St. Francis of Assisi

“Rich by reason of its poverty.” That phrase was as difficult to understand in Francis’s day as it is in ours. Celano was not pulling this expression out of thin air.

Throughout this canticle, we have seen how Francis saw God’s goodness, radiance and beauty in all creatures. He saw them indeed as benevolent friends, as brothers and sisters—as family. And now even the reality of death itself becomes “Sister Death” ...

When the realities of life hit, and you have lost everything, what is left is the stunning beauty of our relationships with one another, with this world, and with God. 

We cannot find peace in chaos. In the noise and violence that surround us in this country every day, covering our ears and eyes is easy.

One of my favorite authors is the great Hoosier science fiction writer, Kurt Vonnegut. A theme he often plays with in many of his novels is the notion that human beings are becoming more machine-like in their dependence on technology ...