“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

This saying of Francis of Assisi has been in circulation for more than 800 years. Although some might use this as an excuse to hide their faith in their good works, that is not true of the author of the quote. Francis - who took an oath of poverty (after hearing a sermon on Matthew 10:9-10), was commissioned in a vision to “fix My house which is in ruins”, and spent his time nurturing lepers - was a man of bold faith. I thought I’d share a story for inspiration sake:

In 1219 Francis went together with a few companions, on a pilgrimage of non-violence to Egypt. Crossing the lines between the sultan and the Crusaders in Damietta, he was received by the sultan Melek-el-Kamel. Francis challenged the Muslim scholars to a test of true religion by fire; but they retreated. When Francis proposed to enter the fire first, under the condition that if he left the fire unharmed, the sultan would have to recognize Christ as the true God, the sultan was so impressed that he allowed Francis to preach to his subjects. Though Francis did not succeed in converting the sultan, the last words of the sultan to Francis of Assisi were, according to the book “Historia occidentalis, De Ordine et praedicatione Fratrum Minorum (1221)” : “Pray for me that God may deign to reveal to me that law and faith which is most pleasing to him.”

Something tells me that Francis of Assisi used words often - but not unnecessarily. A good discipline to adopt, I think…