How to Use the New Testament
"It happened once that the mother of two of the brothers came to St. Francis and his companions seeking alms. Now St. Francis used to call the mother of any of the brothers his mother and the mother of all the brothers. But when this poor woman came seeking alms, St. Francis was sad because they had nothing in the house but the New Testament which they used for prayer. So he said to his vicar, Brother Peter: 'Give our mother the New Testament. And let her sell it to take care of her needs. I'm sure it is more pleasing to God that we give away the New Testament we use for prayer than hold on to it. After all, it is this very book that teaches us to help the poor." --Celano, Second Life, 91
I came across this quote again this morning: "Integrity is the essence of everything successful." It was in an article about uncomplicating your life that I'd included in a post on my Another Perfect Day blog three years ago. St. Francis lived this kind of integrity. He followed the essence of the New Testament rather than living "by the book"--both figuratively and literally!
"It happened once that the mother of two of the brothers came to St. Francis and his companions seeking alms. Now St. Francis used to call the mother of any of the brothers his mother and the mother of all the brothers. But when this poor woman came seeking alms, St. Francis was sad because they had nothing in the house but the New Testament which they used for prayer. So he said to his vicar, Brother Peter: 'Give our mother the New Testament. And let her sell it to take care of her needs. I'm sure it is more pleasing to God that we give away the New Testament we use for prayer than hold on to it. After all, it is this very book that teaches us to help the poor." --Celano, Second Life, 91I came across this quote again this morning: "Integrity is the essence of everything successful." It was in an article about uncomplicating your life that I'd included in a post on my Another Perfect Day blog three years ago. St. Francis lived this kind of integrity. He followed the essence of the New Testament rather than living "by the book"--both figuratively and literally!
Essence......our essence is spiritual, as we are made in HIS image and likeness, whole and compete. Knowing that essence, the qualities God expresses are more important than physical things....so running by the essence like St Francis, we can be sure we are on the spiritual track....ya? smiles Merri
ReplyDeleteI like how you equate essence with spirit. I just looked essence up--it comes from the Latin word for be.
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