“You only know as much as you do.”
– St. Francis of Assissi
For Saints Francis and Clare, the best way to follow and worship Jesus is through imitation. Up to then, most of Christian spirituality was based on theories of prayer, or academic theology, which was founded in “correct belief” or liturgy. The embodiment of Christianity needed to be practical and “could be lived in the streets.”
To Francis prayer is the way life is lived. Francis and Clare’s approach has been called “performative spirituality” which means that things are only found to be true in the doing of them. At the level of thought, issues will always be debated because thinking is based on judgment.
When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) he knew that we unknowingly began living in our minds ever since we lost innocence. We have unconsciously become dependent and addicted to ego-induced thinking. Jesus knew that the only way we could live in abundance, as he promised, was for us to depart from a life lived through thought, and begin living life through light and truth inherent within us all – love – for it is the way, truth, and life.
John 4:23-24 “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
