St. Francis of Assisi
"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who deal likewise with their fellow men."
A Prayer
(This prayer is often attributed to St Francis)
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow charity;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light; and
Where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled,as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying to ourselves that we are born into eternal life.
St. Francis and the Birds
One time when Francis was walking with another friar in the Venetian marshes, they came upon a huge flock of birds, singing among the reeds. When he saw them, the saint said to his companion, "Our sisters the birds are praising their creator. We will go in among them and sing God's praise, chanting the divine office." They went in among the birds which remained where they were, so that the friars could not hear themselves saying the office, they were making so much noise. Eventually the saint turned to them and said, "My sisters, stop singing until we have given God the praise to which he has a right."The birds were silent immediately and remained that way until Francis gave them permission to sing again, after they had taken plenty of time to say the office and had finished their praises. Then the birds began again as usual.
(St Bonaventure,Major Life of St Francis)
To learn more about St.Francis click below:
My "St.Francis" Story
In recent months St. Francis and his teachings have become very important to me. At the beginning of the summer, I decided to look for a statue to put in my garden but I just couldn't decide what to buy.Then while visiting my dear friend Terri, I had the opportunity to visit a psychic reader(something I had never done before). At the end of the reading, she told me that Don was with me...that he had birds all around him...that he was "into" St.Francis of Assisi and that I should buy a statue of St. Francis for my garden. When I returned home, I was led to the perfect fountain(the one in the pics above)...50%off. I then began doing research on Francis and found that his feast day is Oct.4th...mine and Don's wedding anniversary. I do not believe that any of these occurences are "coincidence". I believe that I am being led to strive to practice love and compassion for all of God's creatures.I believe that this is true for all of us. For that reason I have created this page...dedicated to St.Francis of Assisi.
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