Saint Francis of Assisi

            Saint Francis of Assis was born Francesco Bernardone, in Assisi, Italy in 1181. Francis was born into a well off family. Francis's father Pietro was a successful merchant selling fabrics and spices; he had hoped Francis would follow in his footsteps. Pietro was frequently out of town on business, and this was also the case when Francis was born. Because of his father's absence his mother, Monna Pica named him John but when his father returned he quickly renamed him Francis. Francis had a rather happy childhood; he studied latin, music, and wrote many poems and composed music. Francis was a hard worker and worked in his father's cloth shop. Though one incident which influenced Francis's life was when a beggar came to his shop, while Francis was selling velvet asking for good in the name of God. Francis kicked the mane out of his shop, but then later regretted his actions and searched for the man. When he found him, he stopped and man and apologized, and gave him some money. This shows how compassionate Francis was, even before he understood his true calling in life.
             Christian Freedom is human will empowered by grace. It is never freedom from anything. It is always freedom for something. That is, to choose to respond to God positively. Saint Francis really turned toward God and grew into the ideals of Christian Freedom after he fought in the war between Assisi and Perugia. During the war Francis was taken prisoner for a year, and became very ill. This event really shaped his character and soul, even though it weakened him physically. By the time he finally returned to Assisi, he was seriously ill. His mother slowly brought him back to health, but the life he had lived before and attempted to live now didn't please him life it had before. he had dreams of being a solider and decided to volunteer, but on his way a voice spoke to him one night in a dream and ordered him to turn back.