A Prayer to Saint Francis by Frances Frost says within it, “Will there come a day, when the fox, at bay, may find man’s shoulder, his shelter, his boulder?”

That truly has been a question for the ages that has been answered with both kindness and cruelty. Each generation has seen its share of “savers” and “killers.” And with each generation, the blood sports continue with new promotional “spins” and justified support.

Today, more than ever, we need Saint Francis of Assisi and his teachings before us and our children. We need to share in earnest how he lived and what he taught…(sometimes using words). Saint Francis was a man who fully embraced the Word of God, living the Gospel life which he perceived to be the clear direction to holiness. He was so full of God’s love that he was oblivious to earthly cares. He did not worry. He lived for God alone knowing that if God is with you, who could be against you. He was a peacemaker not only between men, but between men and beast as he tamed the Wolf of Gubbio by gentle words alone. He was a prayerful man, as he offered throughout the day unceasing praise to the Creator of all. He loved Jesus with all of his soul, doing so by embracing suffering and affliction with joy, believing in its redemptive power. He believed in simplicity and poverty, seeing God the Father as his true treasure. He saw all creation rightly ordered in its place and dignity before God, embracing all of it as brothers and sisters. Saint Francis was a great witness to true stewardship of the earth, treading the earth as God’s “stand in” in so many ways.

Chapter One of Man’s Place in Nature by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin starts off;

“Man is a part of life. He is even (and this, in fact, is the thesis maintained in the pages that follow) the most characteristic, most polar and most living part of life. Thus, we cannot correctly appreciate his position in the world, without first determining the place of life in the universe.”

I absolutely agree!

I know that Saint Francis not only felt this, but came to know this internally, having been given this knowledge by the Creator of all.

I feel and continue to feel that without the proper conscience of respecting and caring for life at the basic level, be it a child in its mother’s womb, or the protective care of God’s creatures, we as human beings will never be fully human and humane. We must remind ourselves and our children that ALL good things come from God, wanted and desired by Him! We are to care for it with love and return it to Him in appreciation and praise.

We are ALL the family of creation, interconnected in an unseen way with eternity through the God who loves everything that has sprung into existence from His eternal heart. Saint Francis lived this, believed this and taught this….let us follow in his footsteps and renew the face of the earth!

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