Canticle of the Creatures: The Goodness of God and Creation

The Life of St. Francis by Thomas of Celano, The First Book, Chapter 29: Even for worms he had a warm love, since he had read this text about the Savior:  “I am a worm and not a man.”  That is why he used to pick them up from the road and put them inContinue reading “Canticle of the Creatures: The Goodness of God and Creation”

Canticle of the Creatures: The Influence of Scripture, Tradition and Prayer

Psalm 148 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, and he established themContinue reading “Canticle of the Creatures: The Influence of Scripture, Tradition and Prayer”

Canticle of the Creatures: The Attributes

Genesis 1:29 Then God said. “I give you every seedbearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” In the last reflection, we looked at the structure of the Canticle of the Creatures in terms of the flow ofContinue reading “Canticle of the Creatures: The Attributes”

Leisure as Opposition to the World

The relationship between Poverty, Penance, and the “world” is a common theme in most of the reflections I write.  Whenever I need to define either Poverty or Penance, I invariably do so in reference to the word “world.”  I like to suggest that in the Franciscan charism the core practice of both Poverty and PenanceContinue reading “Leisure as Opposition to the World”

The Tension Between Work and Leisure

In the first reflection, I asserted that the ancients and the Greeks had a different definition of the word “leisure” than the one we use today.  I also asserted that the definition advanced by the Greeks would have been identical to the one understood by Francis. It sometimes shocks me how the Franciscan sources neverContinue reading “The Tension Between Work and Leisure”