No fence sitting

Some points that struck us in St. Francis' meditations was that he was simple yet demanding. He is sure to challenge Philothea. This is depicted, for instance, in his counsel to detest sin. (It is obvious from this wording that St. Francis himself hated sin.)

Such a challenge elicits a response from Philothea -- there is no sitting on the fence. In his gentleness, St. Francis nevertheless does not abandon Philothea. In this way, he balances his admonition with his tenderness. An example of this is comparing his meditations with that of St. Ignatius', with which St. Francis was familiar. While very similar, St. Francis' meditations differ in his "sweet" adjectives, as if appealing to the heart of the person.

As to how, from his meditations, St. Francis understands the human person, our group discussed how he understood humanity's fallen nature very well. Also, that the human person is essentially in need of God, and that the human person needs to be drawn rather than forced in deciding for God.

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The group to which I belonged was Linda, Woojun, myself and Suwan or Bancha (I get the two mixed up...but the shorter of the two and is a priest).

Respectfully yours in Christ,

Melanio Puzon, III