St. Francis: patron saint of animals

[Ursus]

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm

 

 

The very animals found in Francis a tender friend and protector; thus we find him pleading with the people of Gubbio to feed the fierce wolf that had ravished their flocks, because through hunger "Brother Wolf" had done this wrong. And the early legends have left us many an idyllic picture of how beasts and birds alike susceptible to the charm of Francis's gentle ways, entered into loving companionship with him; how the hunted leveret sought to attract his notice; how the half-frozen bees crawled towards him in the winter to be fed; how the wild falcon fluttered around him; how the nightingale sang with him in sweetest content in the ilex grove at the Carceri, and how his "little brethren the birds" listened so devoutly to his sermon by the roadside near Bevagna that Francis chided himself for not having thought of preaching to them before. Francis's love of nature also stands out in bold relief in the world he moved in. He delighted to commune with the wild flowers, the crystal spring, and the friendly fire, and to greet the sun as it rose upon the fair Umbrian vale. In this respect, indeed, St. Francis's "gift of sympathy" seems to have been wider even than St. Paul's, for we find no evidence in the great Apostle of a love for nature or for animals.

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Amazing fellow. Even the Saracens listened politely to his proselytisation in Egypt before sending him on his way. That was during the Crusading era mind you.

[Ludovicus]

Amazing fellow. Even the Saracens listened politely to his proselytisation in Egypt before sending him on his way. That was during the Crusading era mind you.

 

Thanks, Gladius. This is an important event in the saint's life which is not well known. Here I quote from Thomas Cahill's "Mysteries of the Middle Ages," pp. 165-166 :

 

[The saint's nonviolent example] "in an age when the most visible signs of the Christian religion were the wars and atrocities of the red-crossed crusaders, was shockingly otherworldly--and slyly effective...It even impelled Francis himself to joint the Fifth Crusade, not as a warrior but as a healer. He sailed across the Mediterranean to the Egyptian court of al-Malik al-Kamil, nephew of the great Saladin who had defeated the forces of the hapless Third Crusade...The attempt to proselytize a Muslim would have been cause for on-the-spot decapitation, but Kamil was a wise and moderate man who was deeply impressed by Francis's courage and sincerity and invited him to stay for a week of serious conversation. Francis, in his turn was deeply impressed by the religious devotion of the Muslims, especially by their fivefold daily call to prayer...Francis was not impressed by the crusaders, nominal Christians whose sacrilegious brutality horrified him...It is a tragedy of history that Kamil and Francis were unable to talk longer, to coordinate their strengths, and to form an alliance. Had they been able to do so, "the clash of civilizations" might not even be a phrase in our world."

 

http://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Middle-Age...2354&sr=1-3

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Amazing fellow. Even the Saracens listened politely to his proselytisation in Egypt before sending him on his way. That was during the Crusading era mind you.

 

Thanks, Gladius. This is an important event in the saint's life which is not well known. Here I quote from Thomas Cahill's "Mysteries of the Middle Ages," pp. 165-166 :

 

[The saint's nonviolent example] "in an age when the most visible signs of the Christian religion were the wars and atrocities of the red-crossed crusaders, was shockingly otherworldly--and slyly effective...It even impelled Francis himself to joint the Fifth Crusade, not as a warrior but as a healer. He sailed across the Mediterranean to the Egyptian court of al-Malik al-Kamil, nephew of the great Saladin who had defeated the forces of the hapless Third Crusade...The attempt to proselytize a Muslim would have been cause for on-the-spot decapitation, but Kamil was a wise and moderate man who was deeply impressed by Francis's courage and sincerity and invited him to stay for a week of serious conversation. Francis, in his turn was deeply impressed by the religious devotion of the Muslims, especially by their fivefold daily call to prayer...Francis was not impressed by the crusaders, nominal Christians whose sacrilegious brutality horrified him...It is a tragedy of history that Kamil and Francis were unable to talk longer, to coordinate their strengths, and to form an alliance. Had they been able to do so, "the clash of civilizations" might not even be a phrase in our world."

 

http://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Middle-Age...2354&sr=1-3

One of those lost opportunities, eh? Another one would be the marriage between Saif ud Din the brother of Saladin and Joanna the sister of Richard Coeur de Leon that Richard was so enthusiastic about. Joanna herself refused to marry an "infidel" otherwise who knows what the world would be like today.

[Maladict]

One of those lost opportunities, eh? Another one would be the marriage between Saif ud Din the brother of Saladin and Joanna the sister of Richard Coeur de Leon that Richard was so enthusiastic about. Joanna herself refused to marry an "infidel" otherwise who knows what the world would be like today.

 

Not much different, I fear. Frederick II did succeed, but it did not matter much in the long run.

Too many bigots, even for an emperor.

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

One of those lost opportunities, eh? Another one would be the marriage between Saif ud Din the brother of Saladin and Joanna the sister of Richard Coeur de Leon that Richard was so enthusiastic about. Joanna herself refused to marry an "infidel" otherwise who knows what the world would be like today.

 

Not much different, I fear. Frederick II did succeed, but it did not matter much in the long run.

Too many bigots, even for an emperor.

Ah, yes. Stupor Mundi. A man truly born ahead of his time. The guy was quite a character.