Discount Price: $9.50
Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9781602065789
ISBN number: 1602065780
Label: Cosimo Classics
Manufacturer: Cosimo Classics
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 292
Printing Date: June 01, 2007
Publishing house: Cosimo Classics
Sale Popularity Level: 203859
Studio: Cosimo Classics
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
With a new Preface by the noted writer Madeleine L'Engle, author of nearly fifty books of fiction and non-fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time. St. Francis of Assisi's ecstatic embrace of a life of poverty revolutionized Christianity even as it transformed the ethics of the West. In this luminous and lively book, St. Francis's followers preserved his legend and those of his very first disciples, combining stories of miracles with convincing portraits of men who were no less human for having been touched by God.
'God is our home but many of us have strayed from our native land. The venerable authors of these Spiritual Classics are expert guides--may we follow their directions home.'
--Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Amazon.com Review:
St. Francis of Assisi--the saint who preached to birds and wolves, the saint whose vow of poverty changed Christian ethics forever, the saint who repented of his fleshly sins by loving the material world--was also a pretty great writer. His Little Flowers, a series of 53 short chapters ranging in form from wild stories to serene meditations, is perfect bedtime or devotional reading. Before you know it, you'll be reading this one aloud to your cat. And Francis will be very pleased to hear it. --Michael Joseph Gross
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
Even though I am an industrial-strength animal-lover who has been running a sanctuary for unwanted (ugly, old, unhealthy) cats for over 10 years, this is a tough book to review. While I am not "religious" person, St. Francis has certainly been my favorite saint because of his love for animals. Unfortunately, contrary to what has been stated, this book is NOT by St. Francis but, rather, ABOUT him and was written by "Brother Ugolino" many years after Francis' death. Plus, it contains stories about several of Francis' original group of monks...none of which, frankly, interested me all that much. On top of this, the Heywood translation dates back to the early 20th Century and is as stilted to read as an old English translation of the bible: lots of "thee" and "thou" and other outdated, outmoded words and stilted forms of speech.
Too bad someone couldn't retranslate this work and bring it into the 21st Century where it belongs!
The stories and legends about St. Francis are, generally, interesting...although, if I were to accept all of these as literally true, I would have to say that he comes off sounding something like a devout fanatic with some seriously masochistic undertones. Then again, considering the era he lived in, I suppose he was no worse than any of the other "Masochists for Christ".
So, I find myself disagreeing with some of his teachings (at least, as described by Brother Ugolino!) although I will continue to admire St. Francis for his charity toward animals and others.
If one is interested in the life of St. Francis, I suppose that this book is as good as any. However, I would prefer to read a GOOD, modern translation of the man's own words than the unreliable myths and legends that Brother Ugolino presents.
Rated by buyers 
-
One could easily fill a bookshelf with the number of volumes that have been written about the "Little Poor Man of Assisi" over the past seven hundred years, but none has been more widely read or more influential than the Fioretti, better known to English readers as The Little Flowers of St. Francis. This spiritual classic was not written by Francis himself, but by Brother Ugolino, an Italian Franciscan who lived a full century after the death of St. Francis in 1226. It is not so much a biography, but a collection of stories and sayings passed on by the very first and second generations of Francis' early followers, in a manner similar to The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. As such, the author is not concerned so much with providing an historical record of the birth of Franciscan spirituality, but with painting a personal profile of this fascinating friar and the most formative experiences that helped to shape the lives of those who followed in his footsteps. This may help to explain why much of the material found in The Little Flowers has become "legendary," and it is left to the reader to decide how many of the events described are fact and how many are fiction.
But it is not the spectacular and/or legendary aspects of St. Francis' life that grab the headlines in this spiritual classic. It is the genuinely humble, Christ-like character of this "little poor man" that stands out most of all. More than anything, and more than most, Francis loved Jesus. So much so, according to those who knew him best, that he was given a special mark of his intimate identification with Christ - the "stigmata" (five wounds of Christ on the cross). Regardless of how closely his outward appearance resembled that of Christ, it is clear that his heart was one with the Savior, as illustrated in the following message which Francis delivered at St. Mary of the Angels in 1215 in the presence of five thousand friars, including St. Dominic and Cardinal Hugolin, who would later become better known as Pope Gregory IX:
"My little sons, we have promised great things, but far greater things have been promised to us by God. Let us keep those promises which we have made, and let us aspire with confidence to those things which have been promised to us. Brief is the world's pleasure, but the punishment that follows it lasts forever. Small is the suffering of this life, but the glory of the subsequent life is infinite."
May the life and testimony of this "Little Poor Man" of Assisi inspire each of us to follow his imperfect yet faithful example, even as he has sought to follow the perfect example of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:1).
Rated by buyers -
I really liked this book, I have waited for years to read this book
again.And I was very pleased.
Thanks Monica C coleman
Rated by buyers -
Few works have made as strong an impact on my spiritual life as this book. A wonderful compilation of faith building and humbling stories from the life and times of St. Francis of Assisi and his very first followers.
Rated by buyers -
Living in an age of weights, measures, logic and reason, a pragmatist may see little reason in reading The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi. However, recent terrorist attacks draws me and--most likely-many of us away from the methodical.
Vintage Spiritual Classics provides us with a preface and introduction of Francis Bernardone, showing us why he needed to become so close to God. They, the preface and introduction, explain this need on a level we may all understand. St. Francis wanted ecstasy and a life not burdened with want, greed, lust and avarice.
Each snippet throughout the body of the book provides a theme, an adventure and a moral that will pull the reader from this world to St. Francis's. Teaching us temperance, piety, and selfless rewards for good deeds and prayer.
I am hopeful that this book and others provided by Vintage will help provide solace and peace to those affected by the recent, tragic events.
Find other books like this one:
