Praise be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.
Continuing today our never-ending story series known as Franciscan Spirituality, we will be talking about the theory of art. We'll speak a little bit about St. Francis as a poet, as a great poet that he was. The artistic soul of Francis showed itself in a number of ways, including in those expressions which we would generally consider artistic. He's a poet because he knew how to express mystical experiences into poetic expressions. We see that especially in his Canticle of the Sun, but also in his other prayers as well. Bowed down with penance and uplifted by contemplation, St. Francis tells of the superabundant love that embraced him. He sings to the “altissimo omnipotente bon Signore,” to the highest all-powerful good God. Francis is a singer, he's a troubadour of the Lord, and the Canticle of Brother Sun is his masterpiece. 
The Canticle seems to aspire to the Canticle of the Three Young Men in the Book of Daniel and also to Psalm 148, but it's a hymn which seems to surpass these in spirituality. It also surpasses Dante's mystical heights as well. With his mystical impulses and his clear Latin style, Francis praises the all-high God who alone is worthy of praise, glory, and honor. At the same time, he celebrates the brotherhood of all creatures, all of which God has created as beautiful, useful, and precious. 
First, all the creatures are invoked in his Canticle, and then the sun, the moon, the stars, the traditional four elements, the earth, air, water, fire, are invoked in their characteristic traits and in their particular good functions. And it's all done with a grace and with a virginal, a pure candor, but also with a sober vitality that sculpts the imagination in an unforgettable way. 
Man is not forgotten in the poem either. He's celebrated in his drama of pain and of struggle and in his final destiny. Everything's contemplated in a vision of pure and simple beauty. 
Praises are raised to God through the creatures, but Francis doesn't turn specifically to them like the psalmist in Psalm 148 does, rather Francis turns himself to the Lord. "Praise be to you, my Lord," he sings, and yet with every creature that he names, Francis pauses with a trembling and contemplative gaze, almost listening to the song that each one raises to their creator. It's in this where we find his artistic originality with respect to Psalm 148, a psalm with which he was certainly familiar. The creatures couldn't praise and thank God who made them so beautiful, but man, who is a saint and a poet, gives to them his voice and interprets their language, praising the creator. 
It's a hymn of praise from the creatures to God, flowing from the heart of the seraphic saint who's enamored with the Lord. The beauty of nature, of the universe, thought of virtue, to Francis it's all a penetrating voice of a mysterious attraction. It's a signification of the Most High who invites Francis to praise his God. 
And Francis grasps the beauty in all things and he sings of it. It's a song which is always a prayer at the same time. From it are born the praises of the Most High, the salutation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the praise of virtue, the adieu of Mount La Verna. Not even human beauty is left aside in Francis's praises. The perfect friar minor, says Francis, should possess the faith of Friar Bernard, the simplicity of Friar Leo, the courtesy of Friar Angelo, and the affableness of Friar Masseo, whom the Little Flowers describe as a large man and beautiful of body.
The Canticle of Brother Sun, song of goodness, of divine paternity, of brotherhood, of charity, and of beauty, it really became the starting point for Italian literature. So the prelude for Italian song was a hymn of joy and of sanctity, sung by Saint Francis himself. 
Even Dante, considered the greatest of the Italian poets, in the difficulty of his exile, he followed in the footsteps of Saint Francis when he closed the greatest poem of Paradiso, singing of the Love with a capital L, the love who is God, the Love that moves the sun and the other stars. We read in Paradiso, Canto 33. 
Let's ask Our Lady for the grace to see the good in life, as Saint Francis did always. Because seeing the good means that we're seeing, we're closer to actually seeing the face of God when we see the good. 
Praise be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.