American First Italian Always

It is 8:00 A. M. and the daily newspaper is in front of me. The headlines are astonishing-more American troops being killed in Iraq, the state of Florida still recovering from the wrath of four major hurricanes, and a devastating tsunami which obliterated entire countries. Here I am, a senior in high school, the most important and fascinating time in my life, and I wonder, how can the rest of the world be so unbalanced, so full of desperation and hurting? Where could I turn to for answers? Immediately I realize something my parents always taught me-you can always turn to your faith. In doing so, I am reminded of one of the saints who has always been, in my opinion, the epitome of what a great person should be. The saint I am speaking of is St. Francis of Assisi. Being of Italian descent, I have always had a special admiration for St. Francis. That admiration began very early in my life. My fraternal grandmother always told us of her fascination and love for St. Francis. She felt so strongly about him, that she was made a Franciscan in her church and has devoted much of her life to patterning her activities in the way of St. Francis.

I believe that St. Francis is one of the most beloved saints we know. If I were to ask anyone to close their eyes and picture St. Francis, the image they would create would probably be the same-clad in Franciscan habit, in bare feet or simple sandals, one hand holding a bird and maybe a fawn at his feet. To better understand St. Francis, let us go back to the beginning and learn a bit about the man he really was. 

Francis was born in Assisi, in the Umbrian region of Italy, to a wealthy fabric merchant and his wife. While his father was away on business, his mother christened Francis with the name, Giovanni. Due to his father's love of France, the infant's name was changed to Francesco. Since Francis' family was well-to-do, he took full advantage of that. He traveled, spent money freely, and was said to be charming, charismatic, and very generous. During a time of war, Francis was taken prisoner and spent a year in jail. While there, he developed a serious illness. His recovery was very slow, and brought about a spiritual crisis for him. Francis gave serious thought to the way he had been living and even went so far as to make a pilgrimage to Rome in 1206.

Upon his return from Rome, Francis was a different man. He decided to devote his life to serving the poor and the sick. Not surprisingly, his father thought he was insane. He publicly denounced his son and also disinherited him. Despite this hardship, Francis continued his work. The first directive Francis got from God was a bit misinterpreted. It is said that one day he was praying in a church outside of Assisi. The crucifix lit up and a voice spoke, telling him, "Francis, repair my church, which has fallen into disrepair, as you can see. " So, the saint returned with tools and began to repair that particular church.  It was only later that Francis realized he was to repair THE church and bring it back to simplicity and devotion to the poor.

Francis then retreated to a small chapel, the Portiuncula, to devote his life to preaching and helping the needy. It did not take long for this young man to attract disciples who were interested in the young man who gave up his riches to work with the needy. Even several prominent citizens of Assisi took notice. This led to the formation of the Franciscan order in 1209. The order would be dedicated to absolute poverty, humility, and the love of all created things.

Francis left home for Syria in 1212 to further his desire to preach. However, he was shipwrecked along the way and, thankfully, was rescued. He tried to become a missionary again. but became ill in Spain and was forced to return to Italy. Here a great many men had become attracted to Francis' simple life. One woman, in particular, became a great follower of Francis. Her name was Clare.

Clare was the beautiful daughter of a nobleman who, at the age of twelve, refused to marry the man chosen for her. Instead, after hearing a sermon by St. Francis, she joined his friars. Since Francis did not have a convent yet, he sent Clare to live with nearby nuns. Her fifteen year old sister, Agnes, joined her. Eventually, Clare moved to a house with her small group of nuns, a convent she was to supervise for forty years. It is interesting to note that the Poor Clares, as the order became known, was joined by Clare' s mother and another sister. The order worked diligently to preserve their vow of strict poverty. I also feel a connection to the Poor Clares, because my father's aunt was a member of that order until her death several years ago. As a young girl, I did have the opportunity to meet her and speak with her about her life-an unforgettable experience. How ironic that in my studies of St. Francis, I would reacquaint myself with the Poor Clares!

Besides St. Francis' preaching and his extraordinary works with outcasts such as prisoners and lepers, his idea of becoming one with nature also appealed to the masses. Francis was known to speak to flowers newly in bloom. At times he actually preached to the animals-and they understood. Hunted animals would seek refuge alongside him. It is said that fish refused to die in his hands. Whenever he walked, birds would follow him. It has become popular for churches to hold a blessing of the animals on St. Francis, feast day which is October 4. On this day parishioners bring along their dogs, cats, but also horses, pet toads, gerbils, and even snakes.

An interesting fact perhaps not known by many is that Francis is responsible for a worldwide custom that endures to this day-the Christmas creche. In his time, he naturally filled it with live animals. How heartwarming that in contemporary life, using living creatures in a Nativity scene has come back in style!

Eventually, St. Francis retired from most of the activities of his order. In great pain during his final illness, Francis called out. "Welcome, Sister Death. " He died in Assisi on October 3, 1226. At the moment of his death a light shone from his body, and the church bells at San Stefano rang without the benefit of a bellringer. How appropriate that at the time of his passing, light shone from his body since it was often said by friars and other believers that whenever Francis walked there was a ray of light about him, and sometimes he was even lifted above the ground in a silver cloud! Giving his blessing to the friars who had gathered around him, he told them, "I have done my part. May Christ teach you to do yours." St. Francis was canonized in 1228 and remains the patron saint of ecologists, merchants, and of Italy, itself.

So, in this time of worldly conflict and uncertainty , I, for one, find it comforting to remember St. Francis and his teachings of a simpler life. His passion for valuing all created life is one that I wish would transcend to all peoples. I would like to think and hope that St. Francis is looking down on all of us from his silver cloud and praying that the world he so loved could return to a simpler existence-a lifelong peace.

Henry Porter (Scholarship Chairman) & Megan Nolan

Mr. Porter presented Megan with her Scholarship Certificate at

the May’s Mini Convention at the Embassy Suites in Boca Raton

In the Middle Ages after the Bubonic Plague, many were obsessed with death. The idea was to get through life quickly and easily in order to enjoy the after life. Towards the end of the Middle Ages (1420-1600), however, a rich period of development known as the Renaissance era appeared. Italy is the country to thank for this quick progression. By taking an interest in the Latin classics, the Italian's were able to extend a more secular belief allover Europe.

With the ancient documents collected by scholars like Pope Nicholas V, people were able to study human nature. Instead of hurrying through life, humanist took life to its extent. The reason to live was no longer to die; now living was the reason of life. Many writers, including Alberti and Cellini, and rhetoricians sought out these classics and expressed them in various

ways. After this age was through, Leonardo Bruni, one of those rhetoricians, adopted the term humanism, deriving from the Latin word used by Cicero, humanitas, which described someone as educated and civilized. Individual thoughts about the church, artists, men, women, blacks, education, and politics in society were all transformed with the coming of humanism.

The father of humanism is Francesco Petrarch. He began by seeing through the gothic gloom to a golden age. He initiated the belief in celebrating life to its fullest. Before the time of Renaissance humanism, people looked for answers of God, now they concentrated on questions and answers of human nature, including human's beliefs, interests, achievements, and capabilities. In the early Middle Ages, Christian beliefs were against self-absorption. Each citizen wanted to fit in and not stick out or do anything extremely different. A writer, architect, and mathematician, Alberti, stated that man could do anything and everything if they had the will and way. Critics like Petrarch, Mirandola, Cellini, Erasmus, and Valla stretched society's beliefs and changed their way of thinking to a more materialistic and egotistical concern. In this, individualism came upon society .The term stressed genius, uniqueness, personality, and other talents that could bring fame on a person, that leading to secularism. With humanism, individualism and secularism, society turned worldlier than ever, described in books like

Boccaccio's Decameron, More's Utopia, Valla's On Pleasure, and Mirandola's On the Dignity of Man.

In the Middle Ages an individual's role in society was simple. They lived, worked, and went through life obsessing over death. Once the idea of Italian Renaissance humanism came about, each individual's role was changed. For example, artists became known as wealthy, respected, and divine throughout Renaissance society.  People in the Middle Ages had the belief that only God created masterpieces, but humanistic ideas portrayed artists as genius' who had the gift to share in the powers of God. These included the famous Michelangelo, Donatello, Ghiberti, Titian, Giotto, Brunelleschi, Raphael, and especially Leonardo Da Vinci. Many rulers and popes supported the arts. Patrons like Charles V and the Medici family of Florence bought many sculptures, paintings, and hired artists to do work on chapels, domes, or even portraits. To the Renaissance business elite, art showed wealth and sophistication. Also, men used things other than art to display wealth. With new humanistic ideas, upper-class women were educated only to be good hosts, not just to manage the household, as was before. They were degraded in a way that their whole status declined; even certain rapes were tolerated. Black Africans also were treated as a sign of great wealth because of their rarity in Europe. Both women and blacks were used as prized possessions during this time. In addition to art, women, and blacks, men saw education and politics as a new role they had to fill. Vergerio's treatise, Castiglione's The Courtier, and

Machiavelli' s The Prince all describe humanistic ways of how men should live, act, and lead.

We have Italy to thank for this magnificent age in history .Critics of the age brought on various ethics and ideas that helped Europe through a complex time. Introduced by the late Petrarch, humanism mutated ideas about an individual's role in society by concentrating on human beings, not just on God. Italian Renaissance humanists studied human nature, including human's beliefs, interests, achievements, and capabilities. Individuals were not as afraid anymore to be different; most strove to succeed and excel in everything they did. An individuals' role in society was to be the best he or she could be, the best leader, the smartest, wealthiest, most athletic, and the most unique. Sticking out like a talented sore thumb would actually have been considered a perfect, ideal Renaissance humanist.

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