St. Francis told his followers to walk on the good earth, forsaking the privilege and comfort of horseback riding. He didn’t want his followers to be separated and superior to ordinary working class people. To be saint is to plunge into the intricate, chaotic, and wondrous interdependence of life, knowing our utter dependence on God and the bounty of creation for every breath and for the energy to share in God’s vision of creative transformation.
Saints rejoice in their common humanity, knowing that God’s word becomes flesh in fallible and ambivalent persons like ourselves.
—from the book Simplicity, Spirituality, Service: The Timeless Wisdom of Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure
by Bruce G. Epperly
