The Little Flowers of Saint Francis

By Brother Ugolino Boniscambi

These stories of St. Francis and his first followers have inspired millions of people over the centuries. Since they were first committed to paper, they have motivated people to become better followers of Jesus (not St. Francis). For that reason, they have endured unlike any other early Franciscan literature. Many of the stories are known to us from other biographical sources, but in some cases, here they are expanded or made more florid.

This edition of The Little Flowers is unique in its physical beauty as well as its editorial arrangement. For the first time, the stories have been arranged in the most likely chronological ordering of when they happened - rather than following the traditional ordering of them handed down for centuries. As a result, today's reader is now able to read The Little Flowers as a biograpical narrative of the life of St. Francis and the world-transforming movement that he founded.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paraclete Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781557259769

Brother Ugolino Boniscambi

Brother Ugolino Boniscambi was born around 1260 and died around 1345. The primary compiler of The Little Flowers, he spent his novitiate in Roccabruna in the far northwest corner of Italy and was a friend of the angelic Pope Celestine V, who briefly ruled and then controversially quit, in 1294.

Reviews for The Little Flowers of Saint Francis

[jd234512 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't really know what to do with this as I have no real understanding of saints and how to read about St. Francis. I appreciated the stories, but kind of left wanting a more objective look of St. Francis. This definitely piqued my interest significantly.

[stephenbarkley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

St. Francis walked the earth at the turn of the twelfth century. In the later half of the fourteenth century, this book of stories about his life was published.The stories are (literally) the stuff of legends. This is where we hear that St. Francis preached to the birds (although I think his evangelism and discipleship of a wolf was much more exciting). This is where we learn of the stigmata St. Francis was blessed with. Here we learn how St. Clare blessed a loaf of bread only to see the sign of the cross on every slice.What I found most interesting about these stories was not that their creation or collection, but what they reveal about the mindset of the Christians of those centuries. While I found some elements inspiring, I was also saddened by misguided theology. I want to end with the positive, so let's start with the bad.The BadSt. Francis and his followers were gripped with the idea of penance and mortification in a very physical way. Chapter 3 provides a good example. One day St. Francis lamented that his companion, Friar Bernard, didn't answer him when he called three times. God proceeded to tell St. Francis that Friar Bernard was busy in Divine communion, so he could not answer anyone on the creaturely plane. Overwhelmingly upset with himself for his frustration with Friar Bernard, St. Francis found his companion, threw himself down before him, and said,"I command you in the name of holy obedience that, to punish my presumption and the arrogance of my heart, when now I shall cast myself down on my back on the earth, you shall set one foot on my throat and the other on my mouth and so pass over me three times, from one side to the other, crying shame and infamy upon me, and especially say to me: 'Lie there, you churl, son of Peter Bernardone, whence have you so much pride, you who are a most abject creature" (9)?The Christians of this era seemed to take a perverse joy in being abused. This attitude is miles removed from Jesus' words to sinner caught in the act: "I don't condemn you ... Go home, and from now on don't sin any more" (John 8:11 NIV). Instead of hearing Jesus' words of forgiveness, they chose their own self-punishment.The GoodThe inspiring part of this collection of stories can be seen in the same story: they took their sin seriously. If there was a tendency in their culture to overemphasize the most minute attitude of the heart and take matters into their own hands, there is a tendency in ours to ignore all sin and continue living like nothing is wrong. St. Francis and his followers recognized the diverse ways that pride can infect a community and did everything they could to resist it.While I firmly believe that every Christ-follower should be rightly called, "saint," it's clear why the Roman church set some Christians apart as shining examples.

[juva_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A collection of stories about the life and ministry of St. Francis. These episodes cover miracles, visions, and unusual happenings, but also contain incidences of mistakes, failings, and tests. I don't know much about St. Francis, although I had a vague sense that he liked animals. This set of stories was a great introduction to the man's impact and legacy in Catholicism. That being said, it's pretty dry reading, and without the added commentary there would have been a lot of stories that made little sense to me.

[ctpress_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not really sure if I approach this classic the right way - with the necessary prayerful devotion. First of all, this is not a reliable biography of Assisi. These are collected legends - the stuff of folklore - when the miracles, dreams and visions just gets more and more fantastical when they are told and retold and eventually one jots them down. I read it with a smile on my face - a lot of them are quite humorous, inspiring in a childish kind of way - the devotion so extreme it becomes, well, oddly funny.No doubt, Assisi was a very humble man, serving Christ and others with much devotion. When I read about this man who can tell the destiny of other monks, quiet the birds when he preach to them, calm the fierce wolf of Gubbio, have dreamlike visions of Christ, St. Paul etc. etc. well - I smile. It's just a lot of wonderful stories - we want them to be true…..and some of them no doubt are true, and some of it did happen. Some of it.