Monday, October 3, 2011

Saint Francis Day -- October 4

Richard Rohr on Saith Francis:
"Francis’ first sermon was not to humans, but to birds. At the end of the sermon, he told the birds, “Now, go off, because I’ve told you who you are.” And he was addressing them as equals in creation, calling them “brother” and “sister,” as no one recorded had ever done before!
"Throughout his life in his interactions with creatures—including a wolf, a lamb, worms, fish and bees—Francis is always telling them that by their very existence they are inherently giving glory to God. All things should be who they truly are, and that is enough. Every animal must simply “do itself.” Each creature has a unique thing to do in the circle of life, and in that simple performance it is giving glory to a unique aspect of God and making us happy besides—at least I hope so.
"I wonder if Francis preached to birds, to wolves, and to sheep because he knew they would believe him and act on their true identity more easily than we humans."







1 comment:

  1. The prayer should be very applicable to humans: be as God made you and as you are, not as something other. May you bless and comfort others as you expect to blessed.
    It really made my heart ache when none of my three confirmation candidates,(ages 11-14) who live in the mountains of Virginia, could not tell me about St. Francis and nothing at all about sheep even though their parish church is named Good Shepherd. Is this symbolic of our general lack of care for anything except ourselves in today's culture?
    Today, St. Francis was vividly brought to mind when I was mowing my back lawn. I realized that their was hard bump under the leaves on the grass. A bewildered turtle crept out and got stuck in the wire fence. As I stopped the mower, and gently lifted him to a much safer place, his eyes were so full of trust, I nearly cried. May all animals teach us about loving and trusting each other.

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