Trying to develop the 'Flaming Love' within so as to not feel the 'Cold from Without'!

Followers of Francis have learned that they should reverence and cherish Poverty.  However, there is real trepidation in our hearts when we talk about what that means - what real poverty is. The spiritual idea behind it - that we must be empty of self to be filled with God and His blessings - is understandable and seems desirable.  However, when Francis spoke of Poverty he wasn't only referring to this 'spiritual' ideal.  Francis meant literal physical/material poverty.  He saw it as the only real way to experience the spiritual Poverty the saints (and Christ) spoke of.  

Poverty is suffering need and not being able to do much about it.  Living in poverty means always being in need. Poverty has little to do with what we like or want - our choice to fore go the comforts and pleasures of the world that we have ready access to.  It has everything to do with real need and, specifically, what we need to survive and function in the world. This is the poverty that our father Francis lived, suffered and . . .  celebrated.

In Jesus' travels he was one day accosted by a man who said, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go!"  Jesus stopped, and looked deep into his eyes.  He knew what this man was thinking - 'You are the King of Israel!  Ultimately You will end up in holy Jerusalem, for it is there that You will assume Your throne.  You may travel around a bit between now and then, but in Jerusalem You will be surrounded by the power, riches and glory that is Your right as King.  I want to go with You, prove a good follower, so I can have a share of those things.'

This man did not understand God's plan.  Jesus didn't condemn the man but simply said, "The foxes have holes.  Even the birds of the air have nests. But, the Son of Man has no place to even lay His head!"  Jesus would never be at home in this world, never have a place He could relax.  It goes without saying that there would be no earthly power, wealth or pleasures.  This man, if he followed Jesus, could expect to be just as homeless - just as poor and destitute - as Jesus was.  Even worse, Jesus later said, 'Those who would be with Me . . . must deny themselves take up their cross and follow me'.  The cross meant absolute poverty, shame and death.  

Francis wanted to follow Jesus and would follow Him to the ends of the world even if that meant there was NO PLACE in the world for him.  He took on the poverty Jesus lived and shouldered his cross bravely - putting aside earthly temporal dreams on the journey to Calvary.  Francis became a banner for others to follow and many did, enduring the same sufferings with hope of an eternity lived in Christ's presence.

The brothers who followed Francis had, like him, . . . nothing. Their clothes were donated by others and were often so worn that they were worthless - not worth even trying to mend.  The brothers slept and worked in these clothes, the only clothes they had - a pitiful assemblage of rags.  But Francis made it clear that, even the clothes on their backs were on 'loan' until 'a poorer person comes along'.  Francis often gave parts of his clothing away (sometimes all of it) - to the naked poor.  When he told them they must be just as ready to give, they knew it wasn't just a mental exercise or 'point of discussion'. It could be very HARD to live without clothes, especially in the winter!  It is hard to pray, work - do anything - when you are shivering and your teeth are chattering!  Francis wasn't afraid of this poverty and the suffering that came with it. He encouraged his brothers to be just as fearless.

One winters day, the brothers were together and it was very cold.  They were shivering terribly, clutching their threadbare clothes to their hungry thin bodies.  The wind was blowing and brought with it a mixture of snow and rain.  The brothers, to say the least, were miserable. Suffering can bring out the worst in us leading us to complain.  The brothers knew better than to complain around Francis who 'celebrated' poverty and suffering.  He would just point out to them that they knew what they were getting into in choosing to follow him in the footsteps of Christ.  They didn't say anything but Francis could see on their faces their unhappiness and so, to bolster their resolution and help them to refocus, he gave them a strong exhortation.

Francis said through his chattering teeth, "If we were well covered within with flaming love for our home in heaven, we might easily bear the cold from without".

Francis acknowledged that the brothers were not 'well covered' with clothes.  He knew that they were suffering - he was shivering himself!  Using their physical reality as a starting point, he sought to open their eyes to the spiritual reality that they were not 'well covered' by love and faith.    Francis, aware of their desire for the warmth fire brings, mentions the 'fire of love'.  However, Francis wasn't talking about God's love for them here but THEIR love for God.  Their fervor for God, for His love, and their faith in His love for them was weak!  He knew it was hard, they were suffering, but none of this changed the fact of God's love for them or their need to try to show faithful love to Him.  Francis didn't talk about God's love because what greater proof of God's love - of His Divine provision for them - than Jesus hanging on the cross?!  The real issue here was whether the brothers truly appreciated that love and were allowing that love to transform them into Christ - making them like Him in His willingness to suffer and die for the love of God.

Francis was telling them that it was their choice - something they must WILL with God's help - to cloth themselves with these 'flames of love'. These flames would warm them, give them peace and joy - even in their sufferings. If they could only see with the eyes of faith like Francis did they would realize it was this very suffering that was the gurantee, if they believed, of the precious and priceless treasures of heaven - eternal life - in the presence of their Divine Father.

Francis knew that if they could warm themselves with the promises of Christ, they could easily endure the 'cold from without'.  St. Paul said, "For you not only shared in the sufferings . . . but accepted with joy being stripped of your belongings, knowing that you owned something that was better and lasting.  Do not lose your fearlessness now, then, since the reward is so great.  You will need perseverance if you are to do God's will and gain what He has promised".  Later he adds, "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.  For the sake of the joy which lay ahead of Him, He endured the cross, disregarding the shame of it, and has taken His seat at the right of God's throne . . ."  Finally, St. Paul said, 'That is why we do not waver; indeed, though this outer human nature of ours may be falling into decay, at the same time our inner human nature is renewed day by day.  The temporary, light burden of our hardships is earning us forever an utterly incomparable, eternal weight of glory . . .".

Actually, to warm ourselves with the 'flames of love' is impossible.  However, 'with God all things are possible'.  St. Paul explains how this work of grace is accomplished when he said, '. . . the immensity of the power is God's and not our own.  We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair; . . . we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible . . .".  He said to St. Timothy, '. . . share in my hardships . . . relying on the power of God . . . I know in whom I have put my trust and I have no doubt at all that He is able to safeguard until that Day what I have entrusted to Him".  It is God who gives us strength to persevere making it so that 'the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus' during our trials and sufferings.

Most of us - even us Franciscans - don't live as Francis' first followers did - in absolute physical/material poverty.  This makes it that much harder for us to make progress in dieing to self and learning to let God's power live and work through us.  However, all of us experience suffering.  Throughout our days there are painful, uncomfortable, humiliating things that happen which we can't do anything about.  Francis tells us to see these experiences for what they are in the spiritual realm - opportunities to grow close to God, to experience His saving grace and the power of His love to transform us.  I pray we don't let any more of these opportunities to draw near to God pass us by.  If unappreciated it is possible God will hesitate to send these blessings our way!  We should welcome these opportunities to experience poverty for . . . God is calling us to Himself, seeking to embrace us with both His power and His love.

Poverty teaches us two things: how terribly Christ suffered and how powerful the love was that compelled Him to suffer for US!

We know how much Francis loved his 'lady Poverty'.  He saw poverty as a way to become free - free from sin (which separates us from God) but also from worry about getting and holding on to 'things' which are, in effect, just  'dust in the wind'. Poverty allows one to focus on the Source of these gifts and realize God will  provide 'our daily bread'!

Francis  strongly identified with beggars even before he "left the world". Francis once went to Rome, bought the ragged clothes of a beggar and joined the throngs of beggars in the streets.  He wanted to experience the life of a beggar first hand - it's hardships and humiliations - because Jesus 'though rich, became poor for love of us'.  Francis wanted to know what Jesus felt - how hard His life was - so that he could more fully understand His love.  Later, by choice He became the Lord's beggar and begging was adopted into the Rule of life for  the friars.

St. Francis tells us: When you see a poor person, you ought to consider Him in Whose name he comes, Christ that is, who took our poverty and infirmity on Himself.  For such a person's infirmity and poverty is a kind of mirror for us, in which we ought to behold with pitying regard the infirmity and poverty which our Lord Jesus Christ bore in His person for our sake." 

Begging is the desperate act of the poor to keep body and soul together. All people want to feel in control of their lives but those who beg are admitting to everyone that they can't meet their own basic needs. Their situations requires them to depend on the kindness of others and often the 'others' are not so kind.  Rejection and humiliation are two of the occupational hazards of begging.

Beggars suffer humiliation in numerous ways.  Even if people do not verbally abuse the beggar, the tone of voice, a critical eye, can pierce to the heart.  Also there are those who draw sadistic pleasure at the beggar's plight and aren't afraid to 'rub it in', laughing at the beggar to demean them further.  Other cruel individuals will actually spit upon, yell at, push away and even beat the beggar who gets in their way.  What makes the poor mans situation even worse is that, even after exposing himself to humiliation (and abuse), he still might not get what he needs and so . . . must keep on begging, opening himself to even more rejection and humiliation!  This ordeal is made worse for those beggars who must beg while suffering the pain and weakness that comes from hunger, exposure (poor clothing and/or no shelter), illness and mental or physical disabilities.  It is not like a beggar can call out sick from his work!

Francis said we should, "consider Him in Whose name he comes, Christ".  There was a standard phrase used by beggars, "For the love of Christ, please help me . . .".  Those the beggar addresses, like the beggar himself, have all experienced the merciful kindness of God.  This experience SHOULD make our hearts tender and ready, when given the opportunity, to help others in need.  God's love for us creates an obligation to care for others and especially for those who are suffering.

Francis points out that Jesus identified with the poor (with us!) by taking "our poverty and infirmity on Himself".  Suffering is our due (the consequence for our sins) but we know Jesus never did anything wrong, never did anything deserving punishment. No matter the shape we find Him in (when encountering a poor person), it is only right to be kind and considerate since it is for us that He is suffering. Jesus made it clear that He is the poor person standing in front of us so, when noting His miserable state, we must not forget that He had all the power, glory, wisdom and wealth of the universe - but gave it all up . . . for love of us.


Francis points out that the "person's infirmity and poverty is a kind of mirror for us, in which we ought to behold with pitying regard the infirmity and poverty which our Lord Jesus Christ bore in His person for our sake".  When Francis saw the abject poverty of the poor he felt compassion for Jesus who suffered all of the miseries of the poor - hunger, thirst, nakedness, humiliation, abuse - during His life and in His passion. Jesus, reflected in the mirror of the poor man, caused Francis to deeply consider the love that compelled Him to become the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor. Seeing poverty, illness, disability, mental illness, in others hurt Francis deeply and he tried hard to alleviate pain and sorrow wherever he found it. Francis' heart was wounded by Jesus' pain as seen in the pain, sorrow and misery of the poor..  

As followers and friends of Francis we must also allow our hearts to be wounded for Christ in the poor.  We must learn to see Christ, with the eyes of faith, in the poor, feel gratitude for the love that put Him in this state and respond with the same kind of love that compelled Him to suffer for us and . . . we must try our hardest to take care of our dear Jesus, standing in front of us, with out-stretched hand.

The Poor and Sick are a Mirror through which we can See Christ and Mary suffering.

The spiritual man looks at EVERYTHING from a spiritual perspective. God made everything so all things have their origin in God - a Spirit. He made these things to accomplish His will so we must try to learn the spiritual and eternal purpose God has for all things. We must also learn our purpose so that we can fulfill the will of God in our own lives.

Jesus asks us to give all we are and all we have to Him. He said that "Unless you hate father and mother, brother and sister, wife and children and even your own life, you cannot be My disciple". What Jesus meant was that our love for God should be so great that, in comparison, our love for others should seem like hate. Jesus made it clear it was all or nothing. He said, "The first and greatest commandment is this; You must Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. The second is similar to it: you must love your neighbor as you love yourself".

Francis believed everything that Jesus said. Jesus said we had to give up everything so Francis turned his back on all things. He chose the Love of God above the love of family and friends. Francis was a spiritual man - a man who made the spiritual life his priority. He learned to see EVERYTHING in light of God's purpose.

Francis said: "When you see a poor man, brother, a mirror of the Lord and His poor Mother is held up to you! In like manner consider in the sick the infirmities He took upon Himself."

A mirror reflects back whatever is in front of it, and for Francis, 'a poor man (is) a mirror of the Lord and His poor Mother'. This spiritual 'mirror' reflects back the image of Jesus and His dear mother Mary in poverty. Though we aren't literally looking at Jesus and Mary, Francis encourages us to see them, spiritually, in the poor. Francis saw them in the poor and so loved the poor intensely. Being around the poor made him feel close to Jesus and Mary.

Most of us have little idea of what it is like to be poor. Poor people live with hunger. Their only clothes are the ones on their backs, often worn out and falling apart. No one wants a poor person as a friend so, when trouble comes, who can they turn to for help?! They are ignored, despised and rejected because they have nothing to offer. Loving Jesus and Mary means we understand them enough to feel their needs - the needs of those who are poor. Showing we love them first requires being able to look into this mirror of poverty and feel their pain.

A mirror can also reflect back the image of the person standing in front of it. When we stand in front of the mirror of poverty do we (with spiritual eyes) see the person who stands there - ourselves in spiritual poverty? Actual material poverty is a mirror of spiritual poverty - our desperate need for God. This reflection will compel us to cry out to Him for help. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit. Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven!" The poor in spirit are blessed because their poverty brings upon them the blessings of our heavenly Father.

Those who don't spend significant time in front of this 'mirror' are doomed to think that all is well with their soul. They will continue to rely on their own righteousness (wisdom, power and goodness) which the prophet Isaiah described as being 'like filthy rags' (menstrual rags) - so filthy that it disgusts God. God is ready to meet our need - clothing us in His righteousness - if we would only acknowledge our need and turn to Him.

Francis goes on to encourage us to "consider in the sick the infirmities He took upon Himself". He tells us that those who are ill, diseased or disabled are also mirrors of Jesus for us. The prophet Isaiah said "He Himself bore our sickness and infirmities and it is through the lashes inflicted upon Him that we are healed". St. Paul put it like this, "Feel the need of the sick for you also are in a body". Thus, Francis loved to be around sick, disabled and suffering people because it reminded him of Jesus who, for love of us, suffered these things.

Francis exhorts us to take advantage of the opportunity the sight of those who suffer need provide us to draw close to our suffering Savior. Jesus once said, "You will not always have Me" and "You will long for one day with Me . . .". Through the poor and sick we have Him and can be with Him. Also, ministering to the needs of the poor provides a way to show Jesus our love for Him. Jesus said, "When you did this to the least of these my brothers, you did it for Me".

The Sign of Christ's Nobility . . . is the Poverty Evident in the Poor and Needy.

After the fall in the Garden, God explained the consequences to Adam and Eve for believing the lies of the devil (rather than trusting God). He then turned to the devil and promised him that '. . . He shall crush thy head and thou shalt bruise His heel". This message indicated that God had a plan for our salvation - that a man would one day conquer evil and save mankind from death. It was Jesus' heel that would be bruised (through crucifixion) even as He crushed satan's head (authority/power).

God described to the prophet Isaiah who the Messiah would be and what He would be like, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and He shall rule . . .". He says in another place, "The government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace'. The prophet Daniel spoke about the glorious and powerful Messiah to come saying, 'Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed'. Also, foretelling His coming to earth with power to judge and destroy, " . . He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked'. The Christ was to be a mighty King who would not only conquer and rule the world - with just a word! - but would do so after crushing all those who opposed Him.

This is the Christ the Jews were expecting and looking for at the time of Jesus' birth. One who would not only rule over Israel, but free it from the domination of Rome, subjugate all other nations and rule over the whole earth. However Jesus, our Savior, was not the Christ the Jews wanted. Jesus came as a poor weak insignificant peasant and, as a result, was rejected by His people.

This rejection was a disappointment but not a surprise to Jesus. The prophet Isaiah, speaking about how Israel would respond to Jesus, said " . . He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised and we esteemed Him not; we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted'.

The prophet Zechariah spoke of Jesus, the suffering Messiah, as King but not as a conquering or majestic one - ' . . . behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass'. Jesus, the King of Israel, on entering Jerusalem, was 'lowly' (humble, gentle, meek), a peasant riding a donkey, surrounded by powerless poor people. He came without any show of power, wealth or political influence. This Messiah, to those expecting a triumphant and glorious Christ . . . was a joke!

Jesus came to conquer and destroy sin, first, and this also was foretold by the prophets. Isaiah said, "Surely He hath borne our griefs . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement that brings us peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed . . . the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all . . . for the transgression of My people was He stricken . . . His soul an offering for sin . . . He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities". Daniel also, foretelling Jesus' life and death, said then " . . . shall the Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself". 'Cut off' means to have one's life cut short - to be killed.

Jesus' sufferings and death crushed the devil, death and sin and secured for us eternal life. The writer of Hebrews said 'We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He, by the grace of God should taste death for every man . . . that through death He might destroy Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them . . .".

We know (because of the demands of justice) that if Jesus had come as the conquering Messiah (as the Jews hoped He would) rather than the suffering One first, He would have had no choice but to destroy all of humanity. After all humanity was condemned to death, the consequence of our sins - death was all we deserved. Jesus took the sin away, paying the penalty in His own sufferings. It was only after the Messiah suffered and died to save us that He would later appear as the conquering Messiah to reward the faithful and condemn the wicked (those who refused to welcome God's mercy, purchased by Jesus' death). This is the Messiah we (and the Jews) are still waiting for who will come 'on the clouds of heaven, bringing justice . . .' .

Thus we see that Jesus, though He was the One and only Messiah, came in a way that was different than expected - but for good reason. This lowly, sorrowful, broken man released the great mercy of God in a way that saved everyone but was seemingly hidden under rags. It was hidden because the work was spiritual in nature and the fleshy eyes of man are blind to spiritual things. Thus we know, by faith, we are saved but we don't see, with our eyes, those eternal and glorious bodies or the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is this noble (but humble and hidden), nature of Christ that Francis was talking about when he said: 'Whoever says anything evil to a poor man, insults Christ by it, for the poor man bears the mark of Christ’s nobility, who made Himself poor for us in this world.'

Francis says a 'poor man bears the mark of Christ's nobility'. What is that mark? It is poverty, for Jesus 'made Himself poor for us'. We respect the poor man because Christ chose to be poor in this world - became poor for us. Christ chose to elevate what most consider to be miserable and ugly - that which is poor - into the realm of the profoundly powerful and beautiful. Thus, when we see a poor person we should try (with the eyes of faith) to see the mark of Christ's nobility. That sign, poverty, should point us to Christ.

Jesus said we would be judged on whether we would see Him and respond to Him in the poor. He talked about the last judgment when He would gather all people together, separating the good from the evil. He addressed the 'good' and said, "When I was hungry, you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you made Me welcome; naked and you clothed Me, sick and you visited Me, in prison and you came to see Me". The righteous reply to His assertions, "When did we do these things for You Lord?" He replied, ". . . in so far as you did this to the least (the poorest/most needy) of these brothers of mine, you did it to Me".

The 'mark of Jesus' nobility' was clear in all of these people that Jesus said the faithful served so lovingly. Those 'marks' included hunger, thirst, nakedness, being a stranger, those who are deathly ill and those convicted and sentenced to prison (criminals).

Jesus, the King, chose to be poor in this world and even now, from heaven, identifies with the poor. Those who curse at, humiliate, despise and ignore the poor, forsaken and forgotten people are ignoring, forsaking, cursing at and despising Christ. Jesus made this absolutely clear - what you do to the poorest/neediest, YOU HAVE DONE TO HIM.

We call ourselves friends and servants of Christ. Jesus said, 'Where I Am, there will My servant be'. Where is Jesus? He was always amongst the poor and still abides in their midst. Where are you?!?! Does Jesus wonder about you as He seeks to help the poor, saying, "He calls himself My servant and friend, swears he wants to always be with Me but . . . where is he?"

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You forsook the wealth, glory and power of heaven, to come to help us poor miserable sinners. You chose to take on the appearance of the most insignificant, most despised and rejected of humanity - to save us from ourselves, our sinful heart and ways. Now, after winning us salvation, You direct our eyes to You in the poor and needy and tell us "As I have done to you, so you must do for each other". Help us to see You in everyone we meet but especially the poor. Help us to love and serve You in everyone we meet, following Your example of love. Help us to despise the wealth, beauty, power and glory of this world and work for, fight for, the true wealth and power kept safe in heaven, goodness and love. We place our hearts and lives in Your hands. Be exalted forever, in us and through us. Amen.

Poverty: Building a strong spiritual foundation with God and getting the spiritual power that leads to victory over the flesh, the world and the devil

We all know that Francis was a strong man of faith but many of us don't realize that he was also just a very strong man. He was NOT afraid to confront a hypocrite ('brother fly') but to tell him off and send him packing back to the 'world', something a 'wimp' wouldn't do! Francis wasn't a wimp when it came to the spiritual life either. He overcame his fleshy nature - one of the hardest things a person can do!

Francis has an undeserved reputation for being something of a 'wimp'. He is described as being gentle, tender, long-suffering and is portrayed as being slender, small and not very muscular. What most makes him seem wimpy to people was his use of 'cutesy' words 'little', as in 'your little brother Francis'. Francis was also known to just 'take it' - to endure abuse, both physical and verbal, from anyone, anytime, without defending himself. Some people 'in the world' interpret all of this as indicating weakness. How very wrong they are!

Francis was an extremely strong man and showed how fierce if it was called for. He was unyielding before the leaders of the Church (as well as secular authorities) in regards to what he felt God had told him (and them!) to do - e.g. the vow of poverty being included in the Rule.

The myth of his wimpiness is proven false by how he handled persecution. He faced bands of warriors, vicious robbers and threatening sultans - without any means of defense - fearlessly. (He actually offered to endure the 'trial by fire' to prove his faith in Jesus to the sultan!) He suffered without complaining, accepting the trials with joy. What is stronger than that?!

A man approached Francis after hearing him preach the Gospel in the town square. He was inspired by the grace-filled words of Christ flowing from Francis' and the fervor and joy showing on Francis' face, ringing in his voice. He was so inspired that he decided to 'forsake the world' and follow Francis in the footsteps of Christ. Francis welcomed him and told him what he must do.

St. Francis said, "If you want to join the poor of God, first distribute your goods to the poor."

However, the man ended up giving his property to his family! Francis ended up rebuking and dismissing the man! "Go your way, brother fly, because you have not yet gone forth from your house and your kindred. You gave your goods to your relatives, defrauding the poor, and so you are not worthy of a place with the holy poor. Beginning in the flesh you have laid a ruinous foundation for a spiritual structure!"

Remember what Jesus said to the rich young ruler who approached Him. "If you would be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor. Then come, follow me." In that story the rich young man's face fell with disappointment at Jesus' words. He ended up turning his back on Christ rather than giving up his wealth. The man who promised to follow Francis readily agreed to 'give up everything' but he also turned from Christ (who was speaking through Francis) by failing to follow through on his promises.

Francis doesn't mince words with this man. He calls him 'brother fly' - a term he used for those who had no appreciation or understanding of the spiritual life. 'Brother fly' was lazy, selfish, sensual and unprincipled. He lacked integrity, spiritual self-discipline and failed to meet his obligations to God and man. We dislike flies because they love to feast on excrement and corpses. They irritate us when they buzz around our faces, causing distraction and frustration. They even try to get into our mouths! When they land on anything they throw up digestive juices and sometimes even bite us, drawing blood, spreading diseases! Pretty disgusting!

Jesus tells us that we must forsake the world, our family and friends, and even our own lives, if we wish to follow Him. He adds that we must abandon worldly ambitions and be willing to neglect our own needs, comfort and safety to do God's will. Jesus said, "Those who seek to save their lives shall lose them but those who willingly lose their lives, for My sake, shall save them."

Francis rebuked 'brother fly' for 'not going forth from . . . house or . . . kindred' - not leaving 'the world' as he had promised. He said that because the man gave his property to his family he had 'defrauded the poor'. Francis calls the man, in effect, a thief! When the man agreed to give his property to the poor, it became the poor's property in God's eyes. this man actually turned his holy and sincere promise . . . into a lie.

There are the 'poor' - the masses of humanity who have nothing in this world. Then there are the 'holy poor' who are willingly and willfully poor, choosing and/or accepting Holy Poverty in faith for the love of God. How had this man proven that he was 'unworthy of a place amongst the holy poor'? He had proven he had little appreciation for what was spiritual or holy - specifically the Holy Poverty cherished by the brothers.

Francis explained the man was beginning his spiritual life in the 'flesh'. Recall that the flesh is the sensual, selfish and rebellious part of our heart - our sinful nature. It is an ally of the 'world' - in that the world is the societal manifestation of everyone's sinful nature. The world seeks to misuse, to the extreme, the good things of God without any acceptance of responsibility, no sense of justice, and no concern about the ultimate price to be paid for it's actions.

St. James said, "Don't you know that friendship with the world makes you the enemy of God!? Whoever, therefore wants to be a friend of the world is God's enemy." St. Peter said, "Dearly beloved, I beg you as strangers and pilgrims in this world to keep fleshy lusts at a distance since they war against your souls." St. Paul said, " . . . hurtful lusts drown men in destruction" And "The carnal mind is ever at war with God." That which is fleshy (carnal) is the enemy of that which is spiritual in the same way that the world is the enemy of God. Jesus said, "Either you are with Me or against Me." There is no neutral ground in this spiritual war and each of us must make a choice.

This man showed that he was neither ready to forsake 'the world' nor his fleshy way of life. Our sinful nature, driven by selfish lust, destroys all that is holy and good within us. This 'brother fly' proved that his sinful nature ruled his life by causing him to choose the world and reject God - choosing death rather than life in God.

Also, in giving his property to his family, he was preserving his place in the world - looking back just like Lot's wife did. Jesus said, "Any man who puts his hand to the plow but looks back is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven." We must fulfill the words of the Christian hymn, "The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back. No turning back."

Francis said that this man's spiritual foundation was 'ruinous'. He meant that this man's worldly and fleshy values made for a terrible spiritual foundation. A foundation provides support and protection for the edifice built upon it. Therefore, if a foundation is faulty, the structure built on it will start to fall apart and, eventually, the whole structure will fall in upon itself. A house's collapse will ultimately fail to achieve it's purpose - providing a safe shelter to live in. However, in addition, it will also destroy the families treasures stored within it and may even cause the injury and death of it's occupants.

Jesus spoke bluntly about the kind of man who 'builds' this kind of spiritual foundation when He said, "But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell: and what a fall it had!" Francis had the same perspective as Jesus when it came to 'flies' - they were just plain STUPID when it came to the spiritual life. Followers of Jesus, friends of Francis, are not spiritual flies but the very children of God - holy, faithful and persistant on the path of righteousness.

PRAYER: Jesus, help us to build a strong foundation for our lives - one based on the sure promises of Your love. Help us to realize that the flesh and the world are evil - promising us peace, joy and love but bringing only pain, sorrow and death. Help us to faithfully fulfill all we have promised You. Make us strong against the 'flies' - our fleshiness and love for the world - just like You strengthened Francis. We know that by clinging to Holy Poverty we can overcome ourselves and be free in Your peace and joy. You offer us the crown of life - victory over death - and eternal joy, both temporally and eternally. We believe and that is why we, like Francis, choose to turn our back on the world and follow You to the end. Be exalted forever! Amen.

Poverty: Ascetic practices give you power to overcome evil with good, hate with love.

Francis tells us that having things can cause arguments, lawsuits and maybe even violence in our relations with others! Jesus taught us to focus on what is most important in life and to avoid these kind of interactions.

Francis said, "If we owned anything, we should have to have weapons to protect ourselves. That is what gives rise to contentions and lawsuits, and so often causes the love of God and neighbor to be interfered with. For ourselves, we are resolved to possess nothing temporal in the world."

Francis knew that owning a desirable 'thing' may result in someone wanting it for themselves and trying to take it from us. You could end up fighting that person! Francis wanted to maintain his focus on what was most important in life: loving God and others. Fighting to retain something that will eventually turn to dust was not only a waste of time but could result in one losing the true treasure - one's relationship with God!

Francis argued that keeping 'our' things from others, even if it did not lead to violence, often resulted in arguments and lawsuits - bad things in themselves! Christians (and Franciscans) try hard to avoid these things. St. Paul said, "You must aim to be . . . filled with . . . love, patient and gentle." And, " . . . a servant of the Lord is not to engage in quarrels, but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient. He has to be gentle . . ." And, ". . . not to go . . . picking quarrels, but to be courteous and always polite to all kinds of people." We are called to be patient, gentle, and kind to everyone but especially toward those who want to argue, sue or fight with us!

Jesus tells us we must be different from those who don't follow Him in how we think and act. That is why Francis described himself as being a 'stranger in a strange land'. He was 'strange' in that he didn't look at things the way the worldly man does. He chose to seek God rather than the things of this world. He and his brothers rejected the use of money and so treated it like 'so much dust to be walked on'. Jesus had said, "You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money." That is why Francis rejected the 'world', it's ways and it's 'things' - especially money.

One of the clearest signs that Francis and his brothers were 'strangers' was how they cherished Poverty - something the world could not understand! The 'world' values money, force (physical power, popularity, positions of influence), material things (that are worth a lot of money) and sensual pleasures. Francis cherished Poverty as an antidote against the world valuing things that produce selfishness, greed, sensuality, pride, arrogance and abuse of power in people - things that are dark, ugly, evil.

Francis and his followers wanted to be like Jesus which is why they chose to avoid power and high position. He called the brothers 'minor' - little, small, unimportant because he wanted them to see themsselves as the lowest of all people.

The brothers combated the world's love for power and use of force by following Jesus' example of being gentle and passive in dealing with persecutors. Like Him they acted like 'lambs being led to the slaughter'. They were happy when they were persecuted and refused to claim their legal rights against anyone who attacked, abused or stole from them.

All God's children should not only have God's peace in their hearts but also try to bring His peace into the world as peace makers. St. Paul said, "Have peace inwardly so that you can show peace outwardly." Jesus said, "Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called the children of God." True peace makers must bring peace first to those who want and try to hurt them. St. Paul said, "As much as lies within your power, be at peace with all men."

Though most people agree that the idea of peace is wonderful that doesn't mean they 'believe' in it or try to promote it, especially if it requires them to give up their possessions. Many people in the world have lost hope and can't imagine a world without violence, fighting and war. Jesus' followers overflow with hope and know what peace is and believe that, one day, it will reign in the universe. Worldly people believe in power, that 'might makes right', and aren't afraid to use it to get what they want - even when it hurts the innocent and powerless.

Jesus taught us how we should respond to the 'fleshy man' who wants to hurt and steal from us. He said we must "turn the other cheek". He taught us to respond generously to the man in the world - no matter how mean and selfish he might be. Jesus said, "Do good to those who do evil to you . . . bless those who curse you . . . give to those who ask of you and loan to them, hoping they will not return those things to you!" He tells us to not act like our persecutors but to act like God, our "Father in heaven who is good to the wicked and the righteous and generous to the evil as He is to the good." We must suffer faithfully and endure with patience if we want to earn our heavenly reward.

How does a person learn to act like Jesus - to become strong in doing what is right even when others are doing us wrong? A good way to start is to practice asceticism each day. The goal of these practices is to learn to control and discipline one's unruly sensual nature which is ever ready to strike out at those who hurt us. These practices consist of fasting and giving alms, the 'discipline' (whipping oneself with a cord), vigils, ('keeping watch' - not sleeping at night but praying) and doing other devotions. By killing 'the flesh' we break the power of sensuality over our lives, forsake the 'worldly way' of doing things and learn to act like God, selfless and focused on loving others no matter the cost.

With the power of God's love we are able to fight, like Jesus did, with humility and gentleness instead of fists, loud voices and lawsuits. We are able to overcome the evil in ourselves, in the world and in the one attacking us.

Jesus tells us that an ascetic perspective is necessary to live a healthy spiritual life and overcome the world and it's ways. He made it clear that those who do violence to themselves "take the kingdom of heaven by force," St. James said, "We must do violence to our bodies so as to enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus also said, "If your eye . . . hand . . . foot causes you to sin then cut it off. It is better to enter heaven without them . . . than to have both . . . and go to hell!"

Poverty contains within it many of the spiritual prizes sought in asceticism: accepting responsibility for one's actions, self-discipline, the 'killing' of sensuality (selfishness and greed are, by definition, sinful) and eliminating from our hearts that which is dark, ugly and evil. Children of God become self-less by learning to submit to God's will. They become pure, good, powerful in love and able to respond with this goodness when others attack them. St. Paul said, "We conquer evil with good, hate with love."

Some of us have taken vows of Holy Poverty. We know that the state of Spiritual Poverty is not achieved by mere words no matter how sincere and fervent they are! Holy Poverty can only be achieved by constant effort. Jesus said, 'take up your cross DAILY and follow Me.' Francis knew this would be a daily struggle, and so that is why he said, 'WE ARE RESOLVED to have nothing temporal in this world.' Franciscans constantly remind themselves of their promise to cherish Holy Poverty, stay detached from the things of this world and cling totally, desperately, to God.

Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried about so many things! Yet, only a few are necessary, indeed only one . . . " Through detachment from 'things, Francis and his followers showed they wanted to 'worry' about that ONE thing - LOVE.

PRAYER: Jesus, You taught Francis and his brothers the wisdom of forsaking the things of this world. You told them that only one thing was necessary and that 'thing' was love. Help us to be spiritual people, 'strangers in a strange land'. and focus our efforts on reaching our heavenly homeland. We know this achieved by denying ourselves and following You in doing good. Help us to live up to our name as peace makers and share this 'peace that surpasses our ability to understand' with everyone enslaved to fear and desire for the things of this temporal world. How wonderful it would be if everyone knew and walked with You in freedom and joy! Help us to walk with spiritual power in this world of dust and ashes and overcome evil with good and hate with love. Our hope is in You, our Savior. Amen.

Poverty provides the armor of humility and charity so that we can walk with God and love as He does.

We must learn to 'tread' upon all of the things of this world so that, unencumbered, we can know and walk with our loving God. He freely provides all we need to live life abundantly - His peace and joy! Humility allows one to be with God and Charity flows freely from a heart uncluttered with worldly desires.

Francis and his friars went to Rome on several occasions and they could not help but be impressed by what they saw. Rome was one of the great cities of the world with great buildings and monuments. Since it was the residence of the Pope of the Holy Catholic Church it was also a place where many important people gathered, not just from the church but from around the secular world including Kings, Princes, Lords and various ambassadors.

Most of the brothers who accompanied Francis were poor and simple men. They had, before this, probably never left Assisi or the surrounding countryside. Uneducated, men of the earth used to working with their hands, accustomed to the quiet of the countryside - would have thought the small hill-top city of Assisi was a bustling metropolis. Therefore, they would have been amazed at what they saw in Rome - the power, glory and riches of the great city would have surpassed anything they could have imagined.

Francis would have also been impressed by all there was to see. However, he had the eyes of a spiritual man in his head. "That which is highly valued by men is despised by God," said Jesus. Francis knew that the glory, power and riches of this world wouldn't and couldn't last.

Jesus' disciples had once pointed out to Him the architectural glories of Jerusalem. His response, "You see all these fine buildings!? Everything you see will be thrown down!" Jesus made it clear that what our hearts should be set on was not 'earthly'. He advised us to "Seek the riches of the kingdom of heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves cannot break in to steal. For where your treasure is that is where your heart will be as well!" The great eternal treasure that Francis sought was in the kingdom of heaven.

Let us go to St. Peter and St. Paul, and ask them to teach us and help us get possession of the measureless treasure of holy poverty; for it is a treasure so exceedingly valuable that we are unfit to hold it in the base vessels we are. It is that heavenly virtue by which all earthly transitory things are trodden under foot and every hindrance is removed from the soul, so that it can commune freely with the eternal God. It helps the soul while still on earth to converse with the angels in heaven, it was the companion of Christ on the cross, it was buried with Christ, it rose again with Christ and with Christ it ascended into heaven. It is the virtue too which renders the flight to heaven easy for those who love it. It protects us with the armor of true humility and charity.

No sightseeing for Francis! On arriving Francis wanted to do only one thing: pray! He wanted to go to St. Peters to the tombs of the two great princes of the Church, St. Peter and St. Paul, and beg them to help the brothers learn how to find and keep Holy Poverty. He wanted to beg them to ask the Lord Jesus to give them this great spiritual tool that would enable them to focus whole-heartedly on spiritual things and empower them to spurn the world and move forward with God.

Francis describes Poverty as being a 'measureless treasure'. How can 'not having any thing' be a measureless treasure? Well, of course Francis was talking about something 'spiritual'. St. Paul said 'that which we can see is temporal and quickly passes away. While that which we cannot see is spiritual and eternal. It's value and glory never fade away!" Jesus had said, "Why do you seek things that rust will corrode and moth consume and that thieves can steal from you? Through giving of alms store up for yourself the true treasures in heaven . . ."

You might argue that no matter how 'spiritual' the treasures are they can't pay the bills or fill the belly that is hungry! What good are spiritual treasures when 'money is what makes the world go round!' as we often here from the 'world'. St. Paul said, "That which is spiritual has the promise of blessings in this life but also of the eternal life that is to come." The 'Pearl of great price' and the 'treasure hidden in the field' are none other than Christ Jesus Himself - He who is greater than anyone and anything! Remember that Jesus, the Lord of all things, also owns all there is - temporally and eternally. Therefore, if you have Christ you also have everything else as well - everything You need and could ever desire!

What makes "Poverty" such an extremely valuable treasure? Francis says it is the 'virtue by which all earthly transitory things are trodden under foot and every hindrance is removed from the soul, so that it can commune freely with the eternal God.' Francis explained that Poverty is that knowledge and power that enables one to crush the love and desire for all material temporal things under foot. He didn't mean to literally 'step on' things (though he did tell us to step on and over money that was found on the ground!) but that our attraction and love for things would be so crushed that these things would not get in our way in finding and walking with Christ. Since Jesus is the greatest of all treasures the only thing Francis feared were those things that could get in the way of having Him. We all know that no thing should ever be allowed to stop us from being with God.

Remember what Jesus said about how rich people, by virtue of being rich, were in a dire situation? "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" He also said, "Unless a man gives up everything to follow Me, he cannot have any part in Me!" Remember the parable of the Sower and the seeds and how the word of God (the seed) had 'bore no fruit' in that person's life who was "filled with the lust for things, distractions over other things and the worries and cares of this life." It is the things of this world and our love for them that make us barren spiritually. Those who have embraced spiritual Poverty are free to grow in holiness and produce the fruits of righteouness.

Francis argues that one proof of poverty's great value is the fact that Christ cherished it. When Christ was crucified everything He had was taken from Him, specifically the clothes on His back. Right before being crucified, He was stripped of them by the Roman executioners and made to hang on the cross, naked. Poverty was buried with Christ in that God provided providentially both the shroud and the tomb. Finally, Poverty arose and ascended into heaven with Him in that He did not rely upon 'anything' to rise and ascended with 'no thing'. Poverty enabled Jesus to fly right up to heaven without hindrance. Francis assures us that, if we love poverty like Jesus did, we shall also experience this free 'flight to heaven.'

He goes on to state that poverty is a great source of protection in our spiritual lives. He says it provides 'the armor of true humility and charity'.

This world tells us that 'the one with the most stuff wins!' We all know that if one does not have 'any thing' in this world then one is considered unimportant. Poverty protects us by helping us to lay a true foundation in holy humility. If you have nothing then You are utterly dependent on God for everything. It is a GOOD thing to realize that, no matter what a person has, EVERYONE is dependent on God for everything. Poverty drives home that point most clearly and powerfully! The rich THINK THEY ARE SELF-SUFFICIENT and don't need God. They are terribly decieved but may discover this only when it is too late!

How does Poverty protect us with charity? If you realize that all things are gifts from God, then you realize it is more important to focus on the Giver rather than on the gift. Also His generosity inspires us to be as generous ourselves! Further, whatever is given to you is a gift and gifts, of course, were made to be given. Through poverty we learn not only to not cling to things but to freely give to anyone who has a greater need than ourselves. We also learn to share with others without worring about ourselves because, once again, we know the Giver is able to provide all that we need. There is no need to cling to the gifts of God if one is clinging to God Himself, the Giver of all gifts! It is no accident that it is the poorest of the poor who are the most generous with others.

Do you look at the finer things of 'the world' with real longing? Is your heart focused on trying to get these things? Francis believed what Jesus said about what was truly valuable. He cherished Poverty because it was the means whereby he could free himself from what was essentially worthless to get those truly valuable things - things that make this life wonderful and assure us of the eternal treasures hereafter as well. Are you praying like Francis for an appreciation of poverty and seeking it with all of your heart?

PRAYER: Father Francis, you turned your back on the world - everyday - and sought to know and walk with Christ. You had learned what was truly valuable, cherishing the words of Jesus, "A man's life does not consist of the things he possesses." Things could never satisfy the longings of our hearts - the spiritual longing to know and walk with Jesus. Pray for us father Francis that we might turn our back on this world. Help us to understand, love and delight in Holy Poverty so that we also can be free to follow Christ, just like you did. God is good, the only and true good, and it is His goodness that we want above all. Amen.

Poverty is the way of perfection and the pledge of everlasting wealth.

Those trained in holy poverty come to realize that they are utterly dependent on God for all they need in life as well as for their eternal salvation. They learn to relinquish control of their lives to their heavenly Father and relish the power He releases into their lives that allows them to live in peace, joy and love no matter the trials they experience!

St. Francis said, "God has called us to this holy way of life for the salvation of the world, and He has made this contract between us and the world; that we give a good example to the world, and that the world in turn provide for our needs. So let us continue to live in holy poverty, because that is the way of perfection, and the token and pledge of everlasting wealth."

Francis celebrated the wonder and joy of his personal salvation and relationship with God. However, when God revealed His desire to start an Order through him, he realized that God intended not only to save him, but to use him (and those who followed him) to help bring the message of God's salvation to all men. From the very beginning of the Order, when Francis had approximately 12 brothers, God told Francis that they should 'go forth, two at a time, and bring the Gospel message of salvation to all men.'

Jesus said, "The workman is deserving of his wages." St. Paul said, "In the same sort of way, the Lord directed that those who preach the Gospel should get their living from the Gospel." Francis and his followers based their lives on the Gospel - launching out in faith in the promises of God without any visible means of support. It was reasonable to expect that God would provide for His 'workers' - giving them all they needed to live. The way He would do this would be through 'alms' from those to whom they brought the Gospel.

It should be noted that Francis wasn't depending on the 'world' to provide for the needs of the brotherhood. It was God who provided for all they needed albeit He chose to do it through people in the world. Therefore, in receiving alms and gifts from the people, Francis and his followers always gave God thanks first and then thanked those who willingly listened to God's directions to give. The exact instructions Francis gave his brothers were, "Say when you beg, 'Praise and bless the Lord! Give us an alms for the love of God."

Francis talks about 'holy poverty' being two things: it is 'the way of perfection' and 'the token and pledge of everlasting wealth'.

Why is it the 'way of perfection'? Francis learned that 'spiritual' (and temporal) poverty was a way to bring one to full knowledge of the mercy and goodness of God. One trained in the way of Poverty came to realize his utter spiritual helplessness - the fact that man's sinful nature is so overwhelmingly powerful that no one can resist it without God's help.

St. Paul talked about the same thing when he explained what God said to him after he pleaded with God to deliver him from a spiritual trial three times, "I Am able to bring My full power into your life when you come to realize and accept your utter helplessness". St. Paul thereafter stated, "I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ's sake." St. Paul was happy to be weak - to be in spiritual trials that left him feeling helpless - because ". . . it is when I am weak, that I am strong."

Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." This first beatitude came first because it is the first step to knowing God. We must realize how truly poor and needy we are spiritually - that we are actually spiritually dead - before He can bring us to new life. Realizing our miserable state causes us to cry out to God for help, and of course, His ear is ever open to the poor, humble and needy soul and He is always anxious to save His little ones.

How is 'poverty' the 'token and pledge of everlasting wealth'? Jesus said, "Blessed are those of you who are poor now . . . hungry now . . . weep now " . He goes on to say that they will be satisfied throughout all eternity with wealth, an abundance of delicious foods and joyous singing and laughter! Jesus promises that they will be blessed in heaven because they didn't have these things on earth!

Jesus illustrated this principle more fully in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus was the poor man who begged at the gate of the rich man's home and died from starvation (the rich man wouldn't give him anything). Jesus said that father Abraham told the rich man who was now suffering in hell, "Remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony." Thus it appears that those who suffer from lack of the necessities of life in this world should feel confident that God will be sure to bless them in the next world for all they suffered. Francis was right when he said poverty was the 'pledge of everlasting wealth' since poverty, suffered in faith here, guarantees wealth hereafter.

It is important to emphasize that it is poverty suffered in faith that will be rewarded. There are many poor people who live sinful lives and they will not only suffer in this world but hereafter in hell as well. Living a sinful life means that one is living in rebellion against God's way of doing things. God is always willing to forgive anyone who is truly sorry for doing what is wrong and so will forgive a poor man who sins by stealing to feed himself. However, stealing is ALWAYS wrong, a sin that will be punished, and one's need, even though it be great, is never justification for doing what is wrong, doing what God hates. Therefore the poor man who feels justified in stealing because he is poor is saying, by his actions, that he doesn't believe God's promise to meet all of his needs and so must act on his own to get what he needs. Since few of us are perfect in faith, we often sin but we should never think that sinning is a legitimate option when it comes to meeting our temporal needs.

What happens if we have a great and legitimate need (we are starving) and God doesn't appear to want to meet that need? The faithful man will be willing to starve rather than offend the God who loves him. Our faith in God's goodness and promises tells us that we must just endure (suffer) with patience until God decides otherwise. This is what is called 'a trial of our faith'.

This is not only what Jesus taught but what Jesus did in His trials (in the wilderness but also on the cross). He proved He would rather die than go against God's will.

Remember what Jesus said to the devil when tempted in the wilderness by him to turn the stones into bread to satisfy His hunger? "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Jesus chose to wait for the word 'that comes from the mouth of God' regarding His eating and go without food until God indicated that it was His will for Him to eat - though He was starving (after 40 days without eating!) Ultimately God did send the angels who provided all the food He needed but only after Jesus had already suffered greatly and was extremely weak. This story gives us a clear example as to how Jesus suffered in faithful patience until God expressed His will that He not suffer. Jesus is our example of how we should act when in similar circumstances.

We should base our decisions on how to act in this temporal world in light of what Jesus tells us it will bring us in the next. He has told us that we can suffer now (temporarily) but get glory later for enduring in faith. Or we can satisfy our desires and needs now (by doing it 'our way' and sinning) and suffer (eternally) later. It is our choice.

PRAYER: Lord God, You gave father Francis a promise to provide for all of his needs. You wanted him to have peace, to feel secure and confident, in Your power to provide. You also, through the treasure of Holy Poverty, opened his eyes to his utter need (spiritually and temporally) for You and Your help and so empowered him with Divine power. Through Your Spirit You enabled this poor man to make many rich (spiritually) and spread a message of peace, joy and love to the world even while they suffered in their poverty. Help us to all live in faith, cherish holy poverty and what it teaches and come to fully know and experience Your power in our daily lives. We ask that our lives might be a light shining in the darkness of this selfish, greedy, proud and arrogant world and draw all men to You, their loving Father. We know that it is You, and You alone, that can satisfy the deepest needs and desires of the human heart and that You are not only willing but anxious to do so. Thank You Father. Be blessed and exalted forever. Amen.

God promises to provide for His children - food and everything else they need.

Since God has promised to provide for all of our temporal needs, why do we get so worried about them and hold on to them so fearfully instead of sharing as He has taught us!?

Francis tells a parable about a King and a poor peasant woman whom He married. Francis explained that he is this peasant woman and the King is, of course, our Heavenly Father. The children (Francis' followers) are raised in the home of their poor mother and she tells them to not focus on their poverty. She says they are actually the children of a King who has limitless wealth - their future inheritance. The 'King' is speaking at this point in the parable . . .

"'. . . Do not fear. For if even strangers are fed at my table, it is the more fair that I have those fed there on whom all the inheritance entails by legal right . . .' The King of kings has told me that He will provide for the children born of me . . . For if the Lord gives worldly goods to strangers because of His love for his children who are in need of provision, much more will He be bounteous to people who live according to the Gospel, since to them it is due by right."

Francis and his followers were utterly poor. However, this was by choice because some of them, before joining Francis, had been rich. Francis had made it clear that he lived 'without property'. His early followers were not allowed to have ANYTHING if they wished to follow him - except one set of clothes and a copy of the Rule.

How were their needs met? They worked for food and if cheated of their pay, begged. If no work was available they begged. They refused pay or alms in money and accepted only food or whatever else they might need. Their lives were simple and hard yet they were also filled with great freedom, peace and joy - because of their faith in a good God who always provided! Their needs were meet by a knowing, loving and generous God.

Although people may have wondered how the brothers could survive, Francis never doubted. He never forgot that it was God for whom he had forsaken everything and his God was able to give them all they needed. He reminded his followers about the way God had provided for the Israelites every day, for 40 years, in the desert wilderness - both their daily bread and water aplenty - for a million people! He reminded them of how Jesus multiplied the loaves. Francis realized (and tried to help his followers realize) that God would definitely provide for them. After all God owned all things and provided, every day, for all of His other creatures. These were, after all, His own beloved children whom He loved with all of His heart!

Francis calls some men 'strangers' in the passage above. These were people who did not really trust in God and chose not to rely upon the promises of Christ (given us in the Gospel) for their daily lives ('nominal' Catholics.) Francis explained that God not only provided for these 'strangers' but provided enough for them to also give to His poor, including the 'holy poor' - those who relied on Gospel promises.

Francis looked on it as a matter of justice: that God had an obligation to meet their needs. In his parable he used the words 'fair', 'inheritance' and 'legal right', putting them in the mouth of the 'King'. Justice (and who is more just than God!) demanded that those who chose to follow Jesus in faith should have their needs met by Him!

What does all of this have to do with Seculars? All children of God, whether 'Religious' or layman, must realize that it is God who provides for our needs. Just because laymen are allowed (by God) to have worldly goods doesn't mean that we should rely on these things for our safety or prosperity. "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God," Jesus said. It is only in God, His will and Word, that we should place our trust (just like our currency says)!

Francis and his followers relied on God to give them what they needed for the day, each day. They allowed God to prove thereby that He is both able and willing to 'give us this day, our daily bread'. Jesus and His disciples also lived on alms. When funds and bread ran short and Jesus' disciples became worried, Jesus chided them, "You of little faith! Do you still not believe?!" He reminded them that God would provide for them in the same way He had done so when He multiplied the loaves and fish for thousands of people right before their eyes!

Do we believe that God will meet all of our needs? Francis knew that if God willingly gave up His own precious Son for love of us, He wouldn't hesitate to give us all other good things as well - including what we needed to live.

We should take courage from Francis' example of faith. We should not (like the 'strangers'), invest our thoughts and desires primarily in the pursuit of this world's temporal goods (which cannot ever satisfy our deepest desires and that are unreliable - 'here today, gone tomorrow'). Neither should we worry about health care, employment, investments or the millions of other things 'strangers' worry about. We know that God cares for us, has promised to provide all we need, so there is no need to worry.

This doesn't mean that we can be careless with our responsibilities. We should be conscientious and invest wisely for the future. However, after putting out our best efforts, we should not allow worry to get the best of us but trust in God to work it out and draw deeply, from our faith in Him, on His infinite peace.

When we are blessed by God with good things, we should not give in to selfishness. With these blessings comes the responsibility to try to meet the needs of those less fortunate. Just because God has blessed us doesn't mean we have the right to misuse those blessings. If our focus is on satisfying unreasonable 'fleshy' desires, of appeasing our selfish lust for luxury, pleasure and material comfort when others cannot even feed themselves, then we are not following God, His heart is broken for the poor in their misery, pain and sorrow. We, as the children of God, should rejoice and take advantage of every opportunity He gives us to help His poor.

PRAYER: Lord God, you are ever faithful to us and bless us all, each day, with everything we need to live well and to do good. Help us to realize it is from Your hand that all these good things come and that we owe You thanks for it all. Remind us that our eyes should stay on You, the Giver, rather than on the 'gifts'. Help us to receive these gifts always with thanks and teach us to always share. Help us realize the abundance You give us is given, at least in part, to share with Your beloved children who suffer in their need. Francis relied on You totally, for everything, and was free in peace and joy because of that. Help us to live in the same way and show the world, by our joyful faith, that You exist and that You 'reward those who diligently seek' You. Help us to be a light in the darkness and a sign pointing the way to our eternal home. We know that home is Your heart - ever flowing like a spring with precious and pure love. Amen.

The Treasures of Poverty are . . .

Don't let false riches trick you!

There are two things in this world that all men want. First is to be fully in control of themselves - their bodies, time and space. For example - who wants to have someone else (like a boss) control their body and time, telling them what to do? The second thing people want to control is the world around: to control as much as possible the people, places, circumstances and things that are around them so that they can choose those things they like or more comfortable with. For example, we all dislike waiting in line especially on the freeway!

However, even rich and powerful people do not have absolute control over these things. They still get sick or have accidents. There are limits to what doctors can do and what money can buy. Also, who can truly escape others telling us what to do? In fact a rich and powerful person might have more people than the poor telling them what to do (and have to pay them for the guidance as well!) accountants, the government, lawyers and, if no one else, at least their spouse! Thus, even for the wealthy and powerful, there is no complete escape from nagging.

Francis knew this world was not the place where he (or anyone) could have absolute control over one's self (body, etc.) and over one's time and space - but he knew the way to be free from worry and fear and how to maximize the joy in life - even without this sense of control. He didn't try to rationalize his situation nor did he try and escape reality - as many people try to do. He faced the hardships of living in this world squarely. How was he able to do this with such joy, enthusiasm and peace? It was because he faced these difficulties of life with the power that comes from placing one's confidence in Christ - with the strength that God gives to those who trust Him!

Francis found the 'true' treasures of life - peace, joy and love. From Jesus he learned: "Those who give up their life, for My sake, shall save it while those who seek to preserve their lives (in this world) shall lose them." Jesus also said, "Those who would follow Me must give up everything . . . even their lives." But, how can we give everything up (even our lives and bodies)? What else do we have besides our bodies and time? Jesus is obviously asking us to sacrifice ourselves and says, in return, we will get everything we want. But how can we sacrifice everything if we don't trust Him?

Francis did believe in what Jesus said, confidently expected Jesus to fulfill His promises. He knew that, because of God's love and goodness, he could surrender his body and soul to Him. By doing so he came to experience what God had promised; an 'abundant' life in this world (rich, and satisifying - filled with peace, joy and love) and one that is 'eternal' - although it was a 'life' in the future, in recieving it by faith he gained the assurance of it, here and now, thereby eliminating his fear of death - setting him free to enjoy the here and now. At the same time he recieved the power to endure hardships patiently in this world since he knew what was coming was what really mattered - that which will last forever - heavenly bliss!)

Francis said:
It is poverty which makes people heirs and kings of the Kingdom of Heaven, not your false riches.

What did Francis mean? Francis knew that 'Poverty" freed one to be able to recieve all the gifts of God. It was poverty that allowed one to realize how poor a person was in reality (e.g. unable to control their body or their life - that 'things' don't satisfy the human hearts longing for God) and , through this realization, enabled one to freely embrace the life Christ wanted for us, in faith. Francis knew that those who trusted and followed Jesus' directions (to give up this world) would inherit everything ( in the next world). In addition, they would be kings, here and now, in that they would control (with Christ's help) their bodies by fully submitting themselves to the will of God (who is wise and all good). Because the 'riches' of this world were fake they were easy for Francis to give up - they did not give the 'true' treasures which were purely spiritual in nature. Francis had a clear vision of where the true riches could be found - in the heart of Christ.

What do you hope to gain during your brief life here on earth? Are you looking for the next thrill or pleasure? Do you focus your mind and body on gathering money or possessions? Do you realize the riches that Jesus is offering you - here and now, but also hereafter? Are you willing to sacrifice everything in this life, endure all the hardship and suffering this world can throw at you (with faith and patience - in joy and love) to get the treasures of the next world? What are your priorities - those things you consider most precious in life?

St. Paul said that a man reaps what he sows, "If you sow to the flesh you will reap corruption. If you sow to the spirit you will reap everlasting life." If you pour your life into this world and it's things - you will go the way of this world which is destined to turn into dust - to rot, fall apart and blow away in the wind. If you pour your life into the things of the spirit your life, here and now, will be filled with the spiritual treasures of peace, joy and love. What is worth more than those things? Also, we must invest in God and His Kingdom if we want to greet Him one day, in joy, and be welcomed by Him into His eternal Kingdom.

Although most of us are 'Secular' Franciscans (lay-people), Jesus' message of self-renunciation was for everyone who believes - not just for priests or other religious. Due to our stations in life as Seculars (our responsibilities in this world) we use and need 'things'. However, like Paul said, our 'grasp' on those things must be light!)

Francis also had one or two things in this life - even after forsaking the world and taking his vow of poverty: he had the clothes on his back. However, Francis was known to give his clothes to anyone who was in greater need without a second thought - even though that left him practically naked and exposed to the elements! We all must have the same attitude. Feeling angry, frustrated and selfish when we lose something, have to give something up or are asked to donate - is a sign (a deadly one!) that we are 'clinging to this world'. Like Jesus (and Francis) we must approach God naked (free of the lust for 'things') in this world. Jesus made this very clear: we must forsake everything, everyone and even our own lives, if we wish to follow Him.

So brothers and sisters, let us turn our backs on this world and it's things and make greater progress in coming to know, love and serve the Lord. Those who do will be 'truly' rich - like Francis - with the knowledge and love of God! We can all be confident that, with God, come all other 'true' riches as well. However, what is more delightful, wonderful, good, glorious, amazing and fantastic- than the living God?! He offers Himself freely, with joy, faith and love - to all who want Him and seek Him in prayer. Do you want Him?