Reflection 04 (8:27): A Context for Saint Francis
- Feb 22
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 1
The journey of Saint Francis of Assisi invites us into a profound meditation on change, faith, and the search for meaning beyond worldly success. Gerard Thomas Straub’s film, The Loneliness and Longing of St. Francis of Assisi, captures this spiritual odyssey with a quiet intensity that resonates deeply. This series breaks the full length film into clips that are conducive to pausing, watching, and pondering. (Click here for questions in PDF format for small group handouts.)
Reflection Questions on Quotes from the Film:
"Francis was born in 1182, smack in the middle of an era of heated hostility and confrontation. The second half of the 12th century was a turbulent, intense period for Europe and the Western church. A great schism had rocked the church. Heresy sprouted, and spread like weeds. Monasticism was on the decline. Critics of the rich and powerful clergy expressed open hostility toward the church hierarchy. The laity were demanding a more active role in the church. Sounds pretty familiar to what you might hear today.”
Turmoil within the Church is not a new thing. Is there something going on in today's Church that concerns you? What can you do to help alleviate that concern?
"Carlo Carretto writing in the first person as St. Francis in his inspirational book I Francis wrote, 'Religion in my day was badly lived. Parishes were only half alive and were for the most part, cults rather than life. Priests in their sermons sought to terrify people with the usual discourses on eternal punishment, while the gospel was buried in a heavy, inexorably clerical tradition. There was no room for laity, married people, country folk … only the religious counted. Above all joy was missing.'"
The need for reform in St. Francis' day was apparent. Who do you know, in our day, who exhibits real Christian joy? How do they make that joy contagious?
"Each of us can have a lasting ripple effect in our families and communities. None of us is being called to be another Francis. All of us are being called to be a new Francis."
What, in your image of St. Francis, is his most appealing charism? What is one way you can be a 'new Francis' today and make your charism come alive?
