Saint Francis of Assisi lesson

One of my goals when the kids and I are done going through my Bible curriculum is to learn church history. We’re getting a fair amount of church history through our history lessons with Mystery of History 2 (affiliate link, there are more in here later on), but just like always I want to add more. Especially for church fathers who shaped our view of Christianity like Saint Francis did.  Saint Francis’ birthday is this month, and his feast day is coming up, I figured this would be a great opportunity to learn more about him with the kids.

Who was Saint Francis of Assisi?

Francis was a man who lived during the 12th century AD in Italy.  As a young man, he was known for being the life of the party, and always wanting to have fun.  Everyone in Assisi loved Francis because while he wanted to have fun, he was also kind and generous.

One day as a young man he had a vision from God to rebuild the falling church in Assisi.  During this time Francis was disowned, and mocked by the people who understood being kind as Christian charity but did not understand Francis’ new devotion.

Future Ticia 2024 wonders why I didn’t turn this into a LEGO history lessons, as I’m working on updating this post.

Francis would beg for supplies to rebuild the church and help the local leper colony.  He was known for his vow of poverty.  Everything given to Francis was given to others.  He was teased and mocked for wearing a simple brown robe with a rope for his belt.

As word of what Francis was doing spread, he gained his own followers.  Each time he would tell the men to pray about this decision, and if they were sure it was their calling they were to take a vow of poverty and service to the poor.

Eventually, he led a large group of men, and there was a similar group of women inspired by his actions.

What can we learn from him?

My biggest takeaway from Saint Francis is to love others.  I know that seems simplistic, but it’s a big takeaway.  If you read through the commands in the New Testament over and over again you will see commands to love others.  Serve others, help others.

Saint Francis of Assisi is often quoted as having said, “Preach the gospel always, and if necessary use words.”  But he didn’t say that.  As a matter of fact he would have laughed at the idea of a silent gospel.  He believed before you could preach you must first listen to God, and I think that’s where the misstatement came from the idea of listening.

Saint Francis Resources

Future Ticia 2024 is adding in a bit more to make this a better church history lesson, so I’ll keep the two links I had, but I also know my library has some books on Saint Francis, and there are some good YouTube videos on the man, so let me dig those up, just a moment.

The original Saint Francis Resources:

•  Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life of Joy
• Saint Francis crafts