This synthesis essay on the life and influence of Saint Francis of Assisi requires you to read the biography of Saint Francis, The Reluctant Saint, by Donald Spoto and connect the life of Francis with the Gospel, Christian history, and today’s world. In this synthesis essay you need to bring together the Bible, material from the textbook, Spoto’s book, and articles that have been posted. The essay needs to connect all of these elements to your own personal reflection. Outside sources are not needed to do this task.
Include Madonna University’s statement of Franciscan values:
https://www.madonna.edu/about/mission-and-history/
In this essay you need to
• Show how Francis lived Gospel values in his time and culture. How did he show respect for the dignity of each person, work for peace and justice, revere creation, and educate others for truth and service? You will need to connect these aspects of Francis’s life to the Gospels. Provide specific examples.
• Connect the life of Francis to the medieval era of Christian history. Use material on medieval Christianity from the textbook and the biography.
• Demonstrate how the life of Francis illustrated the values that the Felician sisters adopted as their own: respect for human dignity, compassion, transformation, solidarity with the poor, and justice and peace.
The last section of the essay is a personal reflection in which you need to explain how you can live out Franciscan values in one of the following:
• • Your current life situation.
• • Your future profession.
• • Your future life apart from your work. i.e. volunteering, political action etc.
• • Or some combination of the previous three.
A synthesis essay requires that you combine various ideas into a whole. You need to demonstrate that you understand main elements of the Gospel, the significant message and events of the life of Francis, Franciscan values and concrete ways that you can put this message into practice. Connect Francis to your current faith or belief system. In others words, explain how his teaching can connect to your religion or world view. Your personal reflection is yours. It does not need to be a specifically Catholic response to Francis.
Please write in MLA format. The essay needs to be 5 pages in length and size 12 font. Because the only sources your need are the biography, the textbook and the New Testament, only quotes and paraphrased material from the biography and New Testament need to be cited. Paraphrase the textbook material. Do not rewrite whole sections of any of the sources. You do not need to find sources on the internet.
