The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi [Paperback]

Ungolino di Monte Santa Maria (Author), W. Heywood (Translator), Madelein L'Engle (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 1998

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 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

Editorial Reviews

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

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

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Product Details

• Paperback: 121 pages
• Publisher: Vintage Spiritual Classic (March 24, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037570020X
• ISBN-13: 978-0375700200
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little lessons learned through little flowers, September 19, 2001

By 

Book Mark (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi (Paperback)

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.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a moving spiritual classic, February 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi (Paperback)

St. Francis has to be the greatest saint who ever lived. This book is so inspiring, that I can't describe it. It tells of St. Francis in his youth and how he spent time in prison and became disillusioned with the world. He then gave up the world and followed God. The book tells of the many adventures of St. Francis and his monks. Some are serious, but some are very funny. Anyone, who is thinking about what life is all about and how one man had the courage to follow God and not the world, should read this book.

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good stories, February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi (Paperback)

One doesn't have to be Catholic to enjoy these amusing tales about the life of St. Francis, collected by a slightly later church writer. It's no wonder this gentle soul is among the most beloved figures in Christianity.