francis of assisi

Let Us Begin Again

2024-01-01T17:45:55+00:00By Joel|Creative, francis of assisi, memories|

cusp: a point of transition (as from one historical period to the next) Once again, we are on a cusp. We wake up. We start the coffee. We begin again, literally but also metaphorically. The call of the moment is to bravely reset on the successes and failures as well. It's a new day to create with our lives. To breathe hope into hopeless spaces, and to scrape art into the scratchboard of life. St. Bonaventure tells us that towards the end of his life St. Francis would tell the other friars: “Let us begin again, brothers, for up until now, we have done little or nothing.” Francis – who did much, and whose legacy lives [...]

Praying a Prayer of Peace for Today

2020-10-15T05:19:09+00:00By Joel|discipleship, francis of assisi, Kingdom of God, Prayers and Blessings, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, trust|

I remember when I first learned of Francis of Assisi. I was a student at a Lutheran university when the choir that I was in sang a piece that was an arrangement of the words from the Franciscan attributed "Prayer of Peace." Eventually through research I found that there is no evidence that Francis himself wrote the prayer, nevertheless I was captivated by the story of Francis (he did, after all, personify that prayer). It radically impacted my heart. Having been to a third world country out of high school, I returned to the U.S. unsatisfied by what the U.S. culture offered in empty promises and visions of material dreams. And it was not whether it [...]

A Country Boy From Assisi, A Mountain Boy From Arizona

2019-10-04T20:14:33+00:00By Joel|francis of assisi|

I remember when I was introduced to a person who has been revolutionary to my faith. Yes, obviously Jesus is the most revolutionary, but I am talking about somebody who inspired me to take a look at my life and ask, "How am I following Jesus? Really following Him." This person is St. Francis of Assisi. I remember being in a university choral class when we were given a piece to sing called "Servants of Peace" by James Quinn and K. Lee Scott, which was based on the Prayer of Peace which has been attributed to the Franciscan tradition (though it is unlikely that Francis was the author). Regardless, where the prayer came from, it definitely reflects Francis' life [...]

Franciscan Abandon: Experiments in Abandon Part 5

2014-08-18T22:34:55+00:00By Joel|Abandonment, francis of assisi|

My wife and I watched one of my favorite movies the other week. "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" is a movie about Francis of Assisi. While the movie is painted with a wonderful tint of Seventies music and flower-child vibe, it does wonderfully at conveying (in part) the uniquely undying passion of this Italian character that has been celebrated by Catholics and Protestants alike. Francis, having grown up in a well-to-do family, was struck by an illness while off at war. Returning home he had many encounters of God speaking to him. God stirred Francis' heart to rebuild a broken down church. Francis abandoned all and devoted himself to living with the poor, rebuilding the church and [...]