I would be remiss if I neglected to mention St. Francis of Assisi on his feast day-especially as my daughter has taken St. Francis' spirituality as her own (here). Personally, I was never much a fan of St. Francis-maybe because his image has been so often co-opted by leftists. But having recently read the biography of St. Francis by Chesterton and having read Augustine's Confessions (you may wonder at the connection-maybe later I will expound...), I think I am beginning to appreciate St. Francis all the more. He was not some nature-loving powder puff. His rule was so strict that the Vatican was very slow to approve it. (Few Franciscan monasteries and convents practice the strict rule of St. Francis' today!) St. Francis was a man who certainly loved all the good things in life and one day responded to the grace to seek out the Author of those things - and to give everything in praise and homage to this Author, the King of creation.
When my daughter was discerning her vocation and seeking out orders-she told me that the first thing she looked for were signs of the evangelic vow of poverty. Poverty is something most of us are afraid of. Most of us are used to certain levels of comfort and especially security, which we are afraid to give up. Living poverty by choice is an exercise in trust in God (or better put - a leap of faith).
St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!
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