Today, October 4th, is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the greatest and best known of the Church’s saints. Many gardens throughout the world are graced by statues of St. Francis because of his great love of all of creation.  He saw clearly the hand of God in each creature and was never happier than when he could walk through fields and forests taking in all of the sights, sounds, and smells that surrounded him. He often said that all of creation, down to the tiniest thing speaks powerfully of God’s goodness and love.

  There is one story that biographers often tell about Francis. According to the story, one day as Francis was walking through the fields, he came upon an almond tree.  He looked at the tree, put his hand on its trunk and said, “Brother Almond, please speak to me about God.”  That almond tree did speak. According to those who were there, no sooner had Francis spoken these words, the almond tree blossomed

  Francis soon realized the wisdom the tree was sharing with him -- that when we stand before our loving God. and open ourselves to him, He will draw the best that is in us out of us. We will blossom and eventually bear much fruit.  Francis took this teaching to heart and asked God to draw out the best that was in him.

   From that teaching Saint Francis drew another lesson that we can all take to heart. – he taught his disciples that when people stand before us and open their hearts to us, we have the power to draw out the best that is in them. We will then have the opportunity to help them bear much fruit. He urged his brothers and sisters to take the time to draw out the best from everyone they met.

   Probably one of the best ways to celebrate the life of Francis of Assisi would be for each of us to stand before our loving God and to open ourselves to Him. He, in turn, will draw out the best that is within us and we too shall bear much fruit.  Perhaps then we will have the courage to draw out the best from those God sends our way.