The Freedom of Saint Francis

A Life of Poverty

For most adults, our world’s materialistic nature requires little demonstration. The screens that surround us on every side bombard us with ads trying to persuade us to spend and consume more and more. With overnight delivery and online shopping in the palm of one’s hand, addictions to buying have become easier to develop and feed than ever. Those less inclined to spend large amounts may still face the temptation to cling to what they have rather than share with those in need, especially when economic depression often leads to fear and a desire to make sure one is safe. As Caryll Houselander says in The Reed of God, “We have had it instilled into us since we were in the cradle that the one security is money, money alone can save us” (Ave Maria Press, 2006 edition, p. 44).

For all of us in this toxic environment, the life of Saint Francis is heavenly medicine. His freely, even eagerly chosen poverty was his identity, so much so that it became his name: Il Poverello, “the Little Poor Man.” For the second half of his life, he lived with no property of his own and showed that such a life could be rich in meaning and joy. He thus attracted many followers from wealthy backgrounds, including Saint Clare, who left her parents’ castle to become the first of the “Poor Ladies,” today called Poor Clares.

Poverty & Simplicity

In his youth, Francis, the son of a well-to-do merchant, enjoyed his father’s wealth. He was never inclined to cling to money, but used it freely to have fun with his friends; he was also, Saint Bonaventure tells us, generous to the poor even before his conversion (The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi, §1). His lack of concern about money may have annoyed his father, Pietro, a prudent businessman. Pietro was certainly angry when he found his son giving away the proceeds from his shop and behaving like an eccentric hermit. Francis’s zeal took some time to find direction, but he always had a clear understanding that money was not an end in itself. Once he recognized his goal, nothing could hold him back from it.

Francis’s poverty and simplicity, more than a mere lack of things, meant a choice to free himself from things so that he could give himself more to God. Hence, his simple life was even romantic and lyrical. He grew up in the era of chivalry and courtly love, when minstrels sang ballads of knights and their ladies—ballads the lively Francis was fond of singing up and down the streets of Assisi. As a “knight” of the King of Kings, he pledged his devotion to “my Lady Poverty,” whom he imagined as a heavenly princess. Holy poverty, for Francis, was as great and beautiful as any lady, and he cherished her as dearly, for she brought him closer to God every day.

Freedom of Simplicity

Francis never argued that everyone should live totally without possessions as he did. He established a lay branch of his Order (a “Third Order”) for those who wished to follow his way of Gospel simplicity but were not called to leave their lives in the world. His life was and is, however, a challenge to the ever-present inclination to pursue material goods for their own sake.

To return to The Reed of God: “If we were a spiritually virile people, we should not worship money but should be grateful for it; it would simply be the symbol of work that … provided the good bread, the warm wool, the fire in the hearth, and the sweetness of sleep in the home” (44). In other words, when we have what we need, we do well to thank and trust God and be at peace in Him, like Francis. This peace, in turn, frees us to give loving assistance when we encounter someone who needs it.

“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Lk 6:20). Human nature always fears going without material things. In the face of this instinct, Saint Francis demonstrates that stripping oneself of earthly goods in order to love God more is indeed a path to blessedness, to a freedom not of this world. Through his intercession, may we learn and witness to this Christlike freedom of simplicity, and so run unhindered after Him.