St Francis of Assisi: Uniting and Healing Wounds

Commenting on the often violent inhumanity of man to man, George Bernard Shaw in his play “Caesar and Cleopatra” sums things up this way:  “And so, to the end of history, murder shall breed murder, always in the name of right and honor and peace, until the gods are tired of blood, and create a race that can understand.”

Francis committed himself to the special ministry of “healing wounds, to uniting what was falling apart, and bringing home those who have lost their way.”  At the core of Francis’ spirituality was the belief, “My God loves me.”  And so he reduced his prayer to “My God and my all.”

Not even one’s own life is too precious to give for the sake of another who is in need.  Self-giving and self-realization go together.  Francis inspires us and teaches us to see the need for detachment, self-discipline and self-giving compassion toward all creatures, if we are to honor the divine presence dwelling within created reality that “God may be all in all” , 

(1 Cor 15: 28).