Imagine how different Western history and religion could have been if we had walked so tenderly and lovingly upon the earth, as Francis and Jesus did. Imagine what the world would be like if we treated others with inherent and equal dignity and respect, seeing the divine presence, the imago Dei, in ourselves and everyone else, too—regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, appearance, or social class. Nothing less offers the world any lasting future.
As he lay dying, Francis said, “I have done what is mine; may Christ teach you what is yours!” We can only change the world insofar as we have changed ourselves. We can only give away who we are. We can only offer to others what God has done in us. Francis walked the journey himself and thus he could lead others along the path.
—from St. Anthony Messenger‘s “St. Francis and the Marrow of the Gospel“
by Richard Rohr, OFM
