St Francis Preaching to the Birds, by Giotto, Louvre Gallery Paris. If only the Madlanga Commission had been in Assisi!
Once upon a time (800 years ago) there was a well-off teenager called Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone or simply Francis Bernardone who lived in Italy, in a small town called Assisi on top of a mountain. After fighting (hoping to be a celebrity war veteran) in the home army he was captured by the enemy and thrown into a putrid smelling dungeon. In prison he decided to completely break ties with the powerful international business world (fabrics) of his well-known family.
One day, upon release, Francis met a disfigured, outcast leper and, astonishingly, embraced him. It was another iconic moment in his changing life. Later he said that at that moment “I left the world,” he was saying that he was giving up on the usual perks, kick-backs, bribes and murders of business competitors and was choosing to live in the largest Kingdom of all. Seeking God’s kingdom in a more focused way.
His family were concerned. Whispers of unease. People were talking.
Francis decided to submit his whole life to God. His first citizenship was now with God.
For him to pray and actually mean “thy Kingdom come,” was to say also “my kingdoms go.”
In time he noticed a new joy, a new detachment and a new freedom in his life He found Philippians 3:20 where it states, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (NIV). This verse highlights that believers’ primary allegiance and identity belong to heaven, not earth, encouraging a lifestyle focused on Christ’s return rather than worldly, ‘earth-minded’ pursuits.
He was now praying a lot. He wanted to come clean for God.
When you agree to live simply, criminal syndicates and mafia cartels cannot buy you. They cannot buy you off, or reward you falsely. They cannot control you by money, status, influence, property or gifts. And you better be ready. The corrupt will hate your integrity.
Francis Bernardone by now had little to lose, no desire for gain, no loans or debts to pay off, and no luxury townhouses that he wanted or needed to defend. What an complicated way to live he thought.
When you agree to live simply, you do not consider the immigrant, the refugee, the homeless person, or the foreigner as a threat to you or as competition with you. You have chosen their marginal state for yourself—freely and consciously becoming “visitors and pilgrims” in this world, as Francis put it (quoting 1 Peter 2:11).
A simple lifestyle is quite simply an act of solidarity with the way most people have lived since the beginnings of humanity.
When you voluntarily agree to live simply, you do not need to get into the frenzy of work for the sake of salary or the ability to buy non essentials or raise your social standing. You buy because you need not because you want. ‘Shop till you drop’ becomes a memory. ‘Black Friday’ becomes ‘Buy Nothing Friday’.
You enjoy the freedom of not climbing, not comparing. You might climb for others, but not for yourself. Interestingly, this new clarity of vision inspired Francis to enter ‘politics’ and complain to the politicians and municipal officials of his native town, Assisi, about the widespread corruption within their own ranks. His family who specialised in catering for the sometimes-outlandish fashions and delicate styles of the nobility were devastated. Not unlike the recent spat, on the international level, between Pope Leo and President Trump.
When you agree to live simply, you have time for God and others because you have renegotiated in your mind and heart your very understanding of life. Time is not money, despite the common saying. Time is life itself!
Can anyone muse now with the person who said, “I have become detached from my belongings. Material things are becoming meaningless”.
When you agree to live simply, your lust for relationships through the internet, your need for admiration, your desire to use or manipulate people for your personal pleasure, slowly—yes, often very slowly—falls away. Only then are you free to really live, to really love. It’s amazing, quietly exciting and silently satisfying
Live simply so that others may simply live.
That’s what St Francis discovered.
That’s what he offers us today
Events in this essay are explored in Fr Patrick Noonan’s book St Francis Uncensored (Choice Publishing). The film The Sultan and the Saint depicts Francis’ meeting with the Muslim leader during the Fifth Crusade.