Spirituality of helping

While I was in sin, it seemed very bitter to me to see lepers. And the Lord Himself led me among them and I had mercy upon them. And when I left them that which seemed bitter to me was changed into sweetness of soul and body.

Prior to his decision to devote his life to following in the footsteps of Jesus, Francis of Assisi spent a period of time helping others in a leper colony near his hometown. At the end of his life, Francis wrote a document that contains the major elements of his religious experiences and insights. What happened to him while living with lepers occupies the very first verses of this carefully scripted memoir. In the opening part of this Testament, he declared what a radical change occurred in him as a result of his encounter with lepers. This was for Francis an epiphany experience and the beginning of a new way of understanding the meaning of the Gospel.

Reaching beyond the normal desire to avoid experiences that are unpleasant, Francis discovered that it is in giving that we receive. When we accept the Lord’s numerous invitations to follow him and share in his mission to bring good news to the poor and to help liberate people from all that keeps them from achieving their full potential (cf Luke 4:18, 19), we discover that it is true that Jesus came among us in order than we might have abundant life (cf John 10:10). What we had previously found disturbing or frightening now fills us with joy. (cf John 15:11)