The Most Popular Writings of St. Francis of Assisi

I was re-reading the Introduction to my all time, hands down, favorite book: Francis and Clare: The Complete Works. According to Father John Vaugh, OFM, a former Minister General of the entire Order of Friars Minor who wrote the Introduction, the most popular writing of St. Francis are:

• Rule of 1223
• Testament
• Canticle of Brother Sun
• True and Perfect Joy

I bet you will find these four documents interesting. They have fascinated historians, scholars, and just regular folks for 800 years.

My list is a little different. I like the others, but here are my favorites:

• First Version of the Letter to the Faithful
• Admonitions
• Office of the Passion
• The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father

I like logic. Three of the early Franciscan intellectuals, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Bonaventure, and Blessed John Duns Scotus were all scholastically trained, so they probably were quite adept at logic. Here is a bit of logical reasoning.  If Bob, who is a Secular Franciscan, really wants to be a good Secular Franciscan then he needs to be very familiar with the Gospels and the writings of the early Franciscans. Bob is not very familiar with the Gospels and the writing of the early Franciscans. Therefore, Bob does not really want to be a good Secular Franciscan. (Uh oh!)

Here is a little more logic. If Bob, who is a Secular Franciscan, is very familiar with the Gospels and the writing of the early Franciscan then he can be a good Secular Franciscan. Bob is very familiar with the Gospels and the writings of the early Franciscans. Therefore, he can be a good Secular Franciscan. (Whew, what a relief!)

The last word: READ!