Saint Francis

Last week I found a great little book by Kent Nerburn, "Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace". Its about living in the Spirit of the prayer of Saint Francis. Its a beautiful book, filled with little stories that express the kind of love that Saint Francis lived towards those he came in contact with. In the book he writes at length about each line of that prayer. In a section about love, he writes... "Love has no judgement; it is not conditional. It asks no recognition; it demands no response. Its reward is in its giving, but it has no thought of reward. It reaches out to those around it, not because they are deserving or because they can offer something in return, but because they are part of God's creation, and all of creation is worthy of love.

The empty heart that seeks to receive love rather than give it is like a constricting container in which the roots of love cannot spread. It tries to define love and make it the shape of its need.

But the love that is given takes root where it will, and its branches spread out to shelter those around it. And as its seeds fall, new love grows and the cycle of love begins anew."

In the book, the author uses an example of a young child, hugging, kissing and loving her stuffed animals. The child is delighted in GIVING love to them, understanding in her own childish way, that it is in the giving that we receive. The child receives no love back from the stuffed animals, but overflows with delight in giving. Her need is to give love.

There is a story about Saint Francis which gives me much to strive for. In a very hard winter, when he and some other monk were staying in an abandoned hut near a stream called, Rivo Torto, they were all cramped inside this small place and times were difficult. One monk lay on the floor one night, moaning, " I am dying, I am dying". St Francis went to his side and asked, " what do you think you are dying from Brother ?" The monk groaned that he was dying of hunger. Right away, St Francis woke all the other monks and prepared a meal, and they all ate together so this one monk would not be ashamed of his hunger. In the book, it says this about what took place, " Could there be a more beautiful expression of the selfless nature of love ? Francis did not criticize; he did not judge. If he felt dismayed at the monk's weakness, he did not show it. Neither did he act because he wanted praise or recognition or because his heart was empty and needed to be filled. He did this simply because he was filled with love for his hungry brother and wanted to honor and protect him."

This my friends, is Christianity in action. So much better than talking about the people in church or the ministers sermon in a negative way, or shunning people because they don't live to YOUR standards. Always remember, very few have accepted "the way" the first or second, or maybe even the tenth time it was offered to us, since such a life truth, must be told to us, shown to us, with love, until then, it is nothing more than meaningless words.

I highly recommend this little book. Its given me so much to think about and to strive for in my own life.

We all need to put aside our judgements, our high and mighty attitudes and to be so filled with love that it spills out, overflows and for us to know nothing about conditional love.

On a side note, it feels good to have some time to myself this morning, to think, to share and to gather my own thoughts. My morning ramble outside left me feeling refreshed and feeling a deep sense of peace in my heart.

Here is the prayer of Saint Francis...

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred let me sow love,

Where there is injury let me sow 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,

Grand that I may not seek so much as to 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 forgiving that we are forgiven,

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Pictures....

My yellow roses this morning

The apricots growing so fast on the tree

Some pretty little weeds

burr clover growing along the fence line of the garden