Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life Inspired

by Wyatt North

St. Francis’s call is a call to return to the basics of Christianity. It is a call to Christians to reach back to their roots so that their spiritual lives can draw strength from the pure waters of the Gospel instead of being choked by manmade traditions and worldly concerns. In the words of G. K. Chesterton, the coming of Francis “marked the moment when men could be reconciled not only to God but to nature and, most difficult of all, to themselves. … his whole function [was] to tell men to start afresh and, in that sense, to tell them to forget” (124).While St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved saints in history, the relevancy of St. Francis for our times in light of the election of Pope Francis has yet to be explored. This book is written with the intention of filling that gap. While it is biographical in nature, it also freely explores themes that relate to St. Francis but are not a part of his life. This book is about more than the life of St. Francis of Assisi; it is about the impact this beloved saint has had through his imitation of Christ, his love of poverty, the Franciscan movement, and his profound influence on Pope Francis.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Christian, Religion, History, Spirituality, Christianity

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2014

Reviews

[M Pau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a 140 page book about St. Francis of Assisi the patron saint of animals and ecology. How he abandoned his life of luxury for a life devoted to Christianity. This book has all the facts and information of his early live and what motivated him, his faith and his belief in following Gods footsteps. Very inspiring life.

"A Christian conversion comes about by living a life that is in conformity with Christ’s, which allows people to begin seeing Christ alive in us."

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting read about Saint Francis. I think I would have given it more stars and would have enjoyed it more it it had left out info/comparisons in regards to the current Pope. I think that leaving that as a small chapter at the end would have worked better. Regardless, it was a nice history of a man that I didn't previously know much about. It made me want to search out other books about him. So there is that.

[Darren Poquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. I liked it

I wish it had some suggestions or references of what a true follower of St. Francis would look like today ( what his/her day might look like, both of the 3rd Order, and a lay person.
Other than that, I enjoyed it

[Robert Acquesta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting fast Read

This book does a great job outlining some key contributions St. Francis had on the modern Catholic church and I was touched to learn of his relationship to the nun Alice. His story would make a great movie or perhaps a historical narrative.

[Deborah F. Morales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading!

Interesting parallels between Saint Francis and Pope Francis. I'd never read about the lives of the Saint, nor Pope Francis. My heart and eyes are more widely opened! Than you, Mr. North!

[Susan Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saint Francis of Assisi

This was a wonderful book and told the story of Francis and also Clare. The writer also connected our Holy Father Francis. Then when it ended there were views

of other books. Once again Mr. North came through.

[Susie Davi · Rating 4 out of 5]

St Francis of Assisi

Easy read. Learned a lot about him and his life that I did not know or had forgotten, even after a Catholic education. A good book to reflect upon.

[S.L. Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to the other books in The Life Inspired series, Saint Francis of Assisi is a short readable introductory biographical sketch of the saint from birth to death. The book also merges into each chapter applicability of St. Francis' values of penance, service, and prayer modeled after and in imitation of Christ's service on earth for modern times and the emulation by Pope Francis of these values. In short, it is two books in one, one on St. Francis of Assisi (as well as the establishment of the Franciscan order, some of his followers and Clare of Assisi who established the Franciscan order of nuns) and one on Pope Francis and his ministry. 

The book also goes into a brief bit of history, political and religious, giving readers a historical framework that develops over time until some point in modernity. As part of this, Wyatt North includes the orders of Franciscans, First, Second, and Third, which is the secular order that follows the values of St. Francis in their ordinary lives and some of the more well renown individuals who are or were part of the Third Order. 

A short list of suggested readings is also included at the end. 

Purchased from Amazon.

[LaVerne MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting back where we need to be

I liked that this book is a good reminder of how we are to live our lives daily. The book brought to my attention that I could live better by following Christ's examples. The Gospel needs to continue to be spread and live the Gospel as instructed.

[Casan Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read a few different books on Saint Francis of Assisi, but I still enjoyed this book by Wyatt North. It was concise, touched on all of the important points, and included some chapters that considered how Francis can help the modern world.

[Leonard E. Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned much

An insight and inspiration into the simple life of St Francis.
We all can learn something from his life style.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief history of the impact of Saint Francis's life on Christianity.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

The election of the new Pope, who chose to call himself Francis, has raised an interest in Catholics and non-Catholics alike to better know the Pope’s namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, more than as just a guy who spoke to and was kind to animals. This book from Wyatt North will give you a good overview of who Francis was, from his beginnings as a merchant and soldier to his decision to give up everything to serve Christ by restoring the Church and helping the poor. Since Francis was eventually canonized, about two years after his death, there will be some things that will seem more at home in a record of signs and wonders than in a biography, but are included because they are part and parcel of Francis’ life and influence; however, by the language of the narrative, North makes a very clear distinction between fact and legend. Since the writing of this book was motivated by the election of Pope Francis, we are told something about the Pope himself and why he identified with Francis, but that information enhances the story of Saint Francis and does not overwhelm it. The same is true of the information provided about the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), an order which many have heard of but which few understand. Whether or not you are Catholic, you’ll be interested in the inspirational life of Saint Francis, if only to better understand the man who is now Pope and why he is as unique as the Saint from whom he draws daily inspiration.

[Bob Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biography of St. Francis part was just fine. However, the whole purpose of the book seemed to be to identify Pope Francis with St. Francis and Wyatt stretched the comparison way far several times. For example, on page 111, Wyatt says, "While there are no explicitly Franciscan symbols in Pope Francis's coat of arms, it is possible to dervie an implicit connection to St. Francis of Assisi if one uses his or her imagination." OK — imagination? It's no surprise that Wyatt includes Catholic doctrine - St. Francis was, after all, Catholic — it's still grating for this Baptist. I'm very skeptical of the miracles attributed to St. Francis and to the "evidence" of the stigmata. Surely there are better biographies.

[Valérie Bissonnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saint Francis of Assissi's life is fascinating! He went to prison, went from partying to living a life inspired from God, renovated a church, etc... Like most from my generation, I am a bit distrustful of religion, therefore started reading this book from a critical point of view (especially that it was free on bookbub) but after a few pages I was hooked! The part making the connection between St-Francis of Assissi and the current pope was a bit much for me, but remains good food for thoughts. Thank you Wyatt North for this great book!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poor of the land deserve our attention

St Francis serves as a model of behavior for today's society. We have become to selfish and prideful forgetting others and only seeing life for ourselves. Francis saw the error of his ways and became the true servant of the Lord in all his actions and deeds. We to must follow in his footsteps much like our current Pope as done. Reading this book will put into mind how best we can serve others by understanding how this great saint gave his whole being to the needs of others.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair I should say that I already knew about Saint Francis prior to reading this book. I was a bit disappointed in the brief and fairly lightweight content of this book. For about the last third of the book, it deviated from Saint Francis and discussed the current pope and his taking on the name of Francis, as well as the life of St. Anthony, which was not really what I thought I would be reading about. However, the content about Saint Francis was interesting. Very quick read.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life Inspired is an unusual book. It tells about the life and teachings of Saint Francis but also ties each main idea in with something about Pope Francis. I did discover a few facts about Saint Francis and about the Franciscan order in general that I didn't know; but the tie-ins with the current pope seemed, for the most part, pretty forced. Over all, however, I found the book reasonably interesting, informative, and inspiring.

[Anthony Ambruso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly enlightening

A biographical experience that provides meaning and relevancy of Francis' way of life in the current day and in the life of the current pope. It is a truly significant life worthily lived.

The inclusion of an excerpt from "The Life and Times of Jesus Christ" is most appreciated.

[Belinda Rios · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

I enjoyed reading about St. Francis. Very enlightening and sheds light on his way of life. I recommend this book to those who are interested in the lives of the saints.

[Shirley York · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saint Frances the gentle man

St Frances was a gentle man devoted to our Lord. He is one of my favorite saints, along side Saint Anthony. I highly recommend this informative spiritual look into the life of Day r Francis.

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the book was about other people or his influence on the Pope. The title does not reflect the body of the work. Not what I was looking for.

[Kl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was a little preachy at times. There was lots of fascinating information on the Franciscans though and I can't wait to do more research on them.

[Paul Knowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, didn't learn a lot I didn't know.

[Aidin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short yet powerful story!