St. Francis- 18th April 1991

DOGS have a very special compatibility and relationship to men. Man has proven that he can exert influence over many beasts, but of the animal kingdom the dog is the most responsive and the most likely to comply with the animal nature of Man and his will that rules both. There can be much genuine affection between the two, even with the consideration that one necessarily governs the other. 

The domestic temperament of the pet has developed seemingly of recent times, however this relationship was once possible betwixt man and all of the animal/mammal gender. Compatibility in existence, therefore, can be imagined and understood when one observes the remnants of this former time in connection to the dog and Man.

The falling-out that occurred is to be understood as something of a crisis in the natural world although an intrinsic step on the road of evolution and division of certain kingdoms and their corresponding souls. It denotes a great and marked change in the levels of understanding from one beast to another and the conflicts that now occur continually in the hungry battles for existence.

St. Francis could truly bridge the past into a future relationship and by his very being had refined and purified his own 'animal/beast' that took communion with that world in realms that spoke to the heart and soul of those animals surrounding him. Such care, love and respect for the lesser brothers was a regard for life and the Lord Himself. Dominance was not the question. 

Francis had founded his home under the stars, taking his place with those kingdoms visible and invisible, in the earthly realms to which he was bound.

All may be understood to be pitiable creatures locked in earthly existence. Harmony, rather than compulsion to aggression, was the path of the Franciscan who followed in the steps of total regard and compassion that cherished all life in all forms that stream from our Father's being. And so we may contemplate and commemorate Father Francis and his ways, seeking a future harmony that will once more dictate the relationships of the many-faceted beings that cohabit the world.