Father Bodo draws from the life of St. Francis of Assisi lessons that can help the rest of us find the peace and joy and exhibit the kindness and compassion that he did. The first section of the book is taken up with a sketch of the life of St. Francis. For most readers of this work many of these stories will be familiar. However, the aim is not so much to provide new tidbits as to draw an arc of St. Francis's transformation from headstrong, wealthy, impulsive teenager to a poor, mendicant friar spiritually wealthier than his former self. In the second section, Bodo carefully explains and describes five elements--silence, purification, openness, responsiveness and time--insight into which facilitated St. Francis's transformation. Discussions of each element are illustrated with stories from the lives of St. Francis, other saints and the author. In two instances, he leads the reader in "contemplative seeing" meditations. (For those trying to begin contemplative prayer, they may find his concrete descriptions of achieving silence and of contemplative seeing may be helpful.)

I listened to The Way of St. Francis as an audiobook and am glad that I did. The tone of the book is conversational like a series of sessions with a spiritual director, which the author has been. Listening was especially helpful as Bodo lead the listener through the experience of achieving inner silence and engaging in contemplative seeing.

4 July 2007 ( )