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This looks like a promising book from TAN - does someone have it and if so, could he offer a review? The advertisement from TAN reads: “St. Francis of Assisi accompanied the Crusaders to Egypt on the Fifth Crusade, and boldly walked right into the Muslim camp in a spectacular attempt to preach Christianity to the Sultan and his followers. The author shows that St. Francis was a supporter of the armed Crusade, and his goal was the conversion of the Muslims, rather than simply “dialoging” as an end in itself, as some revisionists have purported. He made such an impact with his preaching, that the sultan rebuffed some of his own religious advisors, the imams, who were insisting that Islamic law required that St. Francis must be beheaded.”
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
The book has it’s one web site here:
http://www.thepoverello.com/
And the author’s website is here:
http://www.frankrega.com/
The author’s profile on amazon.com links to reviews on amazon for his earlier book on Padre Pio:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3VGFLSXOSMV7A/ref=cm_blog_dp_pdp/104-0804988-0031135
“its own” I’m really not illiterate, really.
The Franciscan Proto-Martyrs were slain in North Africa for trying to convert Moslems to the Faith. That was during St. Francis’ lifetime, and he was quite pleased with them.
I shall buy this book for all my friends of the “pacifist” persuasion who think they know what St. Francis stood for!
But of course, the good saint wanted to be beheaded… too bad for him he was such a likable guy.
Tobias, one of St. Francis’ greatest desires was to be allowed to be a martyr.
The story of the Five Protomartyrs of the Franciscan Order is an example of old-fashion religious dialogue. According to Fr. Chalippe, O.F.M., author of Life and Legends of Saint Francis, (Kenedy & Sons, 1918) upon arriving in Morocco, neither Christian nor Saracen could induce them not to “preach of Jesus Christ and against the prophet.” Without fear they declaimed Mohamed in the presence of the Saracen King of Morocco, who thought they must be out of their minds and ordered them to be expelled from the kingdom and sent back to the land of the Christians.
They managed to stealthily escape their escort whereupon they returned immediately to Morocco and continued their preaching in the great public square. The king ordered them to be imprisoned and starved to death but set them free after 20 days, finding them in full health. Some Christians opposed their plans to resume where they had left off and brought them to a port to send them back to Portugal. They escaped again, returned to Morocco and presented themselves before the king as he was passing by. Friar Bernard got upon a wagon and began to speak against the false prophet, whereupon the king had them seized and then tortured. Eventually, since they would neither deny the Faith nor stop denouncing Mohamed, the king beheaded them with his own scimitar. These simple Franciscans obviously were devoid of all sensitivity needed for a cordial exchange of religious ideas.
Upon hearing the account, Saint Francis said: “It is now that I can rest assured that I have had five true Friars Minor!” Witnessing their relics being carried in procession to Coimbra, Saint Anthony was inspired to leave the Augustinians and join the Franciscans in order to likewise be sent to preach the Gospel in Africa.
What would the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue say of such a tale? We can not be sure exactly but 30 Days recently had an interview with him (Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran). Apparently the Cardinal values the courage of public witness of faith. He is quoted as saying: “We can value in Muslims the aspect of the transcendence of God, the value of prayer and fasting, the courage to witness to one’s faith in public life. From us instead the Muslims can learn the value of a healthy secularity.”
http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=15288