The ‘magical garden’ of St. Francis

(Part II – The young “San Francesco” the inspiration of Pope Francis)

Upon entering the door of Brasserie Cicou, formerly Ristorante La Dolce Fontana in Greenhills, the “magical garden” of St. Francis and St. Claire greets the customers. The 3 x 6 meters white wall is covered with a very charming fresco type of painting used by the Etruscans during the early civilization of Europe to the Renaissance era.

The technique of using a small jet paint spray instead of brushes used by our artist Pempe Floriano was mentally telepathized or interlocuted by the holy ones through mystic artist Punay K. Fernandez. The images on the frescoes are very sacred since each detail is mystically designed.

Interpreting their symbolism was made easier by the teamwork of mystic Mrs. Fernandez and spiritual sculptor Pempe. Another help was my collection of books on the saint by Thomas Celano, Saint Bonaventure, Raphael Brown, W. Heywood, Leonardo Boff, Salvator Buttler, O.F.M., Felix Timmermans and G.K. Chesterton.

To my delight, the many written stories of St. Francis matched the details of the Magic Garden.

St. Francis’ Assisi remains the same today

A “rapido” train (express) from the Stazioni Termini (Central Station) of Rome could take a traveler to Assisi. One heads towards the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Angels, topped by a golden, gigantic Blessed Mother Mary, which toppled down during the earthquake in the nineties without breaking. Inside is the tiny church, the Porziuncula, the church Francis built as requested by the “crucified Lord” when his soldierly duties ended. Exit through the door on the right towards the garden. The statue of St. Francis with a birds’ nest on his head still stands since he passed away. Birds still perch on it. It’s beside the souvenir store.

To reach the Basilica di San Francesco, take a taxi to the upper level of the town, where his original convent is dwarfed by the basilica. Outside the Porziuncula, St. Francis kept a flower garden which still exists. According to one of his biographers Felix Timmermans, the rose bushes gave forth a delightful fragrance and was thornless. Here in Greenhills, the Brasserie frescoes are bordered by rows of flowers in the style of the French painter, Renoir: roses, lilies, and trumpet flowers. These are the same flowers mentioned growing on the “terribly beautiful valley” of Monte Aventino by the Adriatic Sea, where St. Francis and Brother Giles enjoyed visiting as they preached all over the region.

The ‘burning flame’in the convent of assisi

After saying a prayer in the little chapel, Claire and the Sisters who accompanied her and all the Brothers sat down to eat in the pilgrims’ house. There, the feast was spread out on the bare ground. It consisted of cheese, bread, and milk.

After Francis had said grace, suddenly inspired by the purity of Claire’s soul, he began to talk about God so wonderfully and so beautifully that they all became inflamed with a god-like love. All that was of the earth and of the senses lost its hold on them. Their souls glowed and shone with a mystic fire.

Its supernatural brilliance blazed out through the roof and the walls of the buildings, shedding a vivid red glare over the Chapel and the forest. It seemed to the men of Assisi and Bettona and the entire district that the Church of St. Mary of the Angels and the whole Place were all aflame, and that an immense fire was burning over all of them.

Consequently, the men of Assisi ran down there in great haste to save the Place. But when they reached the Place, they saw that nothing was on fire. This heavenly fire of divine love is painted in the sky of the fresco of the Brasserie.

The larks adieu

Why is the fresco so rich in colors? St. Francis during his time favored only silent and poor earth colors. The mystical message states that St. Francis’ spirit today has gone a long way of evolution. The whole world today needs a lift in spirit. God’s creatures, if well cared for, can be very colorful.         

Before the night when St. Francis passed to the Lord, larks were flying in wheel formation over the roof of the house where he lay, just as in the fresco.

St. Francis had this to say about the larks: “Sister Lark wears a hood like the Religious, and she is a humble bird. She hops gaily along the road looking for bits of grains for herself. If she finds them mixed in the beast’s dung, she just plucks them out and eats them. When she is in flight, she praises the Lord like a good Religious who despise earthly things and whose thoughts are ever set upon heavenly things.

“Furthermore, her clothing, that is her feathers, is earth color and in this she gives the Religious good example. They should not wear clothing that is colorful and made of fine cloth, but rather it should be as if dead, earth-like.”

Blessed Mother Mary as a Muslim woman

Before we visited Istanbul early 1996, I was told by Punay that she needed a Turkish lady to pose as a model for Mother Mary. I told her I know who — the wife of Turkish Ambassador Erdine Erdun, Mrs. Nurgun Erdun. When we lunched in their house, I told her about it. She was amused. After we arrived from Turkey, I reminded her to visit the ristorante. But Punay did not set any date.

Under a flamboyant flame tree of the fresco is a tiny four-inch figure in white – Blessed Mother Mary. Her message is that she does not want to outshine St. Claire. It is St. Claire’s “debut”. The Filipinos have been under the ridiculous and false illusion that she is the saint who prevents the rain that can ruin parties if she is offered a dozen eggs. Childless couples also pray to her in Obando, Bulacan.

Just before the blessing, Blessed Mother’s costume changed into an elegant gown, hemmed at the bottom with rose-like ruffles. It had a gold-tipped hood similar to the royal queens of Turkey, the Muslim country, which led the Ottoman Empire. She looks exactly like Mrs. Nurgun Erdun.

The Muslim connection

At the time of St. Francis, the Muslim empire had spread all around the northern shores of Africa, through Spain and into continental Europe. Moorish traders crossed and re-crossed the Mediterranean Sea as if it were their own inland lake. In the tenth century, the Moorish navy was already supreme. Moorish culture was far ahead of that of Christian Europe. The study of mathematics, science and astronomy made Arab scholars the magi of the world.

Unfortunately, many history books focused on the atrocities of the Ottoman Empire and the world became prejudiced with the Moors. Today, remnants of the Ottoman Empire are the castles and palatial mosques as well as the Oriental markets of Istanbul, Turkey, Hungary, Cracow Poland, El Cordoba in Spain, and Northern Africa. The Muslim women of the city are the most modern and quite advanced in education compared to the other Muslim women of other countries, who are generally kept at home and discouraged from going to school. This is evidenced by the wearing of the veil which covers the head and face of Middle Eastern women.

Towards the end of the 11th century, Europe was disappearing from the face of the earth. The Moors next overran all the Christian lands of Asia Minor (Eastern Europe), including the Holy land in 1071. They advanced on Constantinople and defeated the Emperor of Byzantium. The earliest centers of Christianity were destroyed. Pope Urban II called all Christian rulers of Western Europe totally under the banner of the Cross. In 1097, the First Crusade stopped the advance of the Moors into Europe, freed Asia Minor, and opened up the Holy Land. Godfrey de Bouillon, who fought side by side with Richard the Lion-Hearted, was crowned the first King of Jerusalem.

Joining the Fourth Crusade of 1205 was the mini-army of Walter de la Brienne, who rode out from Assisi with Francis, who was by then the founder of the Franciscan movement by his side as the Crusader crossed Europe to the Middle East. Instead of heading for the Holy City as planned, the soldiers decided to seize Constantinople. They besieged it for months, attacked, captured and slaughtered the inhabitants, looted all the treasures and thoroughly disgraced the name of Christianity.

‘Lord make me an instrument of your peace’

Since mid seventies, O.B. Montessori schools have always started the school day reciting St. Francis’ prayer, “Lord Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace” after singing the National Anthem.

The main headquarters of Greenhills became one of three mystical shrines, landmarks of national disasters, such as the EDSA Revolution. Among 23 holy monuments spread out around the four buildings of the school, is the statue of St. Francis of Assisi with three messenger doves. He faces Annapolis Street, inviting the public to be an “instrument of peace”.

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