The Enthusiast by Jon M. Sweeney

The Enthusiast: How the Best Friend of Francis of Assisi Almost Destroyed What He Started.  The best friend in the title is Elias of Cortona, who was in from the start of the Franciscan movement, an attempt to bring the church back to the people and to the poverty of Christ, to make religious figures more humble and to have them live in Christ's poor footsteps.

This is a biography of St. Francis of Assisi "through the lens of the relationship that most consoled him", with Brother Elias of Cortona.  Elias is called "Francis's friend, confidant, and source of strength."  Elias often played the role of social buffer for iconoclast Francis, and many other traits of the men melded well so that Elias could be called Francis's soul mate.

The reader gets a front row seat for the conflict in the real medieval world between an idealist and a realist, Francis the idealist, Elias the realist.  Today's pilgrims to Assisi know mainly the monuments created by the realist to honor the idealist, even if the basilicas in Assisi are the last things Francis would have wanted built.

Elias could envision the future for Assisi as "the world's pilgrimage destination" to honor the "greatest saint since the apostles".  The first basilica was designed by Elias, and built under his supervision so he could do something special for his late friend, Francis:  "make his name great on earth, as it is now in heaven".

The author set out to show the "complexities of a relationship between two men and shows how it changed their world...how idealism can be undone by the enthusiasm of one devoted follower."  An understanding of fame and the growth of a business along with human psychology informs the author's work.

While a visionary, charismatic person can start a revolution, it is the strong, practical administrator with a sound, realistic vision who guides a revolution through to the established phase.  As a new venture grows, the founder is often pushed aside for a new leader to run the show during the consolidation phase.  The author shows that that applied to Francis's movement, and Elias was the leader who replaced him.

But when a revolution has to do with morality and faith, as in the case of St. Francis's new, modest religious orders, the risk is that the needs of politics and secular society will undermine the original intent of a movement.  In many ways that did happen, and Elias repented of that later in life, and of his own vanity, greed and self-importance.

The reader learns along the way of Francis's childhood and some of the history of the era in which he lived.  Francis's struggle to found an order of poverello brothers, poor brothers living as Christ preached, not as the contemporary church lived, in luxury, is detailed.  This is Francis's story told with a greater focus on the people around him.

The author uses some conjecture and invents dialog to tell his story, attempting to humanize the caricatures that have crept into the history of Francis.  The reader is reminded that real historical people surrounded Francis as he built his movement from the ground up.  This book has a literate yet approachable style, with a strong novelistic feeling.  The overall result is very entertaining.

I enjoyed most the clear view of the types of people who are drawn to a charismatic figure.  True believers are there, as are those who see an opportunity for personal advancement.  Sometimes, as in the case of Elias, those people are one and the same.  The reader is treated to an account of how the central focus of a new movement, like St. Francis, can lose his position when his movement becomes bigger than him.

From the book's description:

Popular historian and award-winning author Jon M. Sweeney relates the untold story of St. Francis’s friendship with Elias of Cortona, the man who helped him build the Franciscan movement.  Sweeney uses the complexities of their relationship in a gripping narrative of how their efforts changed the world and how Elias’s enthusiasm betrayed the ideals of his friend.

Few biographies of St. Francis have examined his complicated relationship with close friend Elias of Cortona.  In The Enthusiast, award-winning author and historian Jon M. Sweeney delves into this little-known partnership that defined and then almost destroyed Francis’s ideals.

Blending history and biography, Sweeney reveals how Francis and Elias rebuilt churches, aided lepers, and entertained as “God’s troubadours” to the delight of everyday people who had grown tired of a remote and tumultuous Church.  At the height of their spiritual renaissance, however, Elias became “the devil” to many of the other friars; they believed him to be a traitor to their ideals.

After Francis’s premature death, the movement fractured.  Scorned by most of the Franciscan leadership, Elias followed a path that would leave him a lonely, broken man.  Sweeney shows how Elias’s undoing was rooted in his attempts to honor his old friend.

This is the book's lovely trailer:

 

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

I review other books by the same author on this site:

- The Complete Francis of Assisi

- When St. Francis Saved the Church

And I review a walking guide of Assisi too, that is FREE!: Assisi Walking Adventure Guide

The Complete Francis of Assisi Edited, Translated, Introduced by Jon Sweeney

The subtitle of this book is His Life, The Complete Writings, and The Little Flowers.  This book is the ultimate St. Francis fan's collection at 400+ pages.  I had been wanting to read (and re-read) all these works for quite a while but now I'm very glad I waited.

The introductions and footnotes provided by the editor of this collection were wonderful and really helped me get the most out of the books, especially Sabatier's classic biography of St. Francis.

The editor says that he intends this collection for two audiences:

for those who already love St. Francis and want to be in his company

also ideal for someone new to the world's most popular saint...the little poor man from Umbria

Those are lovely thoughts, and one does feel in Francis's company when reading the story of his life, and the words written by his own hand, and the charming book Fioretti/Flowers, which reads like an attempt at a Gospel of St. Francis by those who loved the man.

I would add a third audience:  those who are about visit Assisi, Italy, especially those who are visiting the town as a religious pilgrim.

The first book in the collection is The Essential Biography of St. Francis by Frenchman Paul Sabatier, written in 1894.  Necessarily, the author included much material relating to the history of the times and the church in the late middle ages when Francis lived.  The editor's footnotes were very helpful in providing extra background information on these subjects for the modern reader.

Sabatier's style is easy to read and his book includes all the important moments in St. Francis's life.  For pilgrims to Assisi, this book will provide all the locations one would want to visit, explaining the importance of each to Assisi's most famous son.

I found most interesting the parts where Sabatier explained how Francis was viewed by his contemporaries.  That the man was considered a saint during his own lifetime was very impressive, and it explained why he was canonized within only two years of his death.

Sabatier also offers some of his own philosophical observations, which are beautiful in their own right, such as:

The greater number of people pass through life with souls asleep.  Yet the instinct for love and for the divine is only slumbering.

Francis provided in his religious community a refuge for "suffering souls thirsty for the ideal".

The second book is a collection of 19 writings attributed to Francis of Assisi:  Francis of Assisi in His Own Words:  The Essential Writings.  9 of the writings are prayers.  4 are rules for his Franciscan Order.  6 are letters Francis wrote to members of his orders (he founded 3 orders).

The prayers will appeal the most to readers, I suspect, for the same reason that St. Francis appeals to so many people:  their simplicity and their embodiment of Francis's heartfelt love of Christ.  The message is consistent and clear:  love, charity, faith, and humility.

Throughout the writings one sees a real man who is fully human yet inspirational in the path he chooses and the courage he shows in following through with his desire to live a life that emulates Christ's example.

The third book is a medieval collection of 53 stories about St. Francis and his followers:  The Little Flowers of Saint Francis Collected by Brother Ugolino.  The editor has arranged them in chronological order, and if you read them after having read the first two books in the Complete Francis of Assisi, they will be like icing on the cake.

The little flowers, or sweet little stories about St. Francis, read like a Gospel of Francis, a collection of stories and parables to bring glory to the man and to show to the world his sanctity and his Christ-like nature.  What comes across too, through the stories, is the love that people had for Francis during his lifetime, and that he was seen as a saint long before the church canonized him.

Just a note:  for modern readers, the physical abuse that Francis subjected himself to will be rightfully disturbing.  Today's Catholic Church does not condone extreme behavior such as extreme fasts and flagellation.  Today's emulators of Christ, and St. Francis, are along the lines as Mother Theresa of Calcutta, and others like her, who are sanctified for their good deeds, personal sacrifices, and unlimited compassion.

The Complete Francis of Assisi is a wonderful book for pilgrims, and for people who wish to know more about the poor little man from Umbria who set out to live as Christ lived and ended up founding three religious orders, and inspiring so many to strive to live their lives with more love, charity, faith and humility.

From the book's description:

There are many editions of the writings of Francis, and biographies about him, but here in one volume are both, plus the complete text of the late medieval work The Little Flowers, which did more to establish the legend of the man than any other work.

This “Paraclete Giants” edition includes the complete Road to Assisi, Paul Sabatier’s groundbreaking and foundational biography of the saint, first published in French in 1894 and reissued and expanded in 2002; the complete Francis in His Own Words: The Essential Writings; and The Little Flowers, thus offering the best introduction to St. Francis yet available between two covers.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

The editor of this book has published other books about St. Francis.  Here is a selection of them with direct links to their Amazon.com pages.

Please visit the author's website, or follow him on Twitter.

The Complete Francis of Assisi is published by Paraclete Press.  Here is a description of the press in their own words:

Paraclete Press is a publisher of essential Christian wisdom. It is our mission to publish books, music and videos which remind us, “Never lose hope in the mercy of God.” (The Rule of St. Benedict)

Although Benedictine spirituality is at the heart of all we do, we are an ecumenical publisher and as such we present works that unite us and enrich our understanding as Christians, whether Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox or Evangelical.

Paraclete publishes about 40 books a year and distributes the recordings of Gloriæ Dei Cantores and the Monks of Solesmes, France. We also publish sheet music and an award-winning line of educational videos. Our sales department directly serves over 5,000 churches and 5,000 bookstores, and we distribute our books and music through Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Books-a-million, Sam's Club and other major retailers.

Here is a link to a very detailed article about St. Francis in The New Yorker magazine. I review other books by this author on this site:

Sweeney - The Enthusiast by Jon M. Sweeney
Sweeney - When Saint Francis Saved the Church by Jon M. Sweeney

Davide by Roger Pepper

Davide is a novel of spiritual fantasy that follows a man along his picaresque journey from troubled intellectual, to lightning struck man, to a man imbued with the graces of St. Francis, to the life he builds using those graces.  It is a gentle book filled with a message of kindness and charity.

David, the ornery, wealthy Italian-American protagonist, a famous history professor at Harvard University in the States, is visiting Assisi in Italy when his transformation takes place.  That is appropriate, since St. Francis set up his religious community in Assisi, and it has been a pilgrimage destination for the faithful for centuries.

The cluster of medieval building surrounded by a wall and spilling down the slope below...

Through the course of the book, we learn about the man David was before he was altered by the lightning strike combined with some divine intervention.  Through the 3rd-person limited narration, we enter David's mind and see how he deals with the drastic changes in his perspective, goals, emotions, and values.

St. Francis was a kind, gentle man, a follower not a leader, keen on reconciliation, forgiveness, compassion, justice, and he was a lover of nature and all God's creatures.  David finds himself imbued with these characteristics, and provided with an elderly woman (a guardian angel) who helps smooth his way along to his new life.

What happened in Italy turned his world inside out.  When he met Nola [his spiritual guide], things became as loony as Alice's Wonderland.

The story of Davide is the journey David makes to a new life.  Most of the story takes place in Italy, in and around Assisi, which is described lovingly by the author.  There is a brief part of the story that takes place in Boston and New York City in the States, when David returns to visit family and to deal with some former business.

But the central story in Davide is David's relationship with Nola, his spiritual guide.  Their relationship varies throughout the book, sometimes bantering, at times chiding, sometimes loving in a mother-son way.  Their dynamic provides much of the drive for the story, and it is enriched with the author's beautiful descriptions of Nola's mystical nature. 

Nola encourages David to try to spread goodwill and kindness rather than anger, controversy and fear.  This is the message of the book, and it is demonstrated by how David changes his live after receiving his gifts.  Providing comfort and understanding turns out to be much more productive and helpful to the world than the path of criticizing and grandstanding that David had taken pre-transformation.

I think this book will appeal to those who enjoy reading about people on a spiritual journey.  Those who value the messages of St. Francis will understand the value they can have in a troubled world.  David's journey is well-written (only a few typos that will certainly be edited out very soon), at times lyrical, gentle entertainment for people with kind hearts and open minds. 

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

You may be interested in some books about St. Francis.  I have some reviewed here on this site which you can find by clicking on the "St. Francis" label in the right column.  Here are some books at Amazon.com:

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

When Saint Francis Saved the Church by Jon M. Sweeney

The meaty subtitle of When Saint Francis Saved the Church is How a Converted Medieval Troubadour Created a Spiritual Vision for the Ages.  True to the book's title, this is not a biography of St. Francis of Assisi. 

This book looks at why medieval St. Francis is relevant in today's world.  And the book answers the question:  What did St. Francis do that was different than his contemporaries that made his teachings still studied today?

St. Francis of Assisi is in the news lately, due to the new pope's choosing "Francis" ("Francesco") as his papal name, in honor of the humble saint.  That humility and devotion to the poor and victimized is at the heart of Pope Francis's ministry.

The author uses a conversational tone of writing.  The book almost reads like an infomercial at points, and certainly reads like a text with accompanying slides for a presentation, which it turns out was an early form of the book.

Part One - A New Look at Francis sells the reader on reading history books.  The author stresses that:

"well-meaning Christians almost killed the faith eight hundred years ago" and 

"Franics of Assisi saw it coming and turned everything around".   

Francis of Assisi was one of the "signal figures who are catalysts for rapid change".

The underlying thesis of the book is posed as a question:

Is it too bold to suggest that another Francis may just be saving the Church again in the twenty-first century? 

The author refers to Pope Francis, who told the Cardinals who elected him that if we value institutions over seeking the real goals of the Christina life, then things go wrong.  If the Catholic Church is more concerned with its money and property and avoiding lawsuits, then it will ignore the suffering of the people they are there to consul.  The new Pope wants to reformed the church from within.

Pope Francis cannot work change in the institutions of the Catholic church without the help of the Catholic faithful.  That is the role this book aims to fulfill.  The book is a gentle call to arms in support of the Pope's efforts to emulate St. Francis's humanistic teachings and examples.

Part Two - Six Ways Francis Quietly Created a Spiritual Vision for the Ages examines Francis's humanistic views and actions relating to:  friendship (all-inclusive), others (open to outsiders), poverty (humility and moderation), spirituality (in daily life), gentleness (to all God's creatures), death (as a stage of life),

Part Three - Why Francis Matters Right Now is a look at how Francis can inspire people to goodness and faith through emulation of his humanistic views and actions.

The extensive Further Reading section is a gift to those interested in expanding their knowledge of St. Francis of Assisi, and further exploring the ideas of the author.

From the book's description:

In When Saint Francis Saved the Church, popular historian Jon Sweeney presents an intriguing portrait of Francis beyond the readily familiar stories and images.

In the tradition of Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization, Sweeney reveals how the saint became a hinge in the history of the Christian faith and shows how in just fourteen years—from 1205 to 1219—the unconventional and stumbling wisdom of a converted troubadour changed the Church.

Sweeney outlines Francis’s revolutionary approach to friendship, “the other” (people at the margins), poverty, spirituality, care (for people, creatures, and the natural world), and death.  

This vibrant book presents the unsullied life and message of Francis in its essential details, offering a sweeping, informative, remarkable look at how Francis and his movement quite literally saved the Christian faith—and continues to offer a spiritual vision with contemporary relevance.

When Saint Francis Saved the Church is published by Ave Maria Press.

Founded in 1865 at Notre Dame, Indiana, Ave Maria Press, a ministry of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is a Catholic publishing company that serves the spiritual and formative needs of the Church and its schools, institutions, and ministers; Christian individuals and families; and others seeking spiritual nourishment.

In the tradition of Holy Cross, we are committed, as educators in the faith, to helping people know, love, and serve God and to spreading the gospel of Jesus through books and other resources.

Direct link to the book at AMP

Never been to Assisi, Italy?  Here are six quite minutes of sightseeing in and around the town and basilica.

Here is a direct link to When Saint Francis Saved the Church at Amazon.com:

The author has other books in print, several of which have to do with St. Francis and/or St. Clare.  Here are some of them at Amazon.com:

I review other books by this author on this site:
Sweeney - The Complete Francis of Assisi by Jon M. Sweeney
Sweeney - The Enthusiast by Jon M. Sweeney

Assisi Walking Adventure Guide by John Litwinovich

The author, John Litwinovich, begins this charming guidebook with a wonderfully, and horribly, accurate description of what the typical tourist experiences of Assisi.  Today, the city is terribly oversold as a tourist destination.  The shops sell trashy souvenirs.  The churches are crowded and the visitors are trampled and rushed.

The modern day experience is nothing like the pilgrimage of old, when the pilgrims traveled on foot or by donkey or carriage, and they stayed weeks in and around Assisi.  Each day they would attend mass, then walk in Saint Francis's footsteps, drinking in the atmosphere of the places he prayed, walked, lived, and preached.

The Assisi Walking Adventure Guide attempts to bridge the gap between the past and the present for visitors to St. Francis of Assisi's haunts.  The roughly thirty sections of the book, each with photographs, give the modern visitor lots of choices for the short time they will probably spend in Assisi.  You can remain in Assisi self, or venture out to nearby villages with the guide's help.

The author has a gentle sense of humor and speaks directly to his fellow walker in his precise descriptions of where to go and what to see, what maps or books are helpful, what tickets are required, and even where you can get a bite to eat at a reasonable price.  The text is scrupulously edited, as well, which is refreshing for an indie-published book.

This advice from the author is especially representative of the spirit of this charming guidebook:

Each walk is described in a manner assuming the reader is of an adventuresome nature, interested not simply in getting from Point A to Point B, but rather in exploring and discovering along the way. Thus, distances are given in approximate round trip or point-to-point miles, with times assuming a moderate pace with occasional delays, unanticipated side trips, and temporarily getting lost in search of special places. The joy of discovery requires that the reader experience sights the author has not seen and people the author has not met. A wise walker will set out early, keeping an open mind on how far to travel, allowing each day's adventure to evolve.

Here is a two minute video postcard of Assisi to give you a better idea of the town:

 

If you have never been to beautiful and evocative Assisi, this quote from the author should give you an idea of what you have in store:

...each walk is ranked according to beauty. As Assisi possesses an inordinate amount of this quality, the rating of 1 to 5 begins with a low of 1, subtly beautiful, up to 5, extraordinarily beautiful.

The walks are also ranked for difficulty and offer a good estimate of how long the walk will take and how many miles are covered.  

Here is the author's advice and accompanying image for when you arrive at the summit of Mount Subasio, the mountain on which Assisi is built:

Stand quietly on the summit of Subasio

From the book's description:

Each year millions visit Assisi, the home of Saints Francis and Clare, but few experience many of the hidden treasures of the city and the surrounding Umbrian countryside. If you love to walk, explore, learn, discover and appreciate nature's wonders, read this guide and begin your adventures in one of the most inspiring places on earth!

There are a few places on earth where artistic, historic, natural and spiritual wonders merge as they do in Assisi. With this handy guide, visitors to Umbria can explore Assisi, its surrounding towns, and Mount Subasio Park.

This book is definitely for walkers, for those seeking to leave the main roads in search of treasures, to wander the paths of Saint Francis, to go where his followers gathered and found shelter, and to experience the natural beauty of Umbria. The walks range from short strolls to day-long hikes, sometimes in towns and cities but mostly in idyllic rural settings.

Examples of what readers may find include structures from Roman times, natural wonders atop a mountain, a ghost town with fading frescos, stones remaining from a saint's childhood castle, opportunities to visit cloistered monasteries, churches Saint Francis labored to rebuild, and much more.

This guide takes its readers from a tunnel beneath Assisi's Piazza del Comune, with two thousand year old walls, to the top of Mount Subasio, with its extraordinary views of Umbria's mountains and valleys.

The guidebook is generously offered for free via Smashwords, in various formats, several of which are perfect for pads and phones, so you can take the guide with you when you travel.  This is a book designed to have to hand while walking the streets and trails of Assisi.

Smashwords is an on-line e-book shop and distribution service that offers all their books in various e-book formats including epub, Kindle (mobi), and pdf.  Where Amazon.com adds a surcharge onto Kindle sales to countries without official Kindle Stores, Smashwords does not.  Kindles sold via Smashwords cost the same for every customer no matter where they live in the world.

Smashwords link to the free e-book

Please visit the author's blog where he describes his other books.



This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.