Meditation:
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in
his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride
in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild
flower.
-- James 1:9,10 (NIV)

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Quotation:
The great wonder is the living fountain of love and joy
which Christ poured into and through this ?poor little man?.
[Francis] always knew where the real miracle lay. It was not
in things that happened to his body, though they were
wonderful enough. It was not to be found in the fact that
birds and beasts, even the wolf of Gubbio, felt the spell of
his spirit. It was the radiance of light and love breaking
across the darkness and hate of the world and his time. He
loved lepers. He loved robbers and changed their lives. He
loved beggars in their rags. He loved rich men, too, and
members of the Church, who needed him as much as the robbers
did. He brought Christianity out of forms and creeds and
services into the open air, in action and into the movements
of life. He changed the entire line of march of religion in
the Western World. Brother Masseo, half jesting, asked him
once why the whole world was running after him, not very
comely, not very wise, not of noble birth. ?Why after thee??
?God chose me,? Francis answered, ?because He could find no
one more worthless, and He wished by me to confound the
nobility and grandeur, the strength and beauty and learning of
the world.? But the real answer is that here at last in this
wonderful man was an organ of that Spirit which was in Christ,
and a marvelous transmitter of it to the world. The divine
agape went out into men?s lives through him. Here was a
childlike lover of men, ready, if need be, to be crucified for
love, but also ready in humble everyday tasks to reveal this
love.


Rufus M. Jones (1863-1948), The Luminous Trail [1947]