Preserving the Spirituality

The true image and person of Saint Francis of Assisi, with the great legacy he left behind in all its spiritual depth, is little known to most in our modern-day.  Whether he is portrayed as a Protestant environmentalist by the historical Criticism of Paul Sabatier, or simply a rough-garbed ascetic with a singular attraction to poverty, this image of St. Francis, or as Pope Benedict XV put it, the St. Francis which:

…springs from the imagination of the Modernists, this man, guarded in his obedience to the Apostolic See, a specimen of a vague and vain religiosity, is assuredly neither Francis of Assisi nor a saint. (Sacra Propediem No. 3, 1921)

The real St. Francis on the other hand appears to be forgotten altogether, and as a result, much about the profundity of our Saint and his providential role which God prepared for the continual sanctification of the Church, is also forgotten.

The Popes, in attempting to correct these errors, presented Saint Francis of Assisi as the most effective and powerful model for the sanctification of Christians, inasmuch as it was to Saint Francis and his followers that Christ entrusted the singular task of maintaining the Evangelical manner of life alive in the Church as an example for all to imitate. It was by this “Charism”, that the Saint was predestined, not to provide a peculiar or niche spirituality, but to present to the Church the image of Christ until the end of time, as taught by the Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure:

“For at the opening of the sixth seal, I saw”, saith John in the Apocalypse, “another Angel ascending from the east and bearing the seal of the Living God.”

Now that this Angel was indeed that messenger of God, beloved of Christ, our example and the world’s wonder, Francis, the servant of God, we may with full assurance conclude, when we consider the heights of lofty saintliness to which he attained, and whereby, living among men, he was an imitator of the purity of the Angels, and was also set as an example unto them that do perfectly follow after Christ. That this belief should be faithfully and devoutly held we are convinced by the vocation that he showed to call to weeping and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth, and to set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry, by the sign of his penitent’s Cross and habit fashioned like unto a Cross. Moreover, it is further confirmed, with unanswerable witness unto its truth, by the seal of the likeness of the Living God, to wit, of Christ Crucified, the which was imprinted on his body, not by the power of nature or the skill of art, but rather by the marvelous might of the Spirit of the Living God. (St. Bonaventure, Legenda Major, Prologue)

Pope Pius XI writing on the occasion of the seventh centenary of Saint Francis’s death wrote much in the same vein, that:

it seems necessary for Us to affirm that there has never been anyone in whom the image of Jesus Christ and the evangelical manner of life shone forth more lifelike and strikingly than in St. Francis. He who called himself the “Herald of the Great King” was also rightly spoken of as “another Jesus Christ,” appearing to his contemporaries and to future generations almost as if he were the Risen Christ. He has always lived as such in the eyes of men and so will continue to live for all future time. (Rite Expiatis, No. 2, 1926)

Therefore, in an attempt to do justice to Saint Francis and preserve the Seraphic School of Spirituality in the Church, we intend to find and republish old and forgotten Books and translations from the great Franciscan Spiritual Masters, and hopefully reintroduce Catholics to the sanctifying spirituality of the sons of St. Francis, that imitating this great Saint, they themselves may be conformed to Our Lord in purity and holiness of life.

If you would like to help us in this mission either by way of donation or would like to contribute to our research, proofreading or even translation work, please do contact us through romanseraphicbooks@protonmail.com!

Preserving the Liturgy

Through this apostolate we also intend to preserve the Liturgical Patrimony of the Franciscan Order by re-printing, restoring, and formatting the Roman-Seraphic liturgical books in use prior the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, as well as republishing older Liturgical commentaries.