An imaginative retelling of the last years of Francis and the final stage in his spiritual growth. A timely parable about the loss of innocence we all experience as we see our youthful dreams and ideals compromised and twisted by the institutional dynamics of power, money, and bureacracy. Will Francis become bitter, cynical and disillusioned -- or will he break through to an even more profound understanding of what it means to be a witness to the nonviolent Christ?

LeClerc describes St. Francis' struggle with challenges to the original simplicity and poverty of his Order, in a series of deeply moving dialogues and lyric descriptions. This is a beautiful and challenging book, full of the spirit of Francis -- deeply joyful, deeply sorrowful, deeply loving and trusting God.

I have read this book a number of times during the past year, and am still finding new insights and matters for meditation each time I pick it up. It's truly excellent -- a masterwork.

The cover of this book caught my attention at once, and as soon I opened it, I found myself tyransported to another world, one I couldn't wait to share with my children. The story is simply yet beautifully told and is complemented so well by the rich tapestry of the illustrations. The book is filled with heart and immediately captured the imagination and interest of my two children, ages 5 and 8. I would reccommend this book to anyone who is looking for a story that will touch you, whether you are 5 or 95.

This book will lead the reader through an inspiring forty days in the company of St. Francis, one of the most popular Saints. There are forty daily devotions that average 2-3 pages each. They consist of a selected Scripture verse (or verses), a passage from the writings of St. Francis (prayers, excerpts from his letters, etc.) and a final prayer by the editor that is related to the passage from Francis. The devotions include such topics as loving your enemies, God's transforming power, joy, and praise to the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. I wish the book were longer, but overall it is an excellent devotional resource.

The contents of this collection are as follows:

Preface - by Roy J. Deferrari

The Christian Life (not by Augustine - probably by the Pelagian Fastidius), introduction and translation by Mary Sarah Muldowney

Lying - introduction and translation by Mary Sarah Muldowney

Against Lying - introduction and translation by Harold B. Jaffee

Continence - introduction and translation by Mary Francis McDonald

Patience - introduction and translation by Luanne Meagher

The Excellence of Widowhood - introduction and translation by M. Clement Eagan

The Work of Monks - introduction and translation by Mary Francis McDonald

The Usefulness of Fasting - introduction and translation by Mary Sarah Muldowney

The Eight Questions of Dulcitius - introduction and translation by Mary Deferrari

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"The Christian Life", the opening work in this collection is a curiosity because it is not by Augustine. At one time, the work was thought to have been Augustinian because of similarities in style.

"On Lying" is an ethical work addressing the question as to whether it was ever justifiable to lie. Augustine here argues strongly against the position, taking various scenarios which ostensibly would justify lying and for each suggesting alternative courses of action that would not require it. It is a more thoughtful than fully developed work, and Augustine was ambivalent about it afterwards. Hypothetical case arguments and scriptural justifications are considered and rejected. In general, Augustine argues strongly in favor of a heroic stand against evil and against feigned cooperation.

"Against Lying" was written in response the question as to whether it was a good idea to lie so as to be able to infiltrate and expose Priscillianists. The Priscillianists were a heretical group who approved of lying to conceal their identities. While feigning belief in the Church, they actually worked to subvert it. Augustine, in his response takes the same strong anti-lying position as he did in "On Lying", but this essay is much more focused. Augustine begins by arguing that following the Priscillianists in lying in order to catch them was really being perverted by them. He then moves on to attack the idea that lying is ever justified by Scripture, and concludes by considering a couple of the hypothetical cases that could be used to justify lying.

"Continence" was written, surprising as it may seem to a modern audience, not to defend continence but to defend the goodness of creation in general and marriage in particular. The opposing position was Manichaean dualism, which taught that everything good was in the soul and everything bad was in the body. As he so often had to do, Augustine had to attack one extreme while at the same time not seeming to endorse the other. The work is primarily scriptural in character.

"Patience" was likely originally written as a sermon. The point of the address is whether patience is a good that can be the product of a merely human will or whether it is a gift of God. If the former, then man is capable of good of his own will, a theologically inadmissible position. If the latter, then the patience of evil men (such as robbers waiting for a victim) would seem to be divinely sponsored. Augustine answers by splitting patience according to its object - that true patience is patience aligned with charity, and that false patience is not.

"The Excellence of Widowhood" is a long letter written to a widow asking Augustine's advice. In content it is fairly thin, but it was interesting to note that in it Augustine explicitly names a simple principal underlying much of his writing - precept first, then exhortation. The precept here (that widowhood is an honorable state) is a small one, and is treated at much more length than their worth would seem to warrant.

"The Work of Monks" was written pertaining to certain monks at a monastery who refused to perform manual labor, citing the scripture "Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them." This doesn't seem a very deep subject, but Augustine, as he so often does, creates interest from the most unpromising material. A particular point worth noting is Augustine's defense of the dignity inherent in all honest work and its worthiness of Christians. This attitude towards work represented a sharp break with classical ethics, which sought dignity in either philosophy, politics, art, or war. When Plato had described manual labor as degrading, he expressed the commonplace view of the slavery-based classical civilization.

"The Usefulness of Fasting" was originally a sermon. Its purpose is to define the purpose of fasting, that it was a disciplining of the body, not a rejection of the body (a distinction important with regard to Manichaean dualism. Fasting is said to be bring the body to unity and harmony with the soul, which is compared metaphorically with bringing all men to unity and harmony within the Church.

"Eight Questions of Dulcitius" was a cut-and-paste job in which Augustine collected passages from other works of his and organized them as a response to the questions referred to in the title. The questions themselves concern the fate of the unbaptized, another concerns the reason for prayers for the dead, and still others concern the significance of selected biblical passages.

I read this book in conjunction with Julien Green's spiritual biography of Francis "God's Fool". The two books together led me to deeper understanding of Franciscan spirituality. This short inspirational book is one that I will return to often. I highly recommend it.

The Francis Book: 800 Years With the Saint From Assisi, compiled and edited by Roy M. Gasnick, O.F.M. Published by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1980. Currently out of print.

A review by Michael and Magdalena Keith

If you think you've read everything there was to learn about St. Francis of Assisi, this book, a compilation of writers, will prove you wrong. Written to celebrate the 800th birthday of this man whose life set in motion a presence of so much universal appeal that transcends poverty, suffering and death, St Francis' importance to our time is made manifest by the list of contributors.

Guides on the journey include novelists: Nikos Kazantzakis, Albert Camus; essayists: G.K. Chesterton, Oscar Wilde; poets: William Wordsworth, Vahel Lindsay; songwriters: Donovan, Arlo Guthrie; historians: Arnold Toynbee, Sir Kenneth Clark; theologians: Thomas Merton; multiple journalists and Francis' own contemporaries.

Its universal appeal includes articles such as: "Saint Francis and Sri Ramakrishna"; "Muhammad and Saint Francis"; "Jesus, Francis and Buddha: the Challenge of Tomorrow"; and "Saint Francis, Buddha, and Confucius."

There are over 100 photographs and illustrations that include: a painting created by Cimabue no more than two years after Francis' death; woodcuts; a photgraph of a 14th century stained-glass window found in Konigsfeld, Switzerland; and a photograph of the only public statue of St. Francis in london by sculpturor A. Fleischmann, found in the friary opposite Westminster Cathedral.

Although this book is currently out of print, it is a worthy addition to any library.

This book is extremely beneficial for those who desire to follow the iconographic depictions of Francis in artwork. This book thoroughly describes the images of Francis found in the United States. I highly recommend this for lay students as well as seasoned scholars alike.

This first volume of a projected 3 volume edition of documents pertaining to the life and order of Saint Francis will easily become the source for all followers of Christ through the inspiration of this timeless saint. It provides the best translations and most recent scholarship on the life and times of the saint. In many way St. Francis is the most universal and beloved of Chirstian saints. Often called to second Christ as his life exemplifies the ideals of Christian service. Highly recommended.

Duane Arnold, former Episcopal Chaplain at Wayne State University, and his co-author, a member of a Catholic religois order, look at St. Francis from an interdenominational perspective. They examine a man who is loved by Christians of all denominations, as illustrated by a story told in the Introduction. One of the authors saw a statue of St. Francis standing in front of a church in rural Ohio. The Catholic saint's statue had been erected by Shiloh Baptist church. The book is divided into three sections, dealing with the three phases of St. Francis' life: the pre-conversion years, when he was, "Lord of the Feasts," the conversion at the ruin of the Church of St. Damien and his wilderness years, and from his being given a Papal grant to found an order until his death. The chapters on the conversion at St. Damien's and his receiving the Stigmata are worth the price of the book. This slender volume is well worth owning. -Lloyd A. Conway