Saint Francis homily to the Birds
Our father Saint Francis was appointed patron saint of animals because of his profound sense of brotherhood with all creation. He held a tight relation with all created things because for him, they were manifestations of God’s power and goodness: his love for creation was a means to express his love for the Creator.
To Francis, they seemed to fail to heed Christ’s exhortation in Matthew 6:25-26, which says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”
For this, he loved birds above all the other animals.
A popular story of Francis preaching to the birds begins when he was walking from one city to the next to acquire more members for his new religious order. He noticed on the way a multitude of birds gathering in the trees and he was inspired to preach to them about their duty to always praise God.
St. Francis homily to the birds: “My little sisters, many are the bonds which unite us to God. And your duty is to praise Him everywhere and always, because He has let you free to fly wherever you will, and has given you a double and threefold covering and the beautiful plumage you wear.
“Praise Him likewise for the food He provides for you without your working for it, for the songs He has taught you, for your numbers that His blessing has multiplied, for your species which He preserved in the ark of olden times, and for the realm of the air He has reserved for you.
“God sustains you without your having to reap or sow. He gives you fountains and streams to drink from, mountains and hills in which to take refuge, and tall trees in which to build your nests. Although you do not know how to sew or spin, He gives to you and your little ones the clothing you need.
“How the Creator must love you to grant you such favors! So, my sister birds, do not be ungrateful, but continually praise him who showers blessings upon you.”
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