In my view the only hope for a world entering A New Dark Age is the emergence of new movements of Brother Suns and Sister Moons. The story of ‘Brother Sun and Sister Moon’, began originally in the twelfth century Dark Age in Italy.

Francis was born to a French mother and Italian father in 1182, and his father called him Francesco – or Francis – after a trip to France. The ‘little Frenchman’ was brought up on romantic French ballads sung by travelling troubadours. The son of a wealthy merchant, Francis led a cavalier life in his youth, and was considered ‘the life of the party’ by his contemporaries.

Francis grew up with the dream that one day he would become a knight. So, in his early twenties, Francis took to the opportunity to fight for Assisi against a neighbouring town. However, his haughty military career came to an abrupt halt, when the young Francis was captured and incarcerated.

This time was to prove a turning point for Francis. For, during the year in prison and the year in convalescence following his release, Francis thought long and hard about his life. His dream of becoming a knight seemed ridiculous in the light of the harsh reality of war that had confronted him.

One day, when Francis was riding along a road, he simply stopped dead in his tracks. It was as if he could not carry on any more as he was. He dismounted, undressed, then – bit by bit – took all his knightly regalia – including his horse, and his sword and his armour – and gave it all away.

His father became exasperated with Francis, over his prodigality with the family’s property, and organised a meeting with the local bishop to pull him into line. But it backfired big time. Francis responded to his father’s complaints by renouncing his family, and his family’s property, altogether. Right there and then he gave back everything his family had given him. Including the clothes that he was wearing at the time. So that Francis stood there naked as the day that he was born. Then he turned to his father and said: ‘Until now I have called you father, but from now on I can say without reserve, “Our Father who is in Heaven” – He is all my wealth –  I place my confidence in Him.’

In order to consider his future, Francis decided to spend some time living as a hermit beside an old church in San Damiano. While there Francis heard a voice calling him, saying, ‘Rebuild my church.’ Francis responded to the call by repairing the ruins of the church in San Damiano, then set about the task of reforming the life of the church throughout Italy.

Francis approached the task of renewal – not as a legislator – but as a juggler! He had been brought up with troubadours coming to his house, singing romantic ballads that stirred the heart; and he aspired to be like one of the jugglers who accompanied the troubadours, drawing the crowds for the musicians, so they could listen to the music of the heart that they played. As Le Jongleur de Dieu, a ‘Juggler for God’, Francis wanted to travel from town to town, like an entertainer, without a penny   to his name, introducing people to joie de vivre, the ‘true joy of living’.

Considering his views, it is quite remarkable that Francis did not rage against the pompous opulence of medieval society. Instead, ever the romantic, Francis tried to woo the people away from their preoccupation with the trappings of power, and get them to fall in love with the lovely ‘Lady Poverty’. Poverty was not an end in itself. But, as far as Francis was concerned, people needed to be willing to be able to joyfully embrace poverty in order to practice the Be-Attitudes and joyfully embrace the poor.

In 1210 Francis obtained approval for a simple rule dedicated to ‘apostolic poverty’. He called the order the ‘Friars Minor’. And this band of ‘Little Brothers’ followed the example of their founder in caring for the poor. Then in 1212 Clare – a wealthy friend from Assisi; who, like Francis, had been con-verted, and had given all her wealth to the poor – started a sister order to the brothers, that was to become known as ‘the Poor Clares’.

Francis and Clare set about their task with such enthusiasm that people all over the place wanted to join them. And, as hundreds and thousands of people joined in from all over Europe, the humble movement of  ‘Brother Sun and Sister Moon’ began to gradually engage – and eventually change – the Dark Age in which they lived – in the light of the gospel.

Pope Urban II had called for a ‘Crusade’, or ‘Holy War’, to be led by ‘Christian Knights’, who would take up arms and sally forth to fight against the ‘enemies of Christ’.‘Cursed be the man who holds back his sword from shedding blood!’ was the blood-curdling cry of Pope Gregory VII ringing in the ears of the ‘Soldier of Christ’. And so, away they went.

Over the course of the next two centuries, Christians threw themselves,  into the task of killing thousands, if not mill-ions, of  ‘heretics’ and ‘heathens’. The People’s Crusade sacked Belgrade, which next to Constantinople, was the greatest nonCatholic Orthodox City in the world. In 1204, the Crusaders attacked Constantinople – raping, pillaging and plundering this great Christian City, without mercy, in the name of Christ.

In the meantime, the Crusaders also managed to assault the Holy City of Jerusalem, and slaughter it’s Jewish and Muslim inhabitants. Raymond of Aguilers enthusiastically eulogised the massacre as ‘a just and marvellous judgement of God’: ‘Numbers of Saracens were beheaded. Others were shot with arrows, or forced to jump from towers; others were tortured for several days, they burned with flames. In the streets were seen piles of heads and hands and feet. One rode about everywhere amid the corpses of men and horses. The horses waded in blood up to their knees, nay, up to their bridle. It was a just and marvellous judgement of God, that this place should be filled with the blood of unbelievers!’

Francis refused point blank to take up arms himself. And he managed to per-suade his followers not to carry weapons under any circumstances – even for the purpose of self-defense. Then he made his way to Egypt, where the Crusaders were fighting, and went about the camps begging them to remember the words of Christ – ‘that those who live by the sword will die by the sword’ – and beseeching them all to lay down their arms. When they refused to listen to him, Francis crossed the lines at Damietta and went to talk with the ‘enemy’ sultan, Mele-el-Khamil, to tell him about his beloved ‘Prince of Peace’, and try to broker a peace deal ‘in His name’.

Many historians consider the rule of life that Francis and Clare advocated for lay people as one of the major factors in the demise of the feudalism that defined the Dark Age of their day. Francis and Clare undermined the very sophisticated and very effective system of control, (upon which our post-modern system of oppression and exploitation may well be based) built as it was on the foundation of a network of castles, guarded by towering walls, and protected by heavily-armed patrols of free-lance mercenaries, simply by encouraging their brothers and sisters to practice the Be-Attitudes, lay aside their weapons, unlock the gates of the castles, welcome outsiders in, and gladly share their wealth with the poor.

Dave Andrews

From Hey, Be And See (Authentic)