I'm not a fan of reading. I'm willing to admit that.
But, I'm in the process of reading The Way of St. Francis by Murray Bodo, O.F.M. and it is one of the most insightful books I have read in a very long time.
I started reading it 2 weeks ago when I was at the beach and I'm almost 1/3 of the way done (yeah, doesn't sound like much, but for me, who hasn't read a book for fun in 3 years, it's quite impressive).
Brother Murray is interesting himself. He has spent almost his entire life trying to live as St. Francis did. He wrote that nowadays it's pretty much impossible to live as St. Francis did. But living simple is still achievable. I have learned so much about St. Francis through the reading that I have done. I knew he was the patron saint of animals, but I didn't know why. I didn't know that he saved every single piece of paper with writing on it and never crossed out a misspelled word or thought because it might be God communicating. I didn't know that he was born to wealth and later rejected it (and his father in the process) to go live outside the village walls.
I never knew that St. Clare and St. Francis were friends. I knew they were from the same area (Assisi), but I thought it was mere coincidence.
I found myself wishing I had a highlighter with me at the beach because there was so much insight I wanted to be able to go back and re-read it. So I resulted to dog-earring the pages. So far, 12 pages are dog-earred and I'm only to page 50.
So, what are these insightful passages, you ask? One is currently my facebook status. For others, you'll have to read the book. But I'll leave you with this:
A canon of Franciscan prayer:
" Make all your time a holy leisure in which to inscribe wisdom in your heart. When visitors or any other business disturbs you, it is better to interrupt your prayer than to end them. Then, afterwards, you can return to them again in your deepest center. Retreat to places of solitude where not only your soul, but also your body, can relax with God. When you experience the presence of the Lord, do not disclose this hidden manna, lest others become ware of the Bridegroom's touch. Direct your attention and affection with your whole being to the one thing you are asking of the Lord, so that you are not so much praying as becoming yourself a prayer. Do not neglect any visitation of the Spirit. Even when some business is pressing or you are on a journey, take time to respond to the touches of grace; taste the sweet manna in frequent snatches. When you go on a journey, always stop to pray, remembering the story of Francis returning from Rome int he rain and how he dismounted his horse and stood for a long time in the drenching rain. For he used to say, 'If the body tranquilly takes its food together, which together with the body will become the food of worms, how peacefully and tranquilly should not the soul take its food, which is God himself.'
"Keep this story before you: One Lent Francis made a small vase, using only his spare time, so that he would not be completely absorbed with it. Then one day, while he was praying, he turned to look at the vase, and felt that his interior self had been distracted from its fervor. And, sad that his heart's voice had been interrupted in its speaking to the ears of God, he said in front of the brothers: "Alas, what a worthless work that has such power over me that it can twist my mind to itself! I will sacrifice it to the Lord, whose sacrifice it has impeded. When he had said these words, he took the little vase and tossed it into the fire."
~Megs~
PS this is in no way intended to be copywrite infringement. Just my wanting to share awesome words of wisdom.
True
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