Lady Poverty Speaks. . . .
"I was once in the paradise of my God, where people walked naked; in fact, I walked in them and with them in their nakedness throughout that most splendid paradise, fearing nothing, doubting nothing, and suspecting no evil. I thought I would be with them forever, for the Most High created them just, good, and wise and placed them in that pleasant and beautiful place. I rejoiced exceedingly and played before them all the while, for possessing nothing, they belonged entirely to God." --Sacrum Commercium, 25
This intensifies my understanding of Lady Poverty in Francis's life. When we were first created everything we needed was provided for us as we needed. We belonged entirely to Him. Just like a newborn child we did not need to possess anything and saw no need to. But when we broke the one rule God gave us, we saw that we were naked, meaning we saw that we are needy. We felt shame because now we could see our nakedness. It showed us we'd taken our care out of God's Hands and put it in our own hands, and for the first time we experienced fear. But instead of going to God, we hid. He came looking for us then, but we were already hiding. Eventually we understood what our disobedience meant and why we hid from Him--that we no longer trusting God to take care of us. We knew too much now--or at least we thought we did (but it was our pride telling us this). But He did not give up on us. His Spirit called to us through the ages and then He sent His Son to find us and lead us back to Him. Sadly, only a few have come out of hiding.
"I was once in the paradise of my God, where people walked naked; in fact, I walked in them and with them in their nakedness throughout that most splendid paradise, fearing nothing, doubting nothing, and suspecting no evil. I thought I would be with them forever, for the Most High created them just, good, and wise and placed them in that pleasant and beautiful place. I rejoiced exceedingly and played before them all the while, for possessing nothing, they belonged entirely to God." --Sacrum Commercium, 25This intensifies my understanding of Lady Poverty in Francis's life. When we were first created everything we needed was provided for us as we needed. We belonged entirely to Him. Just like a newborn child we did not need to possess anything and saw no need to. But when we broke the one rule God gave us, we saw that we were naked, meaning we saw that we are needy. We felt shame because now we could see our nakedness. It showed us we'd taken our care out of God's Hands and put it in our own hands, and for the first time we experienced fear. But instead of going to God, we hid. He came looking for us then, but we were already hiding. Eventually we understood what our disobedience meant and why we hid from Him--that we no longer trusting God to take care of us. We knew too much now--or at least we thought we did (but it was our pride telling us this). But He did not give up on us. His Spirit called to us through the ages and then He sent His Son to find us and lead us back to Him. Sadly, only a few have come out of hiding.
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