Admonition V: Let no one be proud, but boast in the cross of the Lord

We tend to write about and preach outstanding events in the lives of the saints. In Francis we point to the wonder of the stigmata and his ability to tame even a wild wolf. But when Francis speaks about himself what he mentions are his weaknesses. This should not surprise us. A saint like Francis is a person who has experienced more keenly than us the presence and wonder of knowing God. When a person experiences God, the person also experiences the vast difference between God and us. When the prophet Isaiah was given a vision of God he said I am a person of unclean lips [Isa 6:5]. Before the presence of God, Isaiah felt unworthy. In his fifth Admonition Francis reminds us of our dignity in being created in the image and likeness of God. Yet, he adds, all other creatures obey God more faithfully than we do. Creatures follow the laws of nature just as we should follow the law of the Gospel. But in fact each of us has to take responsibility for Our Lord being put to death for our sins. Of what can we boast? Francis says we should not boast of our knowledge or of our human skills, great as they may be. Nor should we boast of our abilities and talents that have been given to us as gifts from God. But we can boast of our weaknesses and in carrying the cross of the Lord. Like St Paul, Francis knew that by recognizing his own weakness he allowed the Spirit of the Lord to work in him and make him strong: I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me [2 Cor 12:9].