There was once a trusting Franciscan guardian who took a young friar to live in his own lean-to down by the river.  For the first week the friar was ecstatic – his prayer life blossomed and he really felt he had taken a major step on his journey to God.

At the end of the week, the young friar washed his one habit and put it out to dry.  The next morning he was dismayed to find that some rats had torn his habit to shreds.  So he covered himself as best he could, went to a nearby village and begged for another.  A week later, after washing, the rats destroyed that habit as well.  So, the young friar got a cat – and presto – rat problem solved. But he found he had to beg for milk for the cat.  And all the begging was taking away from his life of prayer.  So he got a cow; but of course the cow needed hay.  And he needed fields to grow the hay and a barn to store the hay.  And that took away from prayer time and his journey to God.  So he hired people to farm and tend the animals, but then he found he was the de facto mayor/sheriff/paymaster of a small village. So he hired village administrators and a small police force. And there were town meetings – and on and on the story went. Continue reading →