation and are adapted to the intelligence of all. They are also "motives of credibility," which show that the assent of faith is "by no means a blind impulse of the mind" (DF 3). Faith is certain. It is more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. According to St. Anselm, "Faith seeks understanding." A believer usually desires to know better the One in whom he has put his faith and to understand better what He has revealed. The grace of faith opens the eyes of your hearts to a lively understanding of the contents of Revelation. In the words of St. Augustine, "I believe, to understand; and I understand, the better to believe." Faith and science: Faith is above reason and there is no disagreement between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind. Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. 4. The freedom of faith “Man's response to God by faith must be free, and... therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act” (DH 11). Indeed, Christ invited people to faith and conversion but never coerced them. 5. The necessity of faith Faith is necessary for our salvation. Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him is necessary for obtaining that salvation. 6. Perseverance in faith Faith is an entirely gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift; therefore, it is necessary to live, grow, and persevere in the faith until the end by nourishing it with the word of God and doing works of charity. 7. Faith - the beginning of eternal life Module 1_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God 1  Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas Eternal life is to be with God and to see God face to face. Faith as the beginning of eternal life is to see already God even while still on earth with the eyes of faith. Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision, the goal of our journey here below. So, faith is already the beginning of eternal life: When we contemplate the blessings of faith even now as if gazing at a reflection in a mirror, it is as if we already possess the wonderful things that our faith assures us we shall one day enjoy. Now, however, "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7), we perceive God as in a mirror, dimly and only in part. Even though enlightened by him in whom it believes, faith is often lived in darkness and can be put to the test. The world we live in often seems very far from the one promised us by faith. Our experiences of evil and suffering, injustice and death, seem to contradict the Good News; they can shake our faith and become a temptation against it. It is then we must turn to the witnesses of faith: to Abraham, who "in hope... believed against hope" (Rom 4:18); to the Virgin Mary, who, in "her pilgrimage of faith", walked into the "night of faith" in sharing the darkness of her son's suffering and death; and to so many others: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith"(Heb 12:1-2). Lesson 10_ The Three Dimensions of Faith The Second Vatican Council explains faith as “By faith man freely commits his entire self to God, making ‘the full submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals,’ and willingly assenting to the Revelation given by Him” (DV 5). With this, we understand that Christian Faith, then, touches every part of us: our minds (believing), our hearts (trusting), and our wills (doing). 1. Faith as Believing/Doctrine Faith as believing entails the “head” part of our body. It is intellectual and notional. It is knowing the doctrines or truth of our faith. It is like the deep knowledge we have of our parents, or of anyone we love dearly. Christian Faith, then, is personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as “my Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28). 2. Doing/Concretized in Deeds But besides believing, faith is also doing. Faith is performative and a “hand” part of our body. As St. James writes: “My brothers, what good is it to profess faith without practicing it?” (Jas 2:14). Christ himself taught: “None of those who cry out ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt 7:21). Faith, then, is a commitment to follow (obey) God’s will for us. This “doing” dimension of faith is “witnessing” through the “loving service” of our needy neighbors. In our concrete situation, particularly urgent is the call for: 1) deeds of justice and love; and 2) for protecting and caring for our endangered earth’s environment (cf. PCP II 78-80). Of course, we realize that we often do not do what we affirm in faith. But this awareness of our failures emphasizes all the more the essential place of behavior in authentic Christian Faith. It also makes us more conscious of our need for Christ’s Spirit to live out our faith in our actions. 3. Faith as Entrusting/Worshipping Faith as entrusting or worshipping is the affective and fiducial aspect of our faith. It is the “heart” part of our body. This dimension of faith is formative and transformative. What touches us in the heart is usually what forms and transforms us. Faith is entrusting oneself to God’s hands. Abraham, our father in faith, at God’s command left everything to set out for a foreign land. Against all human odds, Moses trusted Yahweh to free the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt. In the New Testament, Jesus worked signs and cures only with those who trusted in him. He promised the possessed boy’s father: “Everything is possible to a man who trusts” (Mk 9:23). Faith, then, is from the heart – the loving, trusting, and hoping in the Lord that comes from God’s love flooding our hearts. This trusting Faith “lives and grows through prayer and worship” – a personal heartfelt conversation with God that is the opposite of mindless, mechanical repetition of memorized formulas. Genuine personal prayer and group prayer find both their inspirational source and summit of perfection in the Liturgy, the Catholic Module 1_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God 2  Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas community’s official public Trinitarian worship of the Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the Holy Spirit (cf. PCP II 74-77). Faith and Three Classic Questions These three aspects of our Christian Faith __ believing, doing, prayerful trusting – respond to the three classical questions posed to every person in life, and to St. Augustine’s famous triple definition of faith. To the question “What can I know?” Christian faith responds that we can know God as Our Father and Christ as Our Lord (credere Deum/Christum). “Know that we belong to God... that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to recognize the One who is true” (1 Jn 5:19-20). “What should I do?” is answered by “Keep His commandments” (1 Jn 2:3), which means to “love in deed and truth and not merely talk about it” (1 Jn 3:18). Faith demands acting on the credibility of God’s teachings in Christ as true and dependable. Finally, to the question “What may we hope for?” Christian Faith celebrates in prayer and sacrament the unshakeable hope that “neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers; neither height nor depth nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39). In brief, this hope means to believe in God “with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37), entrusting ourselves to Him in love. Lesson 11_Saint Francis of Assisi and the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) St. Francis of Assisi, (in Italian San Francesco d’Assisi), was baptized and named Giovanni (John). Later, his father renamed him Francesco. He was born in 1181/1182 A.D. in Assisi, duchy of Spoleto, Italy. He died on October 3, 1226, in Assisi. He was canonized on July 16, 1228. His feast day is on October 4. He is the founder of the Franciscan order of the Friars Minor (Ordo Fratrum Minorum), the Women’s Order of St. Clare (the Poor Clares), and the Secular Franciscan Third Order. He was also a leader of the movement of evangelical poverty in the early 13th century. His evangelical zeal, consecration to poverty, charity, and personal charisma drew thousands of followers. The Poverello (“Poor Little Man”) is one of the most venerated religious figures in Roman Catholic history, and he and St. Catherine of Siena are the patron saints of Italy. In 1979 Pope John Paul II recognized him as the patron saint of ecology. Early Life and Vocation Francis was the son of Pietro di Bernardone (an Italian cloth merchant), and the lady Pica (a French woman). At Francis’s birth, his father was away on a business trip to France, and his mother had him baptized “Giovanni” (John). On his return, however, Pietro changed the infant’s name to “Francesco” because of either his interest in France or his wife’s background. Francis learned to read and write Latin at the school near the church of San Giorgio; he acquired some knowledge of French language and literature; and he was especially fond of the Provenƈal culture of the troubadours (a French medieval lyric poet composing and singing in Provençal in the 11th to 13th centuries, especially on the theme of courtly love). Francis liked to speak French (although he never did so perfectly) and even attempted to sing in the French language. As a young man, Francis was extravagant, full of life, and cheerful. He loved meeting people and dealing with them. Francis desired to make people laugh and he loved to sing but in good manners and propriety. Francis became the center, the leader of his group and all festivities he attended; as such on one occasion on a certain evening, a crowd of young people, after having eaten and drunk at Francis’ expense, danced through the streets of Assisi singing songs and playing on musical instruments Module 1_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God 3  Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas Francis was also strongly attracted to the tales of chivalry and he dreamt of being a knight. So in 1202, Francis took part in a war between Assisi and Perugia. He was held prisoner for almost a year, and on his release, he fell seriously ill. After his recovery, he attempted to join the papal forces under Count Gentile against the emperor Frederick II in Apulia in late 1205. On his journey, however, he had a vision or dream that bade him return to Assisi and wait for the call to a new kind of knighthood. On his return, he dedicated himself to solitude and prayer so that he might know God’s will for him. Several other episodes contributed to Francis’ conversion to Christ: he had a vision of Christ while praying in a grotto near Assisi; he experienced being poor during a pilgrimage to Rome, where, in rags, he mingled with the beggars before St. Peter’s Basilica and he begged alms; he gave alms to a leper (he had always felt a deep repugnance for lepers) and he also kissed the leper’s wounds. One of the significant moments of Francis’ conversion occurred at the ruined chapel of San Damiano outside the gate of Assisi when Francis heard the crucifix above the altar command him: “Go, Francis, and repair my house which, as you see, is falling into ruins.” Taking this literally, Francis hurried home, gathered some fine cloth from his father’s shop, and rode off to the nearby town of Foligno, where he sold both cloth and horse. He then tried to give the money to the priest at San Damiano, whose refusal prompted Francis to throw the money out the window. Angered, his father kept him at home and then brought him before the civil authorities. When Francis refused to answer the summons, his father called him before the bishop of Assisi. Before any accusations were made, Francis “without a word peeled off his garments even removing his breeches and restored them to his father.” Completely naked, he said: “Until now I have called you my father on earth. But henceforth I can truly say: Our Father who art in heaven.” The astonished bishop gave him a cloak, and Francis went off to the woods of Mount Subasio above the city. Francis renounced worldly goods and family ties to embrace a life of poverty. He repaired the church of San Damiano, refurbished a chapel dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle, and then restored the little chapel of St. Mary of the Angels (or Our Lady of the Angels), also known as the Porziuncola, on the plain below Assisi. There, on the feast of St. Matthias, February 24, 1208, he listened at the Holy Mass to the account of the mission of Christ to the Apostles from the Gospel according to Matthew: “And as you go, preach the message, ‘The kingdom is at hand!’…Take no gold, nor silver, nor money in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or villa you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart” (Mt 10:7, 9-11). This was a decisive moment for Francis, who declared, “This is what I wish; this is what I am seeking. This is what I want to do from the bottom of my heart.” He then removed his shoes, discarded his staff, put on a rough tunic, and began to preach repentance. The Rule of St. Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan Fraternities Francis preached to townspeople and he soon attracted followers. In 1209 he composed for his mendicant disciples, or friars, a simple rule (Regula primitiva, “Primitive Rule”) drawn from passages in the Bible: “To follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps.” He then led the group of 12 disciples to Rome to seek the approval of Pope Innocent III, an important step that demonstrated Francis’s recognition of papal authority and saved his order from being declared as heretics. Pope Innocent III remembered his dream in which he saw Francis holding up the church of St. John Lateran. The Pope gave oral approbation to the Franciscan rule of life. This event, which according to tradition, occurred on April 16, 1210, marked the official founding of Module 1_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God 4  Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas the Franciscan Order. The Friars Minor, or Lesser Brothers, as they came to be known, were street preachers with no possessions and only the Porziuncola as a center. They preached and worked first in Umbria and then, as their numbers grew rapidly, in the rest of Italy. St. Francis had a special veneration for the Holy Eucharist (the body and blood of Christ) and respect for the priests who handled the elements of the communion sacrament. Poverty was so important to Francis that in his last writing, the Testament, composed shortly before he died in 1226, he declared unambiguously that absolute personal and corporate poverty was the essential lifestyle for the members of his order. He sought external poverty as well as total denial of self. Francis considered all nature as the mirror of God and as so many steps to God. He called all creatures his “brothers” and “sisters,” and, in the most endearing stories about him, preached to the birds and persuaded a wolf to stop attacking the people of the town of Gubbio and their livestock if the townspeople agreed to feed the wolf. In his “Canticle of Creatures” (also called the “Praises of Creatures” or the “Canticle of the Sun”), he referred to “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon,” the wind and water, and even “Sister Death.” He nicknamed his long and painful illnesses his “sisters,” and he begged pardon of “Brother Ass the body” for having unduly burdened him with his penances. Above all, his deep sense of brotherhood under God embraced his fellow men, for “he considered himself no friend of Christ if he did not cherish those for whom Christ died.” On the evening of Palm Sunday 1211 (or 1212), Francis and his friars welcomed Saint Clare of Assisi at Saint Mary of the Angels chapel. She was only eighteen and she escaped from her family’s castle. In the darkness of the night, with only torches burning, she approached the altar in the chapel and consecrated herself to the Lord. She put on the gross habit of penance. That same night, under the protection of the friars, Clare proceeded to the monastery of the Benedictine nuns at San Paolo di Bastia, where she remained until the time came for her to establish herself at San Damiano, near Assisi. The evangelical life lived by Saint Clare attracted many followers as well and her group became known as Order of the Poor Clares. For those who could not leave their families and homes, he eventually (c. 1221) formed the Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance, a lay fraternity that, without withdrawing from the world or taking religious vows, would carry out the principles of Franciscan life. Determined to bring the Gospel to all God’s creatures, Francis, on several occasions, sought to take his message out of Italy. In the late spring of 1212, he set out for the Holy Land to preach to the Muslims but was shipwrecked on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea and had to return. A year or two later, sickness forced him to abandon a journey to the Muslims in Spain. In 1217 he proposed to go to France, but Cardinal Ugolino of Segni (future Pope Gregory IX), an early and important supporter of the order, advised Francis that he was needed more in Italy. In 1219 he did go to Egypt, where the Crusaders were besieging Damietta. He went into the Muslim camp and preached to the sultan al-Kamil, who was impressed by him and permitted him (it is said) to visit the sacred places in the Holy Land. Module 1_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God 5  Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas News of disturbances among the friars in Italy forced Francis to return. Although the Order of the Friars Minor had grown at a faster rate than any previous religious order, it had not experienced similar organizational growth and had little more than Francis’s example and his brief rule of life to guide its increasing numbers. To correct this situation, Francis prepared a new and more detailed rule (which was known as Regula prima, “First Rule,” or Regula non bullata, “Rule Without a Bull”), which reasserted devotion to poverty and the apostolic life and introduced greater institutional structure but was never officially approved by the Pope. He also appointed Peter Catanii as his vicar to handle the order’s practical affairs; after Peter’s early death in 1221, Francis replaced him with Brother Elias of Cortona. Two years later, Francis submitted a further revision of the rule—known as the Regula secunda (“Second Rule”), or Regula bullata (“Rule with a Bull”)—to Pope Honorius III, who approved it in the bull Solet annuere (“Accustomed to Grant”) on November 29, 1223. As the official rule of the order, Regula bullata enjoined the friars “to observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience without anything of our own and in chastity.” It also outlined regulations for discipline, preaching, and entry into the order. After his rule received papal approval, Francis withdrew increasingly from external affairs. Francis’ Vision of the Crucified Jesus and the imprinting of the Stigmata At Christmastime in 1223, Francis celebrated the birth of Jesus by recreating the manger of Bethlehem at a church in Greccio, Italy. This celebration demonstrated his devotion to the human Jesus, a devotion that would be rewarded in the most dramatic fashion in the following year. In the summer of 1224, Francis went to the mountain retreat of La Verna (Alverna), not far from Assisi, to celebrate the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) and to prepare for St. Michael the Archangel’s Day (September 29) by fasting for 40 days. He prayed that he might know how best to please God; opening the Gospels for the answer, he came upon references to the Passion of Christ three times. As he prayed during the morning of the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14), he beheld a figure coming toward him from the heavens. Saint Bonaventure, minister-general of the Franciscans from 1257 to 1274 wrote: As it stood above him, he saw that it was a man and yet a Seraph with six wings; his arms were extended and his feet conjoined, and his body was fixed to a cross. Two wings were raised above his head, two were extended as in flight, and two covered the whole body. The face was beautiful beyond all earthly beauty, and it smiled gently upon Francis. Conflicting emotions filled his heart, for though the vision brought great joy, the sight of the suffering and crucified figure stirred him to deepest sorrow. Pondering what this vision might mean, he finally understood that by God’s providence, he would be made like the crucified Christ not by bodily martyrdom but by conformity in mind and heart. Then as the vision disappeared, it left not only a greater ardor of love in the inner man but no less marvelously marked him outwardly with the stigmata of the Crucified. For the remainder of his life, Francis took the greatest care to hide the stigmata (marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Jesus Christ). After the death of Francis, Brother Elias announced the stigmata to the order by a circular letter. Later, Brother Leo, the confessor and intimate companion of Saint Francis, also left a written testimony of the event and he said that in death Francis seemed like one just taken down from the cross. Francis lived two years longer, in constant pain and almost totally blind (he had contracted an eye disease while preaching in the East in 1219). Medical treatment at Riete was unsuccessful, and after a stay at Siena, he was brought back to Assisi. Before he died, he composed the “Canticle of Creatures” known also as Canticle of Brother Sun. He asked his brothers to take him to the Portiuncula (Little Module 1_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God 6  Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas Portion) church, where he welcomed “Sister Death.” Francis told his followers before he died: “I have done my part; may Christ teach you to do yours.” He was buried temporarily in the church of San Giorgio at Assisi. On July 15, 1228, concluding a process of unprecedented speed, Francis was canonized by his former protector, Pope Gregory IX. On the following day, the pope laid the foundation stone for the basilica that Brother Elias would build in Francis’s memory, and in 1230 the saint’s body was transferred to the lower church of the basilica. Lesson 12_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God Saint Francis of Assisi searched for God throughout his life. In his early youth, unconsciously, his heart was desiring God when he searched for happiness in life. At San Damiano Church, Francis was searching for the will of God in his life. He searched for the will of God for his fraternity. And he was always searching for the will of God in everything, especially through prayer. When God found Saint Francis, his life changed for the better. He began to be sensitive to the revelation of God in his life. Francis responded to God in faith and love. He began to see in the leper the presence of God, he started to see the presence of God in himself, in his neighbors, and in other creatures of God. He saw also the reflection of God in every creature. Francis searched for the will of God Francis was a man who searched for the will of God. Here are a few moments in his early conversion experience which proved he earnestly searched for the will of God. According to the Major Life biography of Saint Francis by Saint Bonaventure, Francis prepared himself to enlist with a high-ranking knight in Apulia, in the hope of acquiring distinction as a soldier in his service. On his way, Francis heard God calling him by his first name as he lay asleep, and saying, “Francis, who can do more for you, a lord or his servant a rich man or a beggar?” Francis replied that a lord or a rich man could do more. God asked, “Why are you choosing a beggar instead of God who is infinitely rich?” Francis replied, “Lord, what will you have me do?” And God told him, “Go back to your town. The vision which you saw foretold a spiritual achievement which will be accomplished in you by God’s will, not man’s.” In the morning, Francis went back to Assisi without delay. He was overjoyed and had no care for the future; he was already a model of obedience and he waited patiently on God’s will. He withdrew from the busy life of his trade and begged God in his goodness to show him what he should do. He prayed constantly until he was consumed with a passionate longing for God and was ready to give up the whole world in his desire for his heavenly home and think nothing of it. Francis prayed intently for the will of God before the crucifix of San Damiano during the early years of his conversion. Here is Francis's prayer before the crucifix in which he was asking God to help him discern and carry out God’s will: Most High and 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. Amen. Francis found the will of God in the Sacred Scripture and he responded in faith Francis had a deep love for the Sacred Scripture or the Word of God. He will consult what God is saying in the Bible in order to know God’s will. According to Saint Bonaventure’s Major Life biography of Saint Francis, the Poverello was at Mass one day on the feast of one of the apostles and the passage of the Gospel where our Lord sends out his disciples to preach and tells them how they are to live according to the Gospel was read. When Francis heard that they were not to provide gold or silver or copper to fill their purses, that they were not to have a wallet for the journey or a second coat, no shoes or staff, he was overjoyed….” This is what I long for with all my heart,” he exclaimed. “This is what I long for with all my heart.” There and then he took off his shoes and laid aside his staff. He conceived a horror of money or wealth of any kind and he wore only one tunic, changing his leather belt for a rope. The whole desire of his heart was to put what he had heard into practice and conform to the rule of life given to the Apostles in everything. Module 1_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God 7  Franciscan Identity Mission 1101_Fraternitas Learning Tasks Preliminary Activity Questions: 1. What are you searching for in your life? 2. Who is God for you? Learning Resources Belmonte, Charles, ed. Faith Seeking Understanding, vol 1. Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines: Studium Theologiae Foundation, Inc., 2006. Catechism for Filipino Catholics. Manila: Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, 1997. (65- 74) Catechism of the Catholic Church. Makati, Metro, Manila: ECCCE and Word and Life Publications, 1994. Congar, Yves. The Meaning of Tradition. Translated from the French by A. N. Woodrow. New York: Hawthorn Books Publishers. Cristiani, Leon. Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). Translated from the French by M. Angeline Bouchard. Boston, USA: St. Pauls Edition, 1983. (pp. 20-21) Habig, Marion, ed. St. Francis of Assisi: Writings and Early Biographies (English Omnibus of the Sources for the Life of St. Francis). Translated by Raphael Brown et al. Chicago, Illinois: Franciscan Herald Press, 1983. (pp 637-638, 646-647) https://www.catholicfaithandreason.org/the-deposit-of-faith-and-the-holy-spirit-of-god.html https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tradition https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2020-10/st-francis-feast-anniversary-assisi- biography.html#:~:text=For%20over%20800%20years%20Saint%20Francis%20of%20Assisi, was%20small%20in%20stature%20with%20an%20extrovert%20personality, accessed on August 22, 2023. Huang, Daniel Patrick, SJ. Tradition Magisterium. Lecture on Theology 212, Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University, Second Semester,2000-2001. Leclerc, Eloi, O.F.M. Francis of Assisi: Return to the Gospel. Translated by Richard Arnandez, F.S.C. Chicago, Illinois: Franciscan Herald Press, 1983. (pp. 22, 107) Module 1_Saint Francis of Assisi, a man searching for God 8