The Little Flowers of Saint Francis (Dover Thrift Editions Series) Book

I really hated this. It took tremendous will power just to finish it. The first Franciscans seemed more crazy than holy. They falsely equated The Order with salvation, sometimes with very unchristian results. Francis at one point damned a monk to Hell for starting a school. Several times the authors told tales where someone left the Order and was almost immediately struck dead by God and dragged down to hell. The Order also seems very materialistic. Their Holy Poverty depends upon other people staying in the world and having jobs. Their excess focus on poverty becomes an obsession with material goods. They approach people as Rich or Poor but not as individuals. Idolatry is the setting up of false demons as much as it is false gods. The obsessive hatred and obsessive love both center your life around the loved/hated object with no room left over for God. Lady Poverty can be just another idol if she isn't tempered by the love of God. Also, Brother Juniper seems to have crossed that fine line between piety and mental illness. He is more selfish than holy. He steals. He tortures a pig. He makes a spectacle of himself so others can admire his humility. All in all, a very creepy guy. This most definitely gets rid of those cute, cuddle Victorian stereotypes of St Francis. I think I was better off reading GKC on Francis and not reading this.