God's Fool: The Life and Times of Francis of Assisi

As the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, on October 4th, is fast approaching, I suggest you read a magnificent book by Julien Green, God's Fool: The Life and Times of Francis of Assisi.

This biography of the saint is like a delicate cake, sliced in generous portions that each reveal the joy that the Good News of the Gospel brings to light. It is like a divine liquor, brimming of delicate and exciting fragrances, which make us taste the Spirit of God that breathe within us. To be sampled on a daily basis, before going to bed. 

«Brother Francis was born towards the end of the XIIth century in Italy, at the time divided by wars, and inside the walls of a city typical of the Middle Ages: Assisi. He grew up just of few years prior to the third Crusade, a time at which, wrote Julien Green, people were torn between happiness and sorrow, as if expecting the arrival of someone special. As the youth of his time, he experienced idleness and the pleasures of riches. He dreamt of discovering new worlds, of becoming a prince of this world, and of being knighted. But Someone is waiting for him. Someone who neither knows weapons, titles or self-pride: God, in the likeness of Christ for the poor, who will transform Francis into the poverello of Assisi.» (excerpt from the synopsis on www.seuil.com, translated)

Available in paperback from Amazon.

Gaby