.
Why Him?
.
Why him
why him
why him?
.
Because it seems God chose
one so foolish and so poor
.
To show that only
openness to God
is enough.
This poem was inspired by one of the stories about St. Francis of Assisi, a man open to nature, open to others, especially the disadvantaged and diseased, open to God.
The poem “Canticle of the Sun” was written by St. Francis of Assisi – and maybe this is one of the reasons I am so inspired by him – he was a poet!
“…Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.”
“Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon
and the stars, in heaven you formed them
clear and precious and beautiful…”
Francis was open to nature – in a big way.
I grew up in south London, and even there I connected with brief glimpses of nature’s beauty – a kestrel hovering over a reservoir, or a stunning sunset in the skies over the less inspiring suburban sights of the London Borough of Wandsworth.
When I moved into the countryside for my first full-time job, it felt like both finding a new home, but also coming home, to a kind of spiritual feeling at home, connected, more strongly now, with nature.
Walking the Hills
.
The wild birds inhabit these hills
and I, a walker,
glancing down the valley
dazzled by gleaming lights
flung across the fields like necklaces
.
I feel connected with the wind
the grass under my feet
God’s sky above my head.
.
The spirituality of St. Francis, and his Franciscan brothers, was an outdoor spirituality, deeply connected with the natural world. It included praying in the woods – as above – as well as the better-known preaching to birds and talking to wolves.
It was also a felt and lived spirituality, not a dry, theoretical, abstract belief system.
In the Wood
.
To one praying in the wood
The word of God came
.
Louder than the human voice
The other saw deeper into Christ
.
Through his tears
Than forests of theologians.
.
But the poem with which I began this post – “Why him?” – draws me back to his openness to God, openness to changing his life, and openness to others, including those who were shunned by others.
There is a story about how Francis could not bear the sight of those suffering from leprosy. But through his openness, “that which was bitter became sweet”. His whole attitude of mind and heart changed.
Bitter Sweet
.
When the sweet
becomes bitter,
.
The bitter,
sweet,
.
Then you are
on the way,
.
Transformed
from darkness to light.
.
Openness is also about the practice of contemplation, and being open to change through grace.
Like a Droplet
.
Your nature is absorbed
like a droplet of water
into the mighty ocean
of divinity.
Eternity
Raised to the infinite grace
of life and love
.
I plunged into eternity
conscious of nothing created
.
Absorbed in the infinity
of godliness
.
That ocean of light
where nothing is seen
.
But God
In all things.
.
Openness is also about being open to others – through listening, through imaginative awareness and through compassion.
The Welcome
.
We must welcome
the guest
.
Who enters our lives
however briefly
.
Seeking
what we do not know
.
And minister
in unknown ways,
.
Meet many
an angel.
If you have read through to the end of this post, I hope you have learned something about St. Francis of Assisi, and what he means to me.
Flowering Poverello 