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Isn’t it wonderful news, brothers and sisters, that we come to God not by our perfection but by our imperfection? That gives all of us an equal chance, and utterly levels the human playing field. No pretending or denying is helpful any longer. Deep within each of us lives both a leper and a wolf, both of which we are ashamed and afraid of. In Franciscan lore, they are our inner imperfections.
Francis embraced the leper below Assisi and called it his conversion; later Francis tamed the wolf that was ravaging the countryside of Gubbio. The stories did happen historically, but first of all they must have happened in his soul. Our inner life, our emotional life, our prayer life, is where we first do our battles, and then we are prepared for our outer life conflicts.
It is on the inside of us that lepers and wolves first live. If we haven’t been able to kiss many lepers, if we haven’t been able to tame many wolves in the outer world, it’s probably because we haven’t first of all made friends with our own leprosy and the ferocious wolf within each of us. They are always there in some form, waiting to be tamed and needing to be forgiven.
Adapted from Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, p. 276, day 287
(Available through Franciscan Media)
The Daily Meditations for 2013 are now available
in Fr. Richard’s new book Yes, And . . . .
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Readings for a Mature Christianity
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“Where is this thing we call ‘life’ headed?
Who sets the standard? Is there any standard?”
– Fr. Richard
Richard Rohr, Joan Chittister, Tilden Edwards, James Finley, Kathleen Dowling Singh and others explore the intentional evolution of a life toward maturity and eldership. |
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Fr. Richard shares insights for each day of Advent that inspire a deepening into adult Christianity through knowing of the Cosmic Christ.
Order by November 15 to receive in time for Advent (begins December 1, 2013).
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Available at
store.cac.org.
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