Finding Francis, Following Christ

by Crosby, Michael H.

• ISBN13: 9781570757297
• ISBN10: 1570757291
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-30
• Publisher: Orbis Books

Summary

As award-winning author Michael Crosby points out, the memory of Francis does not simply challenge the violence and materialism of our culture. He embodies a positive, joy-filled example of humanity at its best. His mission to "repair the church" speaks directly to the crisis facing the church today. His example of a nonviolent, justice-seeking, creation-centered spirituality speaks to the needs of our world and the deepest hungars of our hearts. Francis of Assisi is indeed a saint for all times.

Author Biography

Michael H. Crosby, a Capuchin-Franciscan priest, is the author of many popular books, including Spirituality of the Beatitudes: Matthew's Vision for the Church in an Unjust World, "Do You Love Me?" Jesus Questions the Church, and The Prayer that Jesus Taught Us. He gives talks around the world and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Chronology: The Life of Francis of Assisi in the Context of the Violence of His Times	p. xv
Abbreviations	p. xxi
Introduction: The Necessity of Having the Gospel Fulfilled in Our Lives	p. 1
The Journey Pattern of the Mythic Hero	p. 1
The Pattern of Violence/Withdrawal/Scriptural Fulfillment in Jesus	p. 2
The Pattern of Violence/Withdrawal/Scriptural Fulfillment in Francis	p. 4
Assisi's Violence Writ Large in the "American Way"	p. 8
Embracing the Quest of the Hero	p. 13
Francis of Assisi: A Saint for All, a Saint for All Times	p. 19
A Society of Hero-Worshipers	p. 19
Moving beyond Past Notions of "Saints"	p. 22
Who Defines What It Means to Be Holy?	p. 23
Why the Appeal of Saints Today?	p. 25
The Universal Appeal of a Threshold Figure Like St. Francis	p. 27
Our Stories and Other Stories	p. 28
Assisi and Francis: Faith-Stances in Contrast	p. 33
The Crisis of Faith as Traditional Stories Are Challenged	p. 33
The Context of Francis' Story	p. 37
The Sapping of Faith in Assisi's Culture of Violence	p. 40
Francis' Story: An Alternative Faith	p. 41
From Religiously Sanctioned Violence to Gospel-Based Faith	p. 44
Can Francis' Story Impact Our Culture's Story and Religion's Story Today?	p. 47
Francis' Approach to Change: Point Out the Ruin or Repair It?	p. 50
The Experience of Francis at the Cross of San Damiano	p. 50
What Is the "House" in Ruins That Needs Repair?	p. 52
Repairing the House by Building a New Kind of Homemaking	p. 54
Moving to a Fuller Understanding of the "House" in Ruins That Needs Repair	p. 56
Finding a Father to Believe In	p. 70
Francis' Early Years	p. 70
Francis' Break with Pietro, His Father	p. 73
How Francis Understood God to Be His Heavenly Father	p. 75
The Heavenly, Trinitarian Father Who Is "Our" Father	p. 77
The Heavenly Father Who Is to Be "Our" Father on Earth	p. 80
Other Images of God Used by Francis	p. 83
How Francis Made Conversion Compelling	p. 86
The Context That Brought Francis to a Crisis on His Mythic Journey	p. 86
A New Way to Do Penance and to Flee the World	p. 87
The Story of Francis' Embrace of the Leper	p. 89
Francis' Embrace of the Leper: The Archetypal Dynamic of "Surrender and Catch"	p. 93
Francis' Embrace of the Leper: A Model of Focusing	p. 97
The Characteristics of Evangelical Conversion Embodied in Francis	p. 99
The Contagious Character of a Joy-Defined Conversion Experience	p. 102
Becoming the Christ	p. 104
The Centrality of Jesus Christ and His Self-Emptying in Francis' Life	p. 104
The Incarnation Revealing God's Self-Surrender in Jesus Christ	p. 108
The Incarnation Revealing "the Catch"	p. 110
The Centrality of the Crucified One in Francis' Spirituality	p. 112
Taking Up the Cross Imposed by the World	p. 117
The Eucharist as Sign and Summit of the "Surrender and Catch" of Jesus Christ	p. 119
The Eucharist Celebrated in the Church and Celebrating the Church	p. 121
The Gospel as Francis' Life-Project	p. 125
Francis' Understanding and Embrace of the Gospel as His Way of Life	p. 125
Rome's Acceptance of Francis' Way of Life	p. 128
How Francis Grounded the Fraternity in the Gospel of the Reign of God	p. 131
The Gospel of the Trinitarian Regin of God Proclaimed by Jesus	p. 132
The Gospel of Jesus Proclaimed by the Early Church	p. 136
The Church's Proclamation of the Gospel at the Time of Francis	p. 138
Repairing the Church for the Christ of the Gospels	p. 140
The Contagious Character That Created a Classless Community	p. 142
The Structured Classism of Unequal Relationships	p. 142
Francis' Choice of a Classless Society under God the Father in Heaven	p. 143
Creating an Evangelical Fraternity of Equal Power Relations	p. 146
An Authentically and Evangelically "Franciscan" Fraternity	p. 150
A Creation Community Constituting All as Brothers and Sisters	p. 157
Francis' Kind of Fraternity as an Antidote to the "American Way"	p. 158
Nonpossessiveness	p. 162
How Francis Recognized the Violence Inherent in Conflicts over Property	p. 162
Francis' Response to the Tendency to Be Possessive: Nonappropriation	p. 164
Francis' Alternative to Possessiveness: Nonacceptance of Coin or Money	p. 165
Francis and the Grace of Working	p. 166
Francis' Response to Materialism: Nonappropriation	p. 169
A Fraternal Economy Based on the Brothers' Needs	p. 171
Resisting the Ways of Entitlement	p. 172
Solidarity with People Who Are Poor	p. 174
Poverty as Personal: The Way of Simplicity	p. 177
Enduring in Peace	p. 181
Francis' Call for Peace in the Midst of Violence	p. 181
The Need for a Franciscan Approach to Peace in Our Times	p. 182
Peace Prayer of St. Francis	p. 184
Francis' Way of Proclaiming the Gospel of Peace	p. 185
The Franciscan Way to Personal Peace	p. 188
The Franciscan Way to Communal Peace: Reconciliation	p. 190
The Franciscan Way to Peace in the Midst of the World's Violence	p. 193
The Franciscan Way of Ensuring We Will Live in Peace with Our Planet	p. 197
Joy: The Reason for the Compelling Appeal of Francis	p. 201
The Perverse Joy Coming from Witnessing Others' Pain	p. 201
What Scientists Are Discovering about Joy	p. 202
Joy: The Meeting of Surrender and Catch	p. 207
Hope and Resistance, Praise and Gratitude	p. 209
Authentic Joy: The "Catch" from a Life of Surrender	p. 212
Joy at the Approach of Sister Death	p. 216
Qualities of Franciscan Holiness and Sanctity	p. 219
Saintliness	p. 219
Francis' Highest Intention, His Chief Desire, His Uppermost Purpose	p. 220
Embracing a Gospel Way of Life with Passion and Enthusiasm	p. 225
Contemporary Chivalry	p. 227
Notes	p. 233
Index	p. 257
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