Words of Wisdom - Francis of Assisi

The personality of Francis of Assisi has fascinated many Christian believers all around the world. Although he's Catholic, the founder of the Franciscan order, lots of Protestants see him as a true example of Christianity, because he chose to follow closely in the footsteps of Christ. He is known to have given up a life of luxuries and pleasures to discover the true faith in God. He sold his riches and his clothes, gave the money to the poor and miserable, and decided to live in nature, which he considered his very own sister, as both man and nature are the creation of the Lord.

He used to speak to animals and plants, telling them about the love of God and urging them to give thanks to God for everything that he does for every single creature on the face of the earth. He didn't refrain even from calling worms his very own brothers, as inspired by a passage from the Bible, from Isaiah, "I am but a worm, not man". This passage actually made allusion to Jesus Christ and his sufferings endured to save the mankind from the curse of sin. He lived in the woods and could see the beauty and perfection of our Lord in every small creature or pretty little flower. He was a protector of animals and nature in general, since he saw them all as his brothers and sisters in Christ.

He took the time to understand the world as God intended it to be. And, alone with God and its creatures, discovered he actually could learn a lot from every little being left on earth. He was longing for the purity of heart that Christ was ready to give him, and to practice Jesus' principles of unconditional love and true faith. He expressed his ideas and revelations in remarkable and touching words of great wisdom and introspection. He saw in pure love, forgiveness and acceptance of all the true face of God. As many still quote Francis of Assisi up to this day, it seems that his spiritual inheritance still takes action in people's minds, helping them to get a better, simpler and more genuine image of Christianity. Here are a few of his thoughts on several issues like human relationships, our relationship with God, and so on:

"Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love."

"It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look."

"No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves."

"Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance."

"If God can work through me, he can work through anyone."

"True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice."

"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love."

There are more and more problems these days related to pollution and the destruction of the environment. Nature really is in danger, and while most of us destroy it every day, more or less knowingly, others try to save it. This latter category of people are called ecologists, and they strive to arouse human attention towards the splendor of our planet, and why it is worth saving and protecting. Yet, it is rather hard to change people's mentality, despite the obvious dangers of the global warming and of the horrifying plastic continent, for instance. The major problem would be that most people do not realize that nature in all its grandeur and beauty has been created by a higher power, and therefore deserves all our respect, affection and protection. Francis of Assisi is one example of a human being who tried to see all things around him with the eyes of Christ, of Almighty God, and to treat them with humility, brotherly love and acceptance. Since God loved the world, he saw it as his Christian duty to love it also in all its entirety and complexity, including all the amazing creatures and plants we can find in nature.

I will end quoting him again: "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."