For Francis and Clare, the universe was a sacrament and revelation of the divine. The invisible and infinite God manifests through the visible world of sight as well as through the other senses. God addresses us in the songs of larks and swallows, the setting sun and rising moon, the verdant earth, and every human and nonhuman creature. While God can never fully be encompassed by our thoughts and theologies, God is not outside the world, acting only occasionally and supernaturally. God is within the world, incarnate, albeit often hidden, in every creature. God comes to us through every sense. We hear God’s voice in chirping birds. We feel God’s skin in the touch of a loved one. We taste and see God in freshly baked bread. We smell God in salty air at the beach, incense in worship, and the fragrance of rosemary and eucalyptus on our morning walks. God is the beyond that is also within us.
—from the book Simplicity, Spirituality, Service: The Timeless Wisdom of Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure
by Bruce G. Epperly
