Early on in the development of the Franciscan Order, the bishop of Assisi closed down Francis’ entire operation. Being humble of spirit, Francis did not protest. He decided to go to Rome to ask the pope’s permission to live out what Jesus had envisioned for himself and his disciples. In his meeting with Pope Innocent III, the pope asked Francis challenging questions about the difficult lifestyle he was attempting to live. Francis meekly paraphrased the words of Christ: “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap, and yet our heavenly Father feeds them. Will he not feed us also? The pope was so moved that he immediately gave permission for Francis and his followers to pursue their radical way of life. Turning to one of his cardinals, Pope Innocent observed, “We have made so much of original sin that we have forgotten about original innocence. That little beggar from Assisi embodies original innocence.” For us, spiritual maturity is always a return to our original innocence.
My original state
is innocence.
This week’s reflections come from Isha Das’ book Living Grace: A Companion For Meditation And Contemplation
