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birdy1luv's review against another edition
3.0
It was alright. I may just not be that into biographies. I found most comfort and encouragement in the stories of Francis' failures. That I can relate to!
rebeccabateman's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 stars
Whatever it is that keeps me from selling all that I own and living a life of servitude and simplicity is probably also keeping me from reaching a level of holiness that Francis Bernardone achieved. Clearly the man was holy.
While traveling in Italy, and Assisi in particular, during college, I was introduced to Francis of Assisi via Cimabue and Giotto's frescoes in the Upper Church of Francesco's (pre-earthquake!) as well as a visit to the Poor Clares of San Damiano. But my true admiration for the man came from reading this work of history.
Donald Spoto has created a straightforward and well-researched (though perhaps not riveting) document of St. Francis' life. Mr. Spoto balances faith (which Spoto shows he, himself, has) with fact, dismissing the mythological versions of St. Francis and upholding, instead, his complete devotion to Christ.
There were segments of this book that were beautifully written. Here are a few of my favorites:
We have come to accept the inscrutability of inspiration, the sudden moment of illumination, the unforeseen leap of imagination that occurs in the expression of human genius. Archimedes, Kepler, Newton and Einstein in science have their artistic counterparts in Homer, Shakespeare, Mozart and Monet. The only thing we can say for certain about their moments of epiphany is that their precise source cannot be rationally explained; the person enlightened is perhaps astonished most of all. There are many such stories throughout history and in every culture; each of them changed lives past counting."
(p. 60)
The several paragraphs about birds, but particularly:
"...throughout the Middle Ages, birds were often used to represent souls, because they can fly up to God. They were also potent symbols of freedom. In the feudal system, the majority of people were tied to the land, and almost no one was mobile. But birds were unfettered, cheerful, singing, hopeful - everything workers aspired to be. As scholars have also long pointed out, the brilliant colors and intricate markings of birds were often regarded as parallels to the complex and colorful details of medieval heraldry."
(p. 103)
"This is perhaps the deepest form of prayer: a silent turning of the self toward God in acknowledgment of one's emptiness and impotence - the realization that one is helpless to effect one's own enlightenment or salvation. This is perhaps also the deepest form of poverty: the conviction that one is completely contingent, dependent in the core of one's being on God, Who acts only mercifully, only on our behalf."
(p. 188)
"With that sort of iconography, the Resurrection, which is at the heart of Christian faith, was effectively ignored. With attention deflected to the suffering of Jesus in the past, the Risen Christ of the present - who suffers no longer and lives forever - begins to fade from the Church's ordinary proclamation of the fundamentals of faith."
(p. 196)
"And here we come very close to the true meaning of holiness. It is, at it's deepest level, a condition of spiritual integrity that always upsets public presumptions and counters the selfishness and madness of power that strangle so much peace in the world. Faith certainly professes that God continues to disclose Himself in all the intricate beauty of the world and its ongoing evolution, but perhaps God reveals Himself most of all in that sudden and unexpected radiance of extraordinary human goodness that we call sanctity."
(p. 213)
Whatever it is that keeps me from selling all that I own and living a life of servitude and simplicity is probably also keeping me from reaching a level of holiness that Francis Bernardone achieved. Clearly the man was holy.
While traveling in Italy, and Assisi in particular, during college, I was introduced to Francis of Assisi via Cimabue and Giotto's frescoes in the Upper Church of Francesco's (pre-earthquake!) as well as a visit to the Poor Clares of San Damiano. But my true admiration for the man came from reading this work of history.
Donald Spoto has created a straightforward and well-researched (though perhaps not riveting) document of St. Francis' life. Mr. Spoto balances faith (which Spoto shows he, himself, has) with fact, dismissing the mythological versions of St. Francis and upholding, instead, his complete devotion to Christ.
There were segments of this book that were beautifully written. Here are a few of my favorites:
We have come to accept the inscrutability of inspiration, the sudden moment of illumination, the unforeseen leap of imagination that occurs in the expression of human genius. Archimedes, Kepler, Newton and Einstein in science have their artistic counterparts in Homer, Shakespeare, Mozart and Monet. The only thing we can say for certain about their moments of epiphany is that their precise source cannot be rationally explained; the person enlightened is perhaps astonished most of all. There are many such stories throughout history and in every culture; each of them changed lives past counting."
(p. 60)
The several paragraphs about birds, but particularly:
"...throughout the Middle Ages, birds were often used to represent souls, because they can fly up to God. They were also potent symbols of freedom. In the feudal system, the majority of people were tied to the land, and almost no one was mobile. But birds were unfettered, cheerful, singing, hopeful - everything workers aspired to be. As scholars have also long pointed out, the brilliant colors and intricate markings of birds were often regarded as parallels to the complex and colorful details of medieval heraldry."
(p. 103)
"This is perhaps the deepest form of prayer: a silent turning of the self toward God in acknowledgment of one's emptiness and impotence - the realization that one is helpless to effect one's own enlightenment or salvation. This is perhaps also the deepest form of poverty: the conviction that one is completely contingent, dependent in the core of one's being on God, Who acts only mercifully, only on our behalf."
(p. 188)
"With that sort of iconography, the Resurrection, which is at the heart of Christian faith, was effectively ignored. With attention deflected to the suffering of Jesus in the past, the Risen Christ of the present - who suffers no longer and lives forever - begins to fade from the Church's ordinary proclamation of the fundamentals of faith."
(p. 196)
"And here we come very close to the true meaning of holiness. It is, at it's deepest level, a condition of spiritual integrity that always upsets public presumptions and counters the selfishness and madness of power that strangle so much peace in the world. Faith certainly professes that God continues to disclose Himself in all the intricate beauty of the world and its ongoing evolution, but perhaps God reveals Himself most of all in that sudden and unexpected radiance of extraordinary human goodness that we call sanctity."
(p. 213)
brookepalmer796's review against another edition
1.0
I can only describe this book as more boring than a text book. Ugh.
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