Feast of St. Francis

Dear Friends in Christ -

Today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a humble man who was known to be a friend of all creation. Francis was born the son of a wealthy merchant, who was on the road travelling for his business when Francis was born. His mother named Francis "Giovanni" (in Italian, "John") and wanted him to have a life of service to the church. When his father came home and found out about this, he was furious. He wanted Francis to follow in his own footsteps, and he renamed his son "Francis" after France, the beautiful, luxurious country in which he traded.

Francis tried to please his father, by working for him in the marketplace. But it never really worked out. His heart wasn't in it. On at least one occasion when Francis was tending his father's shop, a beggar came to him. At first, Francis turned the beggar away. But he felt so guilty about it that he caught up with him and gave him all the money he had with him - his father's money from the store.

Francis tried to split the difference between his own desire to serve and his father's desire for a noble place in society by becoming a soldier. That didn't work out too well, either. He was captured by the enemy army and forced to live in captivity for about a year before being returned to his own country in a prisoner exchange.

Eventually, Francis just did what he loved: he moved into the forest. He convinced some friends to form a monastery with him. As their leader, he was encouraged to be ordained, but Francis refused, saying that he didn't need such trappings to fulfill his calling.

The true gift of Francis' life to us is that he knew how to live in harmony - in harmony with is God, in harmony with his brothers, in harmony with the world, in harmony with himself. The knowing of ones own place in the world - identifying and using ones own gifts - is the first step to real Life, the first step to lasting peace. Peace that pervades not just our own lives, but also the world.

May God bless you this day by drawing you closer to what he has created you to be.
Faithfully yours,
Janet+

PS - Here, for your praying enjoyment, is the famous prayer attributed to St. Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.Where there is hatred, let me sow love;where there is injury,pardon;where there is doubt, faith;where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;and where there is sadness, joy.O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seekto be consoled as to console;to be understood as to understand;to be loved as to love.For it is in giving that we receive;it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.