Saint Francis is
probably the most popular of the non-Biblical saints, save perhaps Saint
Patrick or Ireland or Saint Diego, hero of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico.
What is it about his life that captures the religious imagination? It’s
probably because of how his tales are told to children as powerful
instructional fables. Many of the stories are about Saint Francis telling some
noisy animals to be quiet while he’s meditation or preaching, and the animal
obeying. Obviously, when we listen to a sermon, we should be quiet as well. Proper
veneration for idols is also encouraged by Saint Francis. When a spider
accidentally defaces a statue of the Virgin Mary, he’s encouraged to correct
his mistake. Singing pleasantly, avoiding pointless cruelty, and praying meditatively
are all encouraged to animals by Saint Francis, and are all encouraged
behaviors to churchgoers.
What is
instructive here is to celebrate Saint Francis’ ability to enable animals to
act as humans. In “The Robin Redbreast Family”, for instance, Saint Francis is
pleased that the robins are acting as if they could reason. It’s their rational
behavior that is miraculous, and that allows Saint Francis to interact with
them. Saint Francis couldn’t punish the spider, for example, because he realizes
the spider doesn’t know any better, but by speaking seriously with the spider,
he’s able to impart a sense of rational behavior in it. The robin of “The Robin
Redbreast Family” is firmly established to be able to approximate human
rationality before it is punished for its cruelty. In “Now it is My Turn,
Sister Swallows!” Saint Francis is able to reason with the sparrows (“it is my
turn”) and get them to act like the humans in the crowd. In this way, rational
human behavior is made miraculous.
Saint Francis is
said to have treated animals as the equals of humans, but if the point of his
stories are to demonstrate how he can elevate animals to human rationality, how
is it possible that he considers them equals? He clearly doesn’t believe that
all animals are exactly the same. Saint Francis does not like ants as much as
other animals “because of the excessive zeal they display in amassing supplies
for the winter.” He kills a giant snake and curses a young robin to an early
painful death, while other animals are only gently rebuked when they are in
error. He doesn’t reject the knowledge at the time that animals are driven by
particular instincts shared among the species. Saint Francis’ surprise at the
willingness of the birds to listen indicates that he’s well aware of how birds
act and to a certain degree think. Perhaps it’s just that he treats the animals
as if they are equals, rather than
truly believing that they are equals. He negotiates with the animals rather
than exhibiting a supernatural control. He can’t simply command the snake to
stop attacking people, or tell the robin to share its food more ethically. He
“humbly begged” (Sorrell, 401) the birds to listen to him, rather than
compelling them to. The fact that he can deal with the animals in this way is the
thaumaturgical element of his Sainthood. It’s what moves both him, his
companions writing about him, and the modern audience.
This would seem
to lead to Lynn White’s “pan-psychic” theory, the belief that all animals have
some common sense of spirit that is even shared with humans. However, the
context that Saint Francis’ abilities are miraculous must be emphasized. Saint
Francis himself is “not a little surprised” that he is able to deliver a sermon
unto the birds. That he attempts it without knowing whether the birds will
actually listen does suggest that he holds a belief in a common spiritual need
within the animals. He had a great affection for animals, so he was continually
moved to fulfill that need. This isn’t the only reason he gives sermons to birds,
though. When the people of Rome reject him, he delivers his sermon to the birds
in order to demonstrate to the Romans how wicked and unfaithful they are. This
story suggests two things. One is that Saint Francis believes in the importance
of the sermon, an importance that may exist apart from the audience. Birds suit
him just as well as people. There are multiple biblical references to preaching
to non-humans. Sorrell mentions Psalm 148 the Hymn of the Three Children, but
in Luke 19:40, Jesus says “I tell you, if [my disciples] were silent, the very
stones would cry out.” Regardless of
whether this is a literal statement, it’s a powerful rhetorical message, which
may have inspired Saint Francis. Saint Francis is perfectly willing to
potentially embarrass himself to reach the ears of humans. When Pope Innocent
III tells Saint Francis to bathe with the pigs, he does so, demonstrating his
commitment to his cause and moving the Pope’s heart. The Romans mock him for
preaching to birds until he actually demonstrates that he can. This goes back
to the idea of instruction. If Saint Francis can have such an equitable and
harmonious relationship with animals, human rejection reflects poorly.
This final point
brings up the question of power. Sorrell quotes White as suggesting that Saint
Francis miracles were an attempt to create a democracy of creatures,
supplanting the role of humans as the lords of creation. The idea of giving
animals human reason and thereby “elevating” them does suggest that there is
some anti-hierarchical activity going on in Saint Francis’ work, as does his
willingness to treat with them at all. However, the very essence of Saint
Francis’ abilities is that humans constantly have trouble maintaining that
hierarchy, if it even existed in the first place. Anyone who has a pet knows
that it takes a lot of work to get an animal to do what you tell it to do, and
pets are our friends. It’s impossible for a mundane human to command a wild
animal effectively. By giving the animals reason, Saint Francis is able to
reaffirm hierarchy. He’s able to convince animals to listen to him and to cease
interrupting his sermons, in doing so recognizing the proper authority of the
priest. His encounters in Rome demonstrate that he can reaffirm human
hierarchies as well. As a Saint, Francis should demand the attention of the
Romans and even the Pope. That they don’t is disorder. Saint Francis’ unique
charisma and humility, however, is able to move human skeptics just as well as
animals. The ultimate instruction of Saint Francis’ life, it seems, is the
power of polite society and respect and compassion for others.
BKing
BKing