Footsteps of Francis

The Hermitage - Assisi

Who knows how long a walk?
Wrong shoes, no directions,
no water in the middle of the day-
the faith of a fool.

But there is an intent for this walk -
a journey towards a leaving behind.
The ego, the little I,
 the needy needing to be needed;
 and for what?
To prove that I am ‘good for something’;
that I have a right to exist?


God’s been doing the hard work again –waiting - waiting for me to recognise myself in Him.

To realise that I may be an outsider but I am not outcast –
not from God’s Love;
not from Christ’s Body.


To know that being ‘useless’ means
being available to the Spirit’s desire.
To understand that I can only be ‘useful’ to God by being empty,
 by being vulnerable.
And. Lord, seeing this, knowing this,
does not make it easy.
 Not for a Martha like me.
But in this sacred space
filled with the humility and devotion of Francis
 I may find my own place at your table.
So I thank you, Lord,
for the challenges and errors that got me here.
For showing me that nothing is impossible;
that I am braver than I thought I was;
that I have such precious friends;
that I have You.

Take my life Lord, fill it with Yourself.

wordinthehand2010

Comments

Mari Nuñez said…
Aren't we so lucky to have the Lord waiting for us, after all our faults a deviations? To have him to guide us and walk us through, and how lucky we are if we learn to accept his love soon.

Wonderfully written.
4 October 2010 at 16:44
claire bangasser said…
What a beautiful poem! So true, so contagious, so inspiring.

Thank you. I will carry it around today.

Blessings.
5 October 2010 at 01:34
Mairie said…
thanks to you both, Assisi is a blessed place for finding Grace.
mairie +x
5 October 2010 at 09:44
Barbara said…
Lovely poem! I wonder about the struggles young Francis had coming to terms with his calling, his embracing of his own nothingness. Fr. Jim Martin had a good posting on St. Francis at the America blog. I learned alot about him.
5 October 2010 at 18:06
Barbara said…
http://americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&entry_id=3361

I meant to include a link to the posting by Jim Martin.
5 October 2010 at 18:07
Mairie said…
I've been friends with God's fool since I was a child - his life reminds me of the gospel story of the Rich Young Man - except this Rich Young Man did as Jesus asked. There are some thoughts now that he suffered from manic depression which is why he was so hard on himself and wouldn't even accept the healing of his friend St Clair even though he sent others to her. Probably why the rule was so difficult for the following Franciscans to keep to.

I admit that I spent most of my time there outside the city walls, but if you found that tourist-y never go to Lourdes!
every blessing
mairie +x
6 October 2010 at 03:03
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