Simplicity

   St. Francis of Assisi has always been one of my favorite saints.  Recently I have begun looking more closely at his life.  The one thing about him that strikes me most is his desire for simplicity in his life and his relationship with God.

   Francis saw everything as God’s creation and as a part of himself.  He called the animals his brothers and sisters.  He looked at everyone and everything as worthy of his kinship simply based on the fact that they were a creation of God.  Brother sun and sister moon were his friends as well as evidence of God’s glory.  The birds of the air were his family and the animals his brotherhood.  Even the wild animals responded to his love of them.

   Those who came to know him and to follow him gave up all claim to earthly possessions and looked only to possess God in their hearts and in their lives.  There were no monasteries in which they lived.  Their homes were often caves or open fields; wherever they happened to be was their home.  They volunteered their labor to those who needed it and begged for their survival from those who would give to them.  They did not ask for anything from those for whom they worked since they did not want pay in any form.  They wanted to own nothing, not even a wage for their labor.  They wanted those who gave to them to do so out of love not obligation.

   This lifestyle is one that most would shun.  There’s no money or earthly glory in it.  Few of us look at a beggar with a loving glance.  Most people today would give them something only to get them to go away, not out of love.  Those in and around Assisi who knew them had the same attitude at first.  As the little group grew and the people saw the honesty of their lives and the depth of their faith their attitude changed.  They took pleasure in helping these simple men who lived their lives of selflessness and faith.

   Perhaps if we had a bit more of St. Francis in our lives today we would be a happier people.  If we can learn to appreciate each and every thing in this world as part of God’s design we can put aside our worries and concerns and enjoy His blessings.  We can’t know the reasons for all that happens but if we are confident in God’s plan we can accept the bad with the good in faith that it will all come to good in the end.

   This is the kind of simplicity and faith we need in our lives.  The simplicity to accept things as they are.  To thank God for the many blessings of His creation.  To leave the answers to God and live in with complete faith and trust in Him.