As the Church celebrates the Jubilee Year of St. Francis on the 800th anniversary of his death, a very accessible new book by Leonard Desroches is a perfect way to deepen our understanding of St. Francis and his message to us today. 

His journey of conversion and of subsequent commitment, rooted in a deep love of Christ, to a life of peace, love and nonviolence, is a story greatly needed in our world today. Desroches’ Sister Water, Brother Sultan: St. Francis of Assisi has come just at the right time.

Francis turned from a life of wealth and ease, and youthful dreams of knighthood, to a realization that this was not the way God was calling him. In his adolescence, he was swept up in a youthful excitement with being a warrior activist in defense of his people, and then the glory of a holy war on behalf of the Pope, when he heard Christ speaking the words, “What are you doing? Who do you want to serve?” 

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Thrown into inner confusion, it takes some time for him to find his own inner truth and healing. In prayer and intimacy with Creation around him, he finds the inner strength to leave his former life and choose a life of radical simplicity and dependence on the goodness of  God. He is free, with no need to defend any possessions or  power over others. Francis is filled with joy.

The way this story is told we are caught up in the wonder and mystery of his leaving a life led by outer social and cultural forces to one led by a deep inner truth and wisdom. Such a conversion to a mature faith is so greatly needed today. Desroches skillfully describes Francis’ new path of transformation, seeing and experiencing God in all of Creation, human and beyond human. It leads him beyond fear as his heart is opened. He is now totally revulsed by war and weapons, killing other children of God. Experiencing all aspects of Creation as intimate relations, all are to be reverenced and never harmed.

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Deeply distressed by the several violent Crusades led by the Popes and Church officials, he is drawn to preach against the Fifth Crusade and to visit the Sultan of Egypt in a spirit of peace. He is risking his life to meet and understand “the enemy” in complete vulnerability and openness. In fact, he is welcomed and a deep reconciliation and friendship develops between the two. 

As the author unfolds the story, he uses the experiences and amazing path of Francis to invite the reader to reflect, to look into our own choices and motivations, our own relationship with God, and the depth and growth of our capacity to love as God loves.

The author builds on the spirit of Francis to have us look at the violence and militarism in our world today and the propensity to create “enemies” we must overcome and destroy. We can see the alternate path of love and nonviolence in actual stories of human beings who have also been transformed and have acted with great strength and inner freedom to forgive, to love “the enemy” rather than seek revenge. The spirit and heart of Francis are still alive and are being actualized in our day even as wars and destruction take place.

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This book reveals the potential of the human being transformed by God. It offers hope and inspiration to all feeling anxiety and a sense of powerlessness in the face of climate change and a culture of war. Desroches gives us a gift to unwrap and find our own truth and courage to bring to a suffering, God-infused world.

(Sr. Francoeur is a member of Pax Christi Toronto.)