St. Francis and Religion as Action

My brother-in-law has turned me onto a daily meditation penned by Richard Rohr, and in between than and Fr. Don Talaphous' Daily Reflection, it is a great way to start the day in a prayerful and mindful way.

Yesterday's post by Rohr was an interesting analysis of the writings of St. Francis.  I'll let Rohr break it down for you:

Those who have analyzed the writings of Francis have noted that he uses the word doing rather than understanding at a ratio of 175 times to 5. Heart is used 42 times to 1 use of mind. Love is used 23 times as opposed to 12 uses of truth. Mercy is used 26 times while intellect is used only 1 time. This is a very new perspective that is clearly different from (and an antidote to) the verbally argumentative Christianity of his time, and from the highly academic theology that would hold sway from then on. Francis took prayer on the road and into the activity of life itself, which is why the Franciscans popularized the portable, small psalter that we still call the breviary (brevis or short handbook).

The take-away is how St. Francis view faith as action, and not merely as a mental exercise.

There is a lot for us to take away from that perspective (hey, yet another action!)