In Francis’ day, some people admired him very much for thinking in new ways. The danger there was that Francis was simply calling attention to himself. Francis’ first biographer wanted to show that the saint’s newness was actually the rediscovery of something very old: that the Gospel could be lived here and now, not simply admired from afar.
Sometimes we resist conversion to the Lord’s way because we fear giving it full freedom will shrink our world, will make us more closed in. Like every other saint, Francis of Assisi reminds us that conversion to the Lord’s ways will always enlarge our world, stretching us in a good way. Francis “seemed changed into another man” because conversion indeed made him a new man. He retained his original DNA and fingerprints, but his heart became ever new and young.
—from the book Peace and Good: Through the Year with Francis of Assisi
by Pat McCloskey, OFM
