At the Fransician monasteries, numerous monks practiced “foolishness for Christ,” which is the behavior of giving up all of one’s worldly possessions, joining a monastic order, and making one seem foolish or crazy in order to mask humility and holiness. Many monasteries in the East practiced this way of monasticism. However, in the West one of the only examples of this radical path is Saint Francis of Assisi and his followers. 

Brother Juniper was viewed as a fool, but Saint Francis swore that he was a holy and wise man. Juniper gave up everything he had on earth to join the monastery and help teach the monks. In order to gain salvation, he stated, you must have unbreakable faith along with devoting works to Christ. 

Another example is Brother Giles, who purposely made his own bread by hand, showing the other monks by example that you had to work to gain rewards. He regarded obedience to God as the true prayer of Christians. So great was Brother Giles’s merit that everyone followed his example, such as doing penance for their sins. 

In their writing the monks explained that virtue is the ladder up to heaven and that humility is the greatest of virtues that can help you get there. Holy fear is a channel of divine grace, they continued, and humility is a sure cause. They stated to not defend your own cause and to turn the other cheek, because Christ said those that are prosecuted and hated for His sake will acquire the kingdom of heaven.

Brother Giles wrote a series of sayings which were included at the end of “Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi.” For instance, he stated that righteousness makes a good life easy, to suffer for Christ is a good thing, and to use Christ’s passion as an example for holy endurance. You should help yourself first before you ever preach to other people and sometimes keeping silent is the best option. 

The followers of Saint Francis of Assisi were called the Fransician Order of Monks. Also known as Friars, these Christians lived in purposeful poverty, and were believed to have more grace than any other monastic community. Francis and his acolytes worked miracles and they reportedly had acquired divine wisdom from God. Francis taught his monks that the way to heaven was by faith along with good works, not just one or the other. 

There are many varied stories of miracles worked by the friars, such as when a illness was spreading throughout the monastery, Saint Francis conducted a mass which healed all the sick. On another occasion, a monk named Anthony is said to have preached to animals, and was able to convert dozens of pagans and heretics to the faith.

The book states that Jesus and Mary allegedly appeared to a friar who was on his death bed, and explained to him that He gave Francis the Holy Spirit to start the orders. A monk named Brother James was headed to purgatory, but his fellow monk Brother John prayed for him to be released. After this, Brother John was able to celebrate mass one more time before perishing. 

Once a mysterious old man stopped by the monastery. While the friars were washing his feet out of respect, the elderly visitor told the friars that Saint Francis would lead them all to heaven within a year. The book claims that Francis did regularly get monks who had died sent to heaven through his prayers, and once even prayed to get a fellow monk released from purgatory. 

The Fransician monks were holy through their asceticism and lived simple lives away from all worldly possessions. Through this, they were able to acquire divine wisdom and also to bring others to Christ through their holy example. 

The “Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi” is a collection of stories about the Saint. The manuscript is divided into 53 short chapters and was completed in the 14th century by an anonymous Italian writer. Some of the stories in the books could possibly be legends, while others might be true. Most of them are about the miracles that took place at the monastery in Italy where St. Francis lived.

St. Francis wanted his life to be as similar as possible to Jesus’s earthly life by living in purposeful poverty, becoming a beggar, and preaching to crowds of people. Similar to Jesus, Francis had followers who travelled with him. In contrast, Francis often faked madness out of humility, which led some to consider him crazy, while others believed he had immense wisdom. Francis even told one of his followers, Brother Leo, that he himself was not a pious man and he was evil.

Teaching that poverty is the most holy thing someone can embrace, Francis also stated that suffering injustice for Christ’s sake was also Godly. Saint Francis preached sermons, had visions, and performed miracles on sick and disabled people. Monks known as Franciscans came to live in poverty with St. Francis and serve God. 

During the Fifth Crusade in 1219, the Pope sent Francis to Egypt in an attempt to persuade the Sultan to convert to Christianity, and according to this book, he succeeded. Another story states that St. Francis cured a leper of his disease, but the leper died two weeks later. On his way to heaven, the leper spoke with Saint Franics through his prayers. On another occasion three robbers attempted to plunder the monastery, but Saint Francis converted them through his words. The collection claims that Saint Francis could read people’s minds and so he often prayed to God to help other monks achieve their prayers. 

The Fransican monks were holy men who lived in poverty, giving them more grace than any other monastic order at the time. Francis and his followers could work miracles and had divine wisdom. This influential Saint taught that the way to heaven was by faith along with good works, humility, and chastity.