Saints Francis & Augustine: Not Just For Catholics Anymore!

• Posted by Rev. Michael Meakin, Abbot; The Order Of Saint Elizabeth I (OSEI) February 16, 2011 - #  - 876 views
  Very few spiritualists have had as profound effect on Christianity as St. Francis of Assisi; the simplicity of life and dedication to the forwarding of the Gospel message that he instilled in his original brothers and sisters resound not only within the Catholic Church and the Franciscan Order, but also in the hearts of many of the Christian faithful. Like a beacon of hope, the message of peace in Christ Saint Francis preached permeates society in subtle, sometimes even undetectable ways. Just as his prayerful, service-centered poverty kindled a whole new movement in monasticism, his inspiration serves as a medium of meditation to this very day. Countless churches, retreats, parks, libraries, and cities bear his name proving that, "the little brother Francis," as he was called by his contemporaries, whose self evaluation was as humble as his surroundings, is still hailed by the world as a saint.
  Francis began his ministry after a deep conversion of heart; disillusioned with the trappings of wealth in medieval Italy, he began a crusade to bring others to this conversion and, through poverty, to a humble, hermitic life of service to the mission of the Church as he saw it. Of course, his simplistic view of the living out of and preaching of the Gospel was not a new one; he drew his inspiration directly from the lives of the apostles. What was new about his brand of conversion was an open and outright preaching against the excesses of wealth and power and the message that the poor and destitute had just as great, if not greater, an inheritance in the Kingdom of God as did the nobility and the clergy. Francis believed, quite correctly, that this eternal theme of Christ's teaching was being lost in the malaise of aristocratic bureaucracy and corruption of the governmental and clerical powers of the day. Finally, the most amazing thing about his movement was that he actually got Vatican permission for it!
  One thousand years before Francis, on the continent of Africa, another conversion of heart gave Christianity a different sort of champion. Saint Augustine of Hippo had such a huge effect on the hearts of those who heard him preach and teach that he was once seized by a crowd and presented to the bishop Valerius for immediate ordination. Would that the people could choose their clergy now! Augustine's consecration as Valerius' successor proved only four years following and he served in that post for the next fifty-four years, writing, teaching, and often admonishing those whom he saw as pagan "Christians in waiting."
  Saint Augustine was born into a mixed-faith household; his father was a multi-theistic pagan, and his mother, Saint Monica, was a fervent Christian with a deep devotion to and interest in the spiritual health of her son. Much like Saint Francis, Augustine was unhappy with the world around him; not with wealth and power, but with the multiplicity of religions being practiced in his world. While attending the University of Carthage, he often became embroiled in vehement religious debate, stressing that any existing god or gods are ultimately unknowable and, abandoning the Christian values taught to him by his mother, he took for himself a concubine and became a Manichaean; believing that there were two eternal deities, one good, and one evil. This adopted multitheism made him a prime candidate for conversion when, after moving to Milan to teach, he fell under the Majesterium, or infallible teaching authority, of the Christian Church of Rome. Saint Ambrose, the multitalented Bishop of Milan, was such an inspiring teacher and apologist that Augustine sought after Baptism from him and began the terrifying journey through his own heart which he dubbed: The Confessions.
  Shortly before his death in about 400 CE, Augustine wrote of his own work in The Confessions: "they seem able to raise up to Christ the mind and heart of man..." This description holds most true even unto this day for students who must, like I myself had to, study the works as part of their curriculum.
  Augustine may be said to be the first real Christian inspirationalist and mass spiritualist; he also served as a spiritual director of a sort, for his work details the fact that he performed this office for himself during his journey. Like an act of self-purgation, he went over in his mind everything he believed himself to have done wrong, and analyzed it from the perspective of Christian thought. An overwhelming sense of guilt followed, when he realized that the actions of his youth, from rebelling against his mother and teachers, to sexual excesses and broken friendships, all had a profound effect on his journey toward finding God. His will having been given over to the flesh, his intellect was, therefore, clouded and unable to find its way to God who loved him. Much like Francis, when Augustine did find God, he made some radical changes in his life. Once back in Africa from Milan, he established a monastery.
  Many similarities between the two writers tie their thought into a braid of purgation and illumination; whether it be examination of conscience, or acquainting the will of man with Original Sin, both their paths are, first and foremost, on an inward search, attempting to right their own relationships with God before trying to instruct others on how to accomplish this. Both were keenly aware of God's presence in nature, probably due to meditation in the open expanse that the out-of-doors had to offer. There is also a central theme of simplicity of life in the writings of each man: poverty, chastity, and obedience are stressed, as well as temperance or, as said by Saint Thomas Aquinas, "moderation in all things..." Saint Augustine's search led him to recognize his own stubbornness at letting God work in his life; he says, in book seven of The Confessions, that he even had trouble wholeheartedly seeking God for fear that God may be calling him to chastity! Francis openly recognized that possession of earthly goods would only lead him to covet more of the same.
  A certain wisdom is gained in the mistakes one makes throughout life; we, of course, are able to learn the right way to do something and can tell the wrong way when we see it after coming to maturity; whether that be maturity of individual or of Christian thought. Both of these men had this ability in a very uncanny sense. Francis' teachings went on to inspire generations of monks and nuns who wished to live out his meek lifestyle, which he foresaw, through his testaments and letters of inspiration. Saint Augustine continues to inspire converts of both religion and of heart; his deep introspection and great insight ensure that he, with Francis, will continue to be a light on the path of Christianity, Roman or not, until Jesus comes again! <!--IBF.ATTACHMENT_20410-->