October is the month of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals. Legend has it that at the end of his life, Francis apologized to his donkey. He begged the animal that had carried him thousands of miles across the rugged Italian countryside for forgiveness for the crushing weight of heavy loads, the freezing nights on mountain passes, and the relentless, unforgiving human demands he had inflicted on it for years. According to early Franciscan lore, the donkey walked up to his bedside, pressed its heavy head against his frail body, and wept.

We are all born directly into the current of Divine, but animals never try to escape this river. They don’t fight against the current or place rocks and boulders in it’s path. Animals never debate about past droughts nor build barricades to stop the flood of God’s incredible love.

Animals live entirely in the presence of God. A dog doesn’t spends its evening building elaborate psychological walls of ego or pride to separate itself from the source of its being. A cat never questions its inherent worth, (cats never do, they question ours!) resting completely at ease in a patch of morning light and a fish glides through the deep water, entirely trusting the hidden currents without a moment of doubt. A wolf never suffers from an identity crisis or existential dread and a hawk never interrogates the wind to measure if it is worthy of grace. They don’t need reminders of who they are, and they never stray from the path.

Animals don’t build temples because the earth itself is their altar. They don’t need to follow any strict religious doctrines, debate theology, or study scriptures to connect with the Divine, because they live it out every day.

Every creature reminds us that spiritual life isn’t something we need to perform, build, overthink, measure or control.

Perhaps the donkey cried tears of joy because Francis finally understood what all animals are born knowing, that death is the final surrender into the river, into the One who is Love Itself.

Photo credit: Daniel Roth

Sources: The Complete Francis of Assisi, Paraclete Giants, 2015