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An armor-clad knight with a lance, oil-tempered sword and plumed helmet rode his war charger out of Assisi to battle against his neighboring Italian town of Perugia. When this brave youth, Francesco Bernardone, saw the wretched specter of a leper in the road, he spurred his horse to flee. But as he galloped by, Francis thought he recognized Christ in the contorted face of the outcast. Abruptly he stopped, dismounted, kissed the leper, gave alms, seated the man on the charger and led the way to the leper’s destination.

Before this experience, Francis so loathed the sight of lepers that he would look at their houses only from a distance of two miles while holding his nose. But Francis later said of this experience, “…What had previously nauseated me became a source of spiritual and physical consolation…. After that I did not wait long before leaving the world.”

For Francis, leaving the world meant caring for lepers and praying in deserted chapels. Pietro Bernardone, the wealthy father of Francis, was exasperated by this religious fanaticism and eventually disowned his son. In turn, Francis renounced all right to his inheritance.

Upon abandoning his own wealth, Francis determined that there must be no man anywhere poorer than he. No matter what rags Francis might be wearing, should he meet upon a beggar dressed even worse, Francis would immediately remove his own clothing and give it to the beggar. “I think the great Almsgiver would account it a theft in me,” he said, “did I not give that I wear unto one needing it more.”

One day, contrary to his custom, Francis severely rebuked a poor man who had asked for alms. Immediately sorry, he began to upbraid himself that it was a shame to hold back from one in great need. Francis resolved in his heart never in the future to refuse the requests of anyone, if at all possible. He thus began to practice— before he began to teach—the biblical counsel: “To him who asks of thee, give; and from him who would borrow of thee, do not turn away” (Matt. 5:42).

Learning to live among the destitute was no easy transition for the once wealthy Francis. It was humiliating when first he took a beggar’s sack, went with it into town, and begged for alms from door to door. He put all the collected food in a bowl, sat down to eat it, but found this hodge-podge utterly sickening. What was this food? Probably a fish head, maybe a bacon rind, no doubt bean soup and turnips or millet gruel, and perhaps a handful of olives or some dried fruit. For dessert he may have had some bits of barley, or a cheese rind.

It was hard for the young radical to look at such stuff, much less eat it. Finally he overcame himself and consumed the mixture of garbage, and it seemed to him as if he had never tasted such delicious food. He thanked God who had transformed the bitterness to sweetness for him, and had increased his strength with the nourishment.

From this time forward Francis praised the seeking of alms and said that shame in begging is the enemy of salvation. He did nothing to keep this opinion to himself. When Pope Gregory was still a bishop, Francis and others were invited to dinner. Francis went out to beg for alms, returned, and amiably distributed scraps of black bread to the knights and chaplains gathered around the table. At the conclusion of dinner Gregory took Francis aside and asked why he brought shame on the embarrassed bishop by this bold act. Francis countered that in fact he had shown honor to Gregory, for the Lord is pleased with poverty, said Francis, particularly voluntary poverty.

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