Franciscan Spirituality centres on the truth that God is Good and the source of all Goodness, in all things and at all times. This Goodness is made visible to us through all of Creation. The source of all Goodness is the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit – The One, True God who brings into life and wholeness all that we exists. In Jesus Christ we encounter the Incarnate Goodness of the Trinity, the Word made Flesh who came to make a home with us. The Trinity is the source of life and dwells within our very being. The awesome mystery is that we are invited to be part of the life of the Trinity, a life of total self-emptying, unconditional Love. It is this Love which creates, which holds and without which we wouldn’t exist. God is Love.
We encounter God in all of Creation because all of Creation acts as a mirror of God’s Goodness. St Francis of Assisi deeply believed this and he orientated his life around this transformative and life-giving belief. Francis saw all of Creation as brother and sister; no matter how small or irrelevant that creature may seem. He loved to get lost in his connection with God as the Divine Artist whose brushstrokes could be seen all around us in the hills, mountains, birds, trees and in each other. Although God is encountered through all of Creation, human beings have a special role. Through our ability to orientate ourselves towards the things beyond us we can, if we choose to, more fully come to know and experience God. We have a special role and a special responsibility to be stewards of all creation: to protect, nurture, cultivate and care for it just as God does. We are called to be brothers and sisters to all of Creation. This is a call to look beyond ourselves and to recognise God’s Goodness in Brother Sun and Sister Moon as much as brother / sister fly or bee or flea. We are, most especially, called to be Brothers and Sisters to each other, recognising the other as part of the same family in Christ, as God’s adopted children and as the unfinished masterpieces of the Divine artist.
The Franciscan image of God, the Imago Dei, was summed up by St Francis as in his “praises of God’, a prayer given to Brother Leo one of St Francis’s earliest and closest companions. Let us pray with Francis and as we do notice how Francis sees God and ask ourselves ‘How do I see God in my own life?’
You are holy, Lord, the only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom.
You are humility. You are endurance.
You are rest. You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage. You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord,
God Almighty, Merciful Saviour.