Was there a defining moment when Francis realized that it was God he was trying to love? And was it an experience like St. Augustine’s in which he realized that God had been there all along loving him, though only now did he realize it? Whenever and whatever happened, Francis fell in love with the love who is Infinite Love, a love that made him cry out: “May the fiery and honey-sweet power of your love, O Lord, wean me from all things under heaven, so that I may die for love of your love, who deigned to die for love of my love.”
— from Surrounded by Love: Seven Teachings from Saint Francis
by Murray Bodo, OFM
