St. Francis

Several leaders from different congregations gathered on Sunday to join in the prayer of St. Francis. Sunday was the festival of St. Francis, which normally involves the blessing of animals since he is famous for taming a wolf and being a human bird feeder (I might be mixing up his stories with his statues).

Thanks Mary Ann Hornbuckle for photo

Francis was a privileged youth and my favorite story is when he denounces his way of life and dedicates himself to communion with God and the poor. 

His father is enraged that Francis keeps giving their wealth away to the poor so he chases him to the town center and confronts him. In front of the people gathered, Francis strips down naked, hands over his clothes and denounces his birthright. 

There are no garden statues of that. 

And a little family counseling might have been helpful.

But I love the bold defiance and vulnerability. 

We weren't naked, but standing in the freezing rain in an enraged nation and praying for peace felt like bold defiance and vulnerability. 

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;
where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
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 pardoning that we are pardoned, 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.