The Complete Francis of Assisi: His Life, The Complete Writings, and The Little Flowers

In many ways, Francis of Assisi is easy to understand. The late medieval
milieu notwithstanding, Francis’s slow, awkward conversion, wrought with
familial conflict of Shakespearean proportions, and his subsequent passion
for living life with true Gospel simplicity, appeals to people of every era.
We don’t need much interpretation or explanation in order to quickly grasp
the man and the message
Francis of Assisi wrote an innovative Rule for life, letters to friends, andother fascinating occasional writings including the “Canticle of the
Creatures,” the first poem penned in vernacular Italian and a daring, aheadof-
his-time interpretation of the world of creatures as part of God’s
kingdom. As for The Little Flowers of Saint Francis, it has had no shortage
of readers over the centuries. This beautiful book has probably been
introduced to more people in history than any other except for the Bible and
The Imitation of Christ, and the edition here, unlike many others, organizes
the stories in chronological order. With all of this, if you don’t fall in love
with the life of the little poor man from Assisi by the time you are done,
perhaps you should have your heart checked! 1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 6:21,
Psalm 34:18.