Old Testement

St. Francis of Assisi

This Catholic fine art print is centered on St Francis contemplating Jesus on the cross and is about to receive the stigmata. Early in August 1224, Francis retired with three companions to "that rugged rock 'twixt Tiber and Arno", as Dante called La Verna, there to keep a forty days fast in preparation for Michaelmas. During this retreat the sufferings of Christ became more than ever the burden of his meditations; into few souls, perhaps, had the full meaning of the Passion so deeply entered. It was on or about the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (14 September) while praying on the mountainside, that he beheld the marvelous vision of the seraph, as a sequel of which there appeared on his body the visible marks of the five wounds of the Crucified which, says an early writer, had long since been impressed upon his heart. Brother Leo, who was with St. Francis when he received the stigmata, has left us in his note to the saint's autograph blessing, preserved at Assisi, a clear and simple account of the miracle, which for the rest is better attested than many another historical fact. The saint's right side is described as bearing on open wound which looked as if made by a lance, while through his hands and feet were black nails of flesh, the points of which were bent backward. After the reception of the stigmata, Francis suffered increasing pains throughout his frail body, already broken by continual mortification. He died a holy death shortly afterwards surrounded in the love of his Franciscan brothers.

Above the central image is the Holy Spirit surrounded by flames that represent the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. Above the Holy Spirit on the outer frame are seven winged shapes that re present the seven spirits that surround the throne of God in the Book of Revelations. In the outer frame are twenty bright blue circles that represent the Holy Rosary, which is a contemplative prayer on the life of Jesus and Mary while on earth and now their life of glory in heaven. In between the rosary beads are eighteen diamond like shapes that represent the angles present as Francis received the stigmata. Below the central image are three ovals. The oval on the left contains the San Damiano Cross from which Our Lord spoke to St. Francis to go rebuild His Church. The middle oval contains the Franciscan shield, which displays the arm of the Crucified Lord and the arm of St. Francis united in the passion of his Lord, in between which is the Franciscan Tau. In the right oval is the Sacred heart of Jesus which burns with a divine and human love for the Father and his brothers and sisters and which Francis so intimately identified with.

Catholic fine art prints - innerwindows.net