The rich fop Francis of Assisi was bored all his life―until he fell in love with Christ and gave all his stuff away and became the troubadour of Lady Poverty.

~ Peter Kreeft

Peter Kreeft Boredom Catholicism Christ Christianity Francis Of Assisi Jesus Shock Lady Poverty Philosophy Saint Francis St Francis Of Assisi Theology Troubadour

I felt sorry for the inhabitants and went into the forest to admonish the wolf in God's name not to eat any more sheep. I called him, he came—and do you know what his answer was? 'Francis, Francis,' he said, 'do not destroy God's prescribed order. The sheep feeds on grass, the wolf on sheep—that's the way God ordained it. Do not ask why; simply obey God's will and leave me free to enter the sheepfolds whenever I feel the pinch of hunger. I say my prayers just like Your Holiness. I say: Our Father who reignest in the forests and hast commanded me to eat meat, Thy will be done. Give me this day my daily sheep so that my stomach may be filled, and I shall glorify Thy name. Great art Thou, Lord, who hast created mutton so delicious. And when the day cometh that I shall die, Grant, Lord, that I may be resurrected, and that with me may be resurrected all the sheep I have eaten—so that I may eat them again!' That, Brother Leo, is what the wolf answered me.

~ Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis 1962 Francis Of Assisi Lord S Prayer Prayer Theodicy Wolf

Madness, Brother Masseo, is the salt which prevents good sense from rotting.

~ Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis 1962 Francis Of Assisi Madness

Forgetting himself for a moment, Francis brought his hand out from under his frock in order to bless the multitude. When the people saw his wound they bellowed madly. The women dashed forward with mantles outstretched to catch the drops; the men thrust in their hands and anointed their faces with blood. The villagers' expressions grew savage, and so did their souls. They longed to be able to tear the Saint limb from limb in order for each of them to claim a mouthful of his flesh, for they wanted to make him their own, to have him enter them so that they could become one with a saint—could be sanctified. Blind rage had overpowered them; their eyes were leaden, their lips ringed with froth.

~ Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis 1962 Francis Of Assisi Madness Mob Stigmata

Because what God wants, that, and only that, is also what we want—but we don't know it. God comes and awakens our souls, revealing to them their real, though unknown, desire. This is the secret, Brother Leo. To do the will of God means to do my own most deeply hidden will.

~ Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis 1962 Francis Of Assisi True Will Will

Thy designs are a bottomless pit. How can I descend into this pit to examine it? Thou lookest thousands of years into the future and then Thou judgest. What today seems an injustice to man's minute brain becomes, thousands of years hence, the mother of man's salvation. If what today we term injustice did not exist, perhaps true justice would never come to mankind.

~ Nikos Kazantzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis 1962 Francis Of Assisi Injustice Theodicy Unintended Consequences