I Thought of St. Francis Today

There is hardly a day goes by that I don't think of Francis -- living with Franciscan Sisters brings many reasons to remember him. Our shared prayer includes readings either from his writings or from someone writing about him. Living in the beauty of rural Minnesota is another way of connecting with this saint's unique appreciation of the natural and wild. Another attribute of Francis is his faithfulness. Once he turned his face toward God, he never turned back. Speaking of faithfulness, the return of spring speaks to me of fidelity - God's and Earth's. No matter how long winter is and how deep the snow, I know spring will come again. And, sure enough, it has. It's here! This gift of seasons cycling around with such predictability and refreshment brings a certain recovery of that spiritual ability to see and hear what Francis (and Clare) saw in their ecstacy when they considered the wonder of God incarnate on Earth. God is faithful. My heart feels more joy than it has since January. The trees are full of noisy off-key red-winged black birds and Francis is right there playing his two-stick violin with them.

Hungry for Light?

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but this blog hasn't been updated for a long time. My excuse is low energy and some negative feelings about winter: this winter has been exceptionally dark. The lack of light, the many days in a row of overcast skies would put me in the poor house if my living depended on writing.

Have any of you also been hungry for light? You know how we sometimes say things are as different as night from day? Night's not so bad. Night is supposed to be dark. The lack of light in daytime is something else.

St. Francis sang a Canticle to the Creatures, beginning with gratitude for Brother Sun. He must have longed to see light even more than I do: he was blind when he wrote:

Be praised, my Lord, by all your creature world,

and first of all by Brother Sun,

who brings the day and light you give to us through him.

And beautiful he is, agleam with mighty splendor;

of you, Most High, he gives us indication!

Amen.