There are certain Saints in the Catholic Church who have been so thoroughly misconstrued, maligned, and mockingly absorbed into pop-culture, that the real person beyond the myth and misinformation is often difficult to excavate. One of the worst examples is the defilement of St. Mary Magdalene. Mainly due to the popularity of the hideous novel “The Da Vinci Code;” Mary Magdalene has been reconstructed as the former whore who became the wife of Jesus and the mother of his children. Nothing could be further from the Truth. For, she was actually a spoiled party-girl, repentant sinner, and later mystic hermit. The best source for information remains: “The Life of Saint Mary Magdalene and of Her Sister Saint Martha” written by Rabanus. Sadly, heroic and virtuous St. Francis has also become a bit of a secular sacred stooge: a half-witted proto-hippie who talked to birds all day. This became blatantly apparent when I recently visited the newly renovated National Shrine of St. Francis in nearby San Francisco. The well-meaning tour guide painted a rather bizarre picture of the Saint as some sort of medieval libertine meets a 1960s flower-child. As with Mary Magdalene, the Francis of history has almost nothing to do with the modern day conception of who he was. As always, the best book with regards to St. Francis is: “Saint Francis of Assisi” by Thomas of Celano. Although, Francis was indeed a joyful and robust person, he was also a strict ascetic and extremely disciplined. In fact, during his own lifetime, the simple Rule he wrote, which was regarded by some who later followed him - as overly strict and harsh, caused a near civil war within the Franciscan order. He demanded spiritual perfection from himself, and from his Brothers. Oftentimes, when suffering from a certain temptation, usually of a carnal nature, Francis was known to employ severe forms of fasting, and even flagellation of his body; he would likewise throw himself into ice covered ditches or toss his nude body into the snow. So frightful were the serious harms from a fall into sexual sin, that Francis would have rather tormented his body than relapse to old ways. On a less stringent note: he also sought out solitude and many hours of contemplative prayer in his constant effort to ward off satan and to remain within the mantle of purity.
Here is my favorite example of the teachings Francis employed to extort his Brothers on the importance of keeping “custody of the yes” and remaining chaste:
CHAPTER LXXIX
A parable against looking at women
113 Francis was accustomed to combat unclean eyes with the following parable: “A very powerful king sent two messengers to the queen one after the other. The first came back and reported only her words in exact words. For the eyes of a wise man are in his head, and he did not let them roam about. The other returned and after a few short words about her message, he recounted a long story of the lady's beauty. ‘Truly, lord,’ he said, ‘I have seen a most beautiful woman. Happy he that enjoys her.’ But the king said: ‘Wicked servant, you have cast impure eyes upon my wife? It is evident that you wished to purchase what you looked upon so sharply.’ He commanded that the first messenger be called back and said to him: ‘What do you think of the queen?’ And he said: ‘I think very well of her, for she listened silently and replied wisely.’ ‘And there is no beauty in her?’ the king said. ‘It is for you, my lord,’ he said, ‘to look upon that; my business was only to deliver a message.’ Then this sentence was pronounced by the king: ‘You,’ he said, ‘are chaste of eye, and being even more chaste of body, you shall be my chamberlain. But let this other man depart from my house lest he defile my marriage bed.’”
But the blessed father would say: “Too much confidence makes one guard too little against the enemy. If the devil can get but one hair from a man, he will soon make it grow into a beam. Even if after many years he still has not made him fall whom he has tempted, he is not put out over the delay, as long as he catches him in the end. For this is his business, and he is busy about nothing else by day or by night.”