The Poor of Assisi, a Pure Heart

Pure humanism cannot exist without God, save on a very small scale. As things stand, only God can make a revolution in the heart, turning value judgments upside down, cancelling installments and appropriations, and designing new interest scales.

For this reason, there are very few true humanists, and for this reason the hopes of the poor remain frustrated as they hold a pile of pointless words in their hands.

In the history of mankind very few men have practiced humanism as Brother Francis of Assisi did. He venerated where there was no reason to venerate. He appreciated where there was no reason to show appreciation. He showed more than his share of love to the unlovable. The less attractive the person was the more affectionate he was, increasing his affection by inverse proportions. In this, as in everything, he did nothing more than follow Jesus’ example.

Throughout this book, we will come across many emotional episodes in which we will see the resplendent humanism of the Poor Man of Assisi.

Extracted from the book “Brother Francis of Assisi” by Father Ignacio Larrañaga