Who's ready for another full week of hard-hitting saintly action? Well, clearly YOU are since a) you're reading this and b) you've been hitting "refresh" on your web browser continually since 7:50 am EST just in case the SEC erred and posted this matchup a few minutes early.
After an entire weekend experiencing LMW (Lent Madness Withdrawal) symptoms, your balm has been delivered in the form of Francis of Assisi vs. John Wycliffe. Time to pull out the ubiquitous Wycliffe bird bath that likely graces your garden and start reading about these two medieval saints.
Speaking of birds and other creatures great and small, we hope you read the SEC's statement released over the weekend assuring the Lent Madness public that no animals were harmed in the formation of the 2015 bracket.
But enough stalling. The Madness is back. Get to it!
Francis of Assisi
Francis was born into a wealthy family in the early twelfth century. His younger years were spent like many rich young men of the day — partying rather than praying. A series of events, including an imprisonment and a serious illness, began to shift Francis’s priorities and awareness. On a pilgrimage to Rome, Francis was moved to compassion by encounters with beggars outside St. Peter’s Cathedral.
When Francis returned home, he broke from his old life, taking up the disciplines of poverty and devotion. While attending Mass one day, Francis heard the words of Jesus from Matthew’s Gospel, asking his disciples to leave all and follow him. These words guided Francis’s life henceforth. He became an itinerant preacher embracing poverty, humility, and devotion to the Holy Eucharist. He soon had people joining him in his example of ministry. When the number of followers reached twelve, Francis wrote a rule for the group and soon obtained papal approval for the “friars minor” as they called themselves.They continued to grow and encouraged a similar society for women (founded by Clare of Assisi) as well as a Third Order for lay associates.
Francis was not a priest and evidence that he might have been a deacon comes mainly from the account by Bonaventure, who wrote of Francis’s use of a cave in the Italian village of Grecio to preach about the Nativity. Francis used a manger and two live animals (an ox and an ass) to teach about the Babe of Bethlehem. Thus, we have the first recorded account of a crèche. The hay Francis used in the crèche was reported to have cured local cattle of disease.
There are many legends surrounding Francis’s interactions with animals. From preaching to birds to freeing fish and rabbits caught for meals, Francis was often reported to call these creatures “Brother” and “Sister.” The source of the stories is unclear, but Francis expressed his love of creation and an understanding that we are in relationship not just with each other as humans but with all of creation in his “Canticle of Brother Sun.” While Francis composed several other prayers, he most likely was not the author of the prayer most commonly attributed to him — "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace” — since its composition date is 1912, several centuries after Saint Francis died.
In prayerful preparation for Michaelmas 1224, Francis received the stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. He received care for these wounds in several cities, but in 1226 he requested to be taken back to Portiuncula, the site of the church where he first heard the words from Matthew bidding him to give up all he had and live the gospel. He died where his call was birthed on October 3, 1226, and he was canonized less than two years later.
He devoted himself to a life of preaching the gospel by caring for the poor as one of them, by honoring God in all creation, by his profound devotion to prayer and humility, and by his forming community to join him in God’s ministry.
Collect for Francis of Assisi
Most high, omnipotent good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world: that following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe was an early supporter of reform in the Roman Catholic Church. Born in Yorkshire, England, Wycliffe received an excellent education at Oxford University. He earned his doctorate in 1372 and came to be considered one of Oxford’s leading philosophers and theologians. Remembered by the Church as both a translator and controversialist, Wycliffe conformed to the mold of faithful people who did amazing things but would probably never be anyone’s first choice to share a beer with (see also John the Baptist, Cardinal Walsingham, and the Apostle Paul).
Not everyone was a fan of Wycliffe’s criticism of the doctrine of transubstantiation, his challenge of indulgences, and his repudiation of private confession. His deep belief that every Christian should have access to scripture in their own language made him a forerunner of the Protestant Reformation and Public Enemy #1 for the Roman Catholic Church.
He was summoned to appear before the Bishop of London in 1377 to answer to the charges of heresy, but before the trial could start, recriminations on both sides filled the air and erupted into an open fight, ending the trial. Three months later, Pope Gregory XI issued five church edicts against Wycliffe, in which Wycliffe was accused on eighteen counts and was called “the master of errors.”
The Church tried to silence him but it was too late. Wycliffe had by this time many followers known as Lollards. They preached anticlerical and biblically centered reform. The more the Church attacked and suppressed Wycliffe’s teachings, the more determined his followers became. At one point the Lollards were driven underground, but they remained a constant source of irritation to the English Catholic authorities until the English Reformation made their views the norm.
John Wycliffe died December 28, 1384, from a stroke. In May 1415 he was declared a heretic, and his writings were banned. Wycliffe’s impact on the church was so great that forty-three years after his death, officials dug up his body, burned the remains, and threw the ashes into the River Swift as a protest against his teachings.
Collect for John Wycliffe
O God, your justice continually challenges your Church to live according to its calling: Grant us who now remember the work of John Wycliffe contrition for the wounds which our sins inflict on your Church, and such love for Christ that we may seek to heal the divisions which afflict his Body; through the same Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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236 comments on “Francis of Assisi vs. John Wycliffe”
As with every day in the Madness, two fine people and only one can move forward. It's Francis for my click. My heart still really misses my fur baby who traveled the Rainbow Bridge a couple years ago, and the present Pope has done much to impress me. He's just been such a breath of fresh air.
What would it be like today if the Bible had not been translated into English etc. His work still goes on! Although St. Francis reeks of love for all creatures, and brought to us the crèche, my vote goes to John Wycliffe.
Let's see: theology vs. compassion. Gotta go with compassion. Francis it is.
Aaaaaaaack! I thought this one was going to be easy. I have Francis for the halo, but now having gotten to know about Wycliffe, I don't know anymore. Will I vote for Francis or John? At first Francis was a no-brainer for me. Now, I am no longer sure. John paved the way to the English reformation, without which we would not have the Anglican Church, the church who adopted me with open arms when I left the Roman Catholic Church because many of its doctrines and actions became untenable.
I will let this one sit for a bit and vote a little later.
My cats would not forgive me if I voted for John instead of Francis. Also, considering that my name is Claire, the choice is almost a given. 🙂
I am going for Wicliffe even tho I am a follower of Francis.
These two candidates represent, in a way, different parts of our better selves, attributes that we admire and would like to emulate (“grant us grace so to follow the good examples of all thy saints”). Francis is sweet and sentimental ~ it’s the face that we all want to the world to see. Wycliffe, though, is the pointed pragmatist ~ it’s the part of our selves that we would like to think we could and would bring to the fore if needed, but in the end often lack the courage to live out. This is a personality test! Will we put our sweet face on or are we courageous enough to let the world see our tough side, and to suffer the consequences of forgoing sweetness when pointedness is what is needed? Both attributes are laudable and necessary. Which will we show today?
I agree in a way... there are times when we need to be stern (which is the way wonderful John Wycliffe can come across. But i don't see Francis as being sentimental, since i don't equate kindness and deep compassion as sentimental. I also think it usually takes a great deal of courage to both give up the creature comforts of wealth and to be kind, compassionate, gentle in a hard world. Francis IS a very powerful model for sainthood today; at least for me he is. In a world of ecological crisis we seem as a community/species to lack the courage to give up even a few our creature comforts to save our planet, or the compassion to live as if we know that it's not just here for us, but for all of God's children, regardless of species. Wycliffe did some fine stuff, and the Lollards were cool (sans bow ties or fezes, alas) but i think, feel, and believe that Francis' model of how to live is the one we need most for the long haul in a world fraught with conflict and greed.
I am deeply formed in my heart, by the life of St. Francis. Also, my mother was a Third Order Franciscan and was buried in her Fransican habit, so my love for him is strong. However, after reading Wycliffe's story, I had to vote for him. His courage and theological understanding are exactly what we need in our church today. We are going to "polite" ourselves out of any relevancy for the world in which we live. We are terrible about having open and frank and honest discussions when we're in the midst of conflict. We're especially reluctant to name and call out bad decisions made by people who have authority over us. I don't mean we should bash those with whom we disagree, some of us do that really well, but rather we should be willing to openly state when we don't agree. Bashing one another is another way of shutting down open and free discussion. Wycliffe exemplified what we need today. We've had a couple of national headline events in recent months, (GTS fiasco and Bp. Heather Cook) neither of which has been handled well by our leaders. We had the spotlight and we didn't shine well. We could've used the crises to model a just and redemptive church and we squandered it by our posturing, feeding ego, and protecting turf. Thank God for Wycliffe's example!
Well said, Sylvia ~ we need to learn manage disagreement and conflict well, individually & corporately.
I would wish that Wycliffe were paired with somebody else. I cannot resist voting for Francis, who has been my most special "spirit guide" for most of my life. The anthem "Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace" was sung at both my college graduation and my ordination. I had nothing to do with the planning of either service. Someone wrote that Francis had "only" to do with the internal, personal relationship with God; but is not that the foundation for everything we do outwardly? Francis has been such a huge part of my spiritual formation that I just can't vote for anyone else!
Francis is the image many think of when they picture a saint... and so it is not surprising that he is in the lead. Wycliffe on the other hand was a thorn in the side of those who wielded power in his day, fighting for reform... quite a match-up. the soft and soothing saint vs. the rebel. both were writers, but I think that Wycliffe's translating has enabled the gospel to reach far, FAR, more people than Francis could have.
I am likely voting for the losing candidate, but I believe John Wycliffe to be the Saint we need today!
I do admire Wycliffe and am grateful for him and intend to do more reading up on him but I cannot deny my connection to St. Francis and his love for creation. I think of him often. I have 5 birds, a rabbit and a cat in a very small apartment. They are all rescues ( I do not believe in caging animals but there's nothing we can do once the deed is done unfortunately.....selling animals should be outlawed!). I do not have furniture because my "children" (except the cat) have very large houses(cages....I hate the term) and there is no room for furniture....but who cares? There's lots of LIFE in here! Anyway I also have the privilege for us to get to know each other on a very intimate level and they truly are brothers and sisters. We are all equal (yet diverse) in the site of the Lord. But we are called to serve them rather than the other way around because we can.
Just an aside my first two birds (Lovebirds) were named Pinky and Keno by their previous family. (The birds were not happy with the little girl and the little girl was not happy with them). After receiving them into my home I prayed about changing their names. The Lord spoke very clearly: Francis and Sissi!
We have a yellow nape amazon parrot + two spoiled Burmese felines that told me I must go with Francis or move out. So we followed the party line on this. Sorry Wycliffe there are decision days that we are obligated to do what the majority tells us to do.
St. Francis is my favorite saint and I think he will go all the way this time. But as much as I love Bible study and adult continuing ed at church, have to go with Wycliffe. How can we really understand the source of love if we cannot read God's word?
Wouldn't Francis foul out for hugging all of the other team's players? And he would give no offense at all.
St. Francis vs Wycliffe?! Titans clash. Voted for St. Francis because his centuries of impact on the Church and the Poor, but Wycliffe is a saint for all Protestants. Tough choice and both should be in the Final Four.
It was a hard choice, but in honor of my faithful guide dog, Veronique, I voted for Francis. Incidentally, I was surprised that the otherwise wonderful biography of Wycliffe did not give him more credit for the beginning efforts toward an English translation of the Bible. I also loved the wonderful additions to the biography of St. Francis in the comments.
Well, my companion, Togo [see my avatar] is quite happy that I voted for Francis. I know this because he keeps nodding his head!
Once again among the losers. Wycliffe got my vote.
It seems that Wycliffe had writing on his garment - super stock - what is that all about? Perhaps it is just my mobile having a joke?
Voted for him anyway, I could never get to grips with Latin.
A very difficult choice. Assisi the town and its 'cave' offer a rich spiritual experience as does the story of Francis. Wycliffe, however, received my vote today . At Oxford University there is a college that continues to reach out with its many programs, especially a Summer School - that remains a living testament to this often overlooked saint. Check it out for a study/vacation in the world of Carroll, Tolkien, Lewis at the college of Wycliffe Hall.
My husband when consulted said the picture probably come from a company that want to hang onto copywrite so put on a watermark.
How boring, I had hoped Wycliffe was finding funds by endorsing a product.
My cats will not forgive me if I vote for John. Also, considering that my name is Claire, it is pretty much a given.
I have cast my vote for Francis.
Another tough one today. We clearly need both kinds of followers of Jesus, those in the trenches providing love and comfort to the less fortunate, and those who fight on a political level to effect real change. I went with Wycliffe because he did what I cannot.
St FRancis. Totally St Francis!! Neither my animals nor my Richard Rohrian theology would allow me to choose any other!!
I got interested in Wycliffe and ended up reading the 1912 New Catholic Encyclopedia entry for him. (here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15722a.htm) It's a generally unflattering portrait that probably says just as much about Francis Urquhart who wrote it as is does about Wycliffe. He does mention that the New Testament was pretty widely available in English before Wycliffe. I don't know enough to judge the claim, but I found it fascinating.
Lets see - Wycliffe bucked accepted church establishment big time; did not stray from his ministry and mission; rebuked the church authority; challenged accepted theology, provided translations to many; gave comfort to those chased underground for their beliefs; and also managed to die on his terms. Although not mentioned, I believe he kept a cat or two. More like Christ than Francis? debatable - yet both in their own lives were worthy of being Christlike and of great value to our church! Wycliffe is my vote!
Is anyone else having trouble voting? I've tried two devices and two different wireless connections and neither seems to work.
Wycliffe all the way as beginner of the English Reformation. Francis wasn't really so sweet. And, I Wish our society had as much compassion for abused and starving children as it does for abused and starving animals.
Really really hard decision today! I'm so torn. Almost didn't vote. Finally went with Francis only because I've been to Assisi, sat for a long time in front of the cross of San Domiano, and felt both comforted, challenged, and supported to continue in my ministry.
Wycliffe it is. How could we imagine not having access to scripture other than through a mediator?? Francis was truly a wonderful man, but I am sure he doesn't need my vote!
Wycliffe birdbaths? Are you daft??? Wycliffe was a sharp-tongued zealot and no one's instrument of peace, "so much a scholar and so little a saint," as one historian put it. He was also self-serving. While railing against Church wealth, he was living off the appointed parish of Lutterworth (near Birmingham) while residing in Oxford. His claim to sainthood is his translation into English of Jerome's Vulgate Bible, but he was such a polarizing and divisive figure that translating the Bible into English was made illegal and remained so until after the Reformation. Wycliffe does belong on our calendar of saints -- God works in mysterious ways -- but I will not vote for him.