This is the book that set St. Francis on the path to poverty.
The 12th-century collection of prayers is slightly larger than a
sheet of notebook paper. A corner of the beechwood boards covering the
manuscript has crumbled away and the surface is delicately pitted with
wormholes. Restorers found the dried carapace of an unidentified species
of insect trapped inside the pages.
It seems fitting that even after an ambitious and
painstaking two-year restoration, the book that persuaded the man from
Assisi to renounce earthly goods — and that resulted in the founding of
the Franciscan order — appears as humble and unprepossessing as a monk's
brown habit.
Now, the book has its own public exhibit at the Walters Art Museum for the first time in nearly 40 years.
"The St. Francis Missal" is an intimate show in which the famous
volume is shown with about two dozen paintings, ceramics, ivories and
illustrated manuscripts taken from the museum's collection...
According to several accounts of Francis' life written shortly after
he died, he was inspired to dedicate himself to a life of poverty in
1208 after he and two friends — all wealthy young men — had been up all
night debating about how they could best serve God.
When they couldn't agree, "Francis basically said, 'Let's let God decide,' " Herbert said.
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Source: Texarkana Gazette