“Spring in the Park”
by Tracy Stone
Francis reminded us of God’s presence in all of creation, and called our attention to our Brothers, the animals. He became aware of the interdependent nature of creation when he offered a sermon to the birds, as recounted in The Little Flowers of St. Francis.
A few weeks ago, Tracy spent the morning at a local park, capturing the sights and sounds. We are pleased to share the results here.
Sit back and take a short virtual pilgrimage, perhaps keeping in mind the following words recounting what happened after Francis’s sermon to the birds:
Like the cross which St. Francis traced in the air,
the birds went off
singing to the four corners of the world.
Their flight pattern told the world that
St. Francis’ preaching
signaled a renewed preaching of the cross
throughout the world:
He and the friars would preach everywhere,
like the birds who owned nothing in the world,
but trusted themselves to God’s providence.
—Excerpted from The Little Flowers of St. Francis: a paraphrase by Donald Demaray
