The Feast of Saint Francis

It took me all of two seconds to pick St. Francis as my patron saint.  As a non-believer, I studied him.  As a Protestant minister, I had his the famous prayer attributed to him hanging prominently in my pastor's office.  As Morris Bishop says, works of Francis are one long chorus of praise and adoration.  From skeptics, to critics, to Protestants and Orthodox, St. Francis seems to be loved across the board.

I especially liked that his feast day is in October, at the beginning, just when that Fall Feeling is beginning to pick up steam.   There's something about Fall - nature, God, death and life  - that gives the time a more poetic feeling than most others of the year.

Some time ago, Mark Shea wrote a little piece on the poetry of Creation and its obvious link to Francis at the time of autumn.  I would say that's as spot on as Mark has ever been.