The Life and Legends of Saint Francis Of Assisi: Expanded Contents

His birth
Prediction of his future greatness
His studies
He applies himself to commerce
His purity, and affection for the poor
He is taken prisoner
He falls sick
His charity increases towards the poor
He has a mysterious dream
He wishes to go to the war
Jesus Christ dissuades him
He is rapt in spirit
His conversion
He kisses a leper
Jesus Christ crucified appears to him
Salutary effects of this apparition
He goes to Rome
Mingles with the poor
Is tempted by the devil
A voice from heaven commands him to restore the Church of Saint Peter Damian
His devotion to the passion of Jesus Christ
He takes some pieces of cloth from his father’s house, and sells them, to restore the Church of Saint Damian
He escapes from the anger of his father, and retires to a cave
He appears in Assisi, where he is ill-treated
His father confines him
His mother delivers him, and he returns to Saint Damian
He manifests his intention to his father, who appeals to justice, and cites him before the Bishop of Assisi
He renounces his inheritance, and gives back his clothes to his father
The poverty of his clothing
He is beaten by robbers
Retires to a monastery
They give him a hermit’s habit
He devotes himself to the leprous
Receives the gift of healing, and returns to Assisi, where he searches for stone to restore the Church of Assisi
He toils at building as a laborer
He lives on alms
His father and brother exercise his patience
The victories he gains over himself
People begin to esteem and honor him
He predicts something which is fullfilled
He restores the Church of Saint Peter and that of Saint Mary of the Angels, or the Portiuncula
Dwells at Saint Mary of the Angels, and is favored there with heavenly apparitions
He is called to the apostolical life
Renounces money and goes discalced
His poor and humble habit
God inspires him to preach
He weeps bitterly over the sufferings of Jesus Christ
Receives three disciples, and retires with them to a deserted cottage
He goes on a mission, and his disciples accompany him
The way they are treated
He receives three other disciples
He makes them beg for alms
What he said to the Bishop of Assisi, on renouncing all his possessions
He predicts to the Emperor Otho the short duration of his glory
It is revealed to him that his sins are remitted
He is rapt in ecstasy, and predicts the extension of his Order
He makes several other predictions, and receives a seventh disciple
He proposes a new mission to them
The address he makes them on their preparation for, and conduct during, the mission
He returns near to Assisi, where he receives four more disciples
He assembles all his disciples
Composes a Rule, and goes to obtain the Pope’s approval
He makes a marvellous conversion
He knows miraculously what will happen to him at Rome
He is at first repulsed by Pope Innocent III, but is afterwards received favorably
Difficulties on the approbation of his Rule
He overcomes them by an address he makes the Pope
The Pope approves his Rule, and accumulates favors on it
He leaves Rome with his friars for the valley of Spoleto
God provides for his necessities
He stops at a deserted church
Consults God on his mission, and returns to the cottage of Rivo-torto
His sufferings there
The instructions he gives
God shows him to his brethren under a most marvellous aspect
The church of Saint Mary of the Angels is given to him
He establishes himself there with his Friars

BOOK II

He receives many novices
Instructs and models them
Sends them to different provinces of Italy
What he says on this occasion
He departs for Tuscany, and passes by Perugia, where he makes a prediction which is accomplished
Many young men enter his Order
They build a house for him near Cortona
His miraculous fast during Lent
He commands the devils, and they obey him
He cures many miraculously
He preaches at Florence
Makes a prediction
Preaches in various places in Tuscany
What his friars are doing in other places
He preaches the Lent at Assisi, with great fruit
He consecrates, to Jesus Christ, Clare, and, Agnes, her sister
Establishes Clare and Agnes in the Church of Saint Damian
He erects a monastery there, the first one of his second Order, which he then instituted
He is troubled by a serious doubt, on which he consults his brethren
His doubt is cleared up by an oracle from heaven
He goes out to preach
Restores a blind girl to sight, and converts many worldly people
He sighs for martyrdom
Asks permission of the Pope to preach to the infidels
Makes conversions at Rome, and establishes his Order there
Returns to Assisi and leaves for the Levant
Embarks, but is obliged to put into a harbor in Sclavonia
Goes by sea to Ancona
A miracle which God performs in his favor
He converts a celebrated poet
Returns to Tuscany, and to Saint Mary of the Angels
He falls sick
Wonderfully humbles himself
Tries a vocation
Falls sick again and writes to all Christians
Departs for Spain and Africa, in search of martyrdom
His miracles and other particulars of his journey
His profound humility
He raises the dead
Count Orlando gives him Mount Alverna
God miraculously protects him
He preaches in Piedmont and passes into Spain
Works a miraculous cure there
The king, Alphonso IX, permits him to establish his Order there
He receives houses there
A violent sickness prevents him going to Morocco
His actions whilst he is delayed in Spain
He returns to Italy
His route thither
He arrives at Saint Mary of the Angels, and disapproves a building there
He goes to Mount Alverna
Is beaten by devils
Mortifies his sense, and taste
Makes water spring from a rock
Visits the mountain
Converts there a celebrated brigand
Leaves for Borne
Discovers some relics by revelation
Makes predictions, and performs miracles and conversions
Arrives at Borne whilst the Council of Lateran is sitting
The Pope declares to the Council that he has approved the Rule
He appoints a general chapter at Saint Mary of the Angels, whither he returns
He holds the chapter and sends his friars to various countries
He thinks of going to Paris
Reunites an illustrious family that had been divided
Rejoices in his poverty and asks of God a greater love of holy poverty
Saints Peter and Paul appear to him at Rome
His alliance with Saint Dominic
He goes to Florence, where Cardinal Hugolin dissuades him from going to Paris
He returns to the Valley of Spoleto, and sends three of his disciples to France
A celestial vision induces him to ask of the Pope a cardinal protector for his Order
What he says on this subject
He preaches before the Pope
What happened to him in the pulpit
The Pope gives him Cardinal Hugolin, as protector of the Order
He preaches in the Valley of Rieti
Delivers the country from two plagues, and makes some conversions there
The houses he builds there
He appoints a general chapter at Saint Mary of the Angels, for the year 1219
What he did during the year 1218
Efficacy of his prayers
He wishes to pull down a new house which he found at Saint Mary of the Angels

BOOK III

He goes to Perugia, to consult the cardinal protector
His opinion on the promotion of his friars to ecclesiastical dignities
He returns to Saint Mary of the Angels
His thoughts on these dignities
More than five thousand Friars Minors are present at the chapter he had appointed
He addresses the assembly, and forbids them troubling themselves about their food
Assistance comes to him from all sides
He receives more than five hundred novices during this chapter
He forbids indiscreet mortifications
The devils are incensed against him and his Order
He cautions his friars, and upon that gives them some instruction
He humbles them to preserve them from vainglory
He confounds those who wish the Rule mitigated
He wishes not for privileges which can engender disputes
He gives his friars instructions about their conduct to ecclesiastics
He obtains from the Pope letters apostolical confirming the approval of the Order
What he decrees in the chapter
He sends his friars through the whole world
The travels of his Friars in various parts of the world
In Greece
In Africa
In Spain and Portugal
In France
In the Low Countries
He himself prepares to go to the Levant
On the government of the monastery of Saint Damian, and other houses of the same order
He sends six of his friars to Morocco
What he says to them
He starts on his voyage to Syria, with twelve companions
He rejects a postulant too much attached to his parents
A house at Ancona is given to him
He appoints, by means of a child inspired by God, those who are to accompany him to Syria
He embarks at Ancona and anchors at the isle of Cyprus
Arrives at Acre
Distributes his companions in different parts of Syria, and comes to the army before Damietta
He arrives at the camp before Damietta, and predicts the ill-success of the battle the Crusaders are about to give
His prediction is accomplished
He finds out the sultan of Egypt
Announces to him the truths of the faith, and offers to throw himself into the fire to prove them
He refuses the sultan’s presents
Is esteemed and respected
The good dispositions with which he inspires the sultan
He obtains permission to preach in his States
He receives some disciples from the army of the Crusaders
Visits the holy places
Some whole monasteries of religious embrace his Institute
He returns to Italy
Establishes his Order in various places
Preaches at Bologna with great success
What he says and does on seeing a house of his Order too much ornamented
He makes a retreat at Camaldoli
Returns to Saint Mary of the Angels
Reads the thoughts of his companion
Confounds the vanity of Brother Elias
Abolishes the novelties introduced into the Order by Brother Elias
In a vision the fortunes of his Order are made known to him
He holds the chapter in which he deposes Brother Elias, and in his place substitutes Peter of Catania
He renounces the generalship
Will not receive anything from novices entering his Order
He learns the news of the martyrdom of the friars he had sent to Morocco
What he says on the subject of their martyrdom
The martyrdom of these friars is the cause of the vocation of Saint Antony of Padua
His friars pass into England
He visits some convents
Receives the Vicar General’s resignation, and re-appoints, by the command of God, Brother Elias to his place
He holds a chapter, and sends missionaries to Germany

BOOK IV

Saint Francis begins his Third Order of Penance
Draws up the rule for it
What his idea was in founding this Order
He returns to Saint Mary of the Angels
Sends Agnes, the sister of Clare, to Florence, to be Abbess there
He obtains from Jesus Christ the Indulgence of Saint Mary of the Angels or of the Portiuncula
Pope Honorius III. grants him the same indulgence
Clare and others, hearing him talk of God, are ravished in ecstasy
He cannot bear the distinction of persons which Brother Elias made
Makes a terrible prediction
He gives his blessings to seven of his brethren, to go and preach the faith to the Moors, and they are martyred
He makes a journey, which is attended with remarkable circumstances
Cures a cripple
Mixes with the poor, and eats with them
Foretells of an infant, that he would one day be Pope
He changes the bed of thorns into which Saint Benedict had thrown himself, into a rose-bush, and performs other great miracles
Goes to honor the relics of Saint Andrew, and those of Saint Nicholas
Discovers a trick of the devil
He visits Mount Garganus
His presence silences a demoniac
He learns at Saint Mary of the Angels the success of the German mission
Bids Antony preach
Gives Antony permission to teach theology to the brethren
Alexander Hales enters the Order
Jesus Christ appoints the day for the Indulgence of the Portiuncula
He obtains from the Pope a confirmation of the same day
Promulgates it, with seven bishops
He has a revelation about his Rule
God makes known to him that he must abridge it
The Holy Spirit dictates it to him
Some entreat him to moderate it
Jesus Christ tells him it must be kept to the very letter
His brethren receive it
He declares it comes from Jesus Christ, and speaks in praise of it
He obtains a bull from the Pope, in confirmation of the Rule
Is attacked by devils
Celebrates the feast of Christmas with much fervor
Our Lord appears to him as an infant
His sentiments on the celebration of feasts
Discovers a stratagem of the devil
He commands one of his dead brethren to cease working miracles
Draws up a rule for Clare and her daughters
Appears with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross while Saint Antony was preaching
Foretells a conversion which immediately came about
He goes into retreat on Mount Alvernus
His contemplation and raptures
Jesus Christ promises him special favors
He fasts rigorously
A piece of his writing delivers his companion from a temptation
What he had to suffer from the devil
He prepares for martyrdom
He receives extraordinary favors in prayer
His perfect conformity to the will of God
Jesus Christ crucified appears to him under the figure of a Seraphim
Receives the impression of the wounds of Jesus Christ
He composes canticles full of the love of God
Tells his brethren of the Stigmata
They are seen and touched
He leaves Mount Alvernus, to return to Saint Mary of the Angels
Cures a child of dropsy
Other miracles which he performed on the way
He strengthens himself with new fervor in the service of God
His patience in great sufferings
His desires for the salvation of souls
His prayer in suffering
God assures him of his salvation
He thanks Him in a canticle
He learns the time of his death, and rejoices at it
He has various illnesses, and suffers extreme pain
He multiplies the grapes in a vineyard
God gives him sensible consolation
A heated iron is applied to the temple, and he feels no pain from it
He weeps incessantly, and says he does so to expiate for his sins
He prefers the danger of losing his sight to restraining his tears
His gratitude towards his physician
A miracle is worked by some of his hair, in favor of this physician
He miraculously heals a canon
His sufferings diminish
Goes to preach
Drives away a devil
Foretells a sudden death, and it comes about
Cures Saint Bonaventura in his infancy
All his sufferings increase
Causes to be found for the love of God what could not be found for money
They take him back to Assisi
They take him to Sienna
He answers difficult questions, and foretells several things
He causes the blessing which he gave to his brethren to be written
They take him to Celles, and thence to Assisi
The bishop has him taken to his palace
The state of his Order at the time of his last illness

BOOK V

The violence of his illness does not prevent him from exhorting his brethren
He is touched at the fatigue which his illness caused them
Thanks God for the pains he suffered
Dictates a letter to Clare and her daughters
Rejoices and thanks God for his approaching death
Blesses his children
Has himself carried to S. Mary of the Angels
Blesses the town of Assisi
Informs a pious widow of his approaching death
Blesses his brethren a second time, and makes them eat a bit of bread, blessed by his hand
Gives a special blessing to Bernard, the eldest of his children
What we may presume were his dispositions in receiving the last sacraments
He stretches himself naked on the bare ground
Desires to be buried in the place of execution
Exhorts his brethren
He has the praises of God sung when at the point of death
He speaks to his children, and blesses them for the last time
Has the passion of Jesus Christ read to him
He recites the 141st psalm, and dies after the last verse
Miraculous proofs of his beatitude
State of his body after death
The Stigmata are seen and touched publicly
His obsequies
Clare and her daughters see and kiss the Stigmata
He is buried at Assisi, in the church of S. George
The circular written after his death
His canonization
The Church of Saint Francis at Assisi
He is buried there
Researches are made to find the sacred body
The mission of Saint Francis
The fruits of his labor

CONCLUSION

Devotion of Saint Francis towards Jesus Christ crucified
To what a degree he loved poverty
How great was the austerity of his life
His humility
His obedience
His gift of prayer and contemplation
His love of God
His sentiments of filial love on the mystery of the Incarnation
On the fast of Jesus Christ in the desert
On the mystery of the Eucharist
Saint Francis, in his humility, would not be made priest
His devotion towards the Mother of God
Towards the angels and saints
His charity towards his neighbor
His zeal for the salvation of souls
His affection for the poor
The affection of his heart for all creatures
The pains he took to lead his brethren to perfection
His tender charity towards his brethren
His discretion and wisdom in the government of the Order
His supernatural and acquired knowledge
The efficacy of his words
His supernatural and miraculous gifts
He drives away devils
Brings the dead to life
Heals the sick
Has the gift of prophecy and discernment of spirits
He commands animals, and is obeyed
He performs many other miraculous actions
The great honors which were paid to him
His character and appearance
In what sense he was simple

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The Life and Legends of Saint Francis Of Assisi: Expanded Contents

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