keep a clear eye

In Letter to Rulers of People, Francis of Assisi wrote these words. May you benefit from them ... certainly every father should speak them to his son.

Keep a clear eye toward life’s end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s creatures. What you are in God’s sight is what you are and nothing more. Do not let worldly cares and anxieties or the pressures of office blot out the divine life within you or the voice of God’s Spirit guiding you in your great task of leading humanity to wholeness. If you open yourself to God and His plan printed deeply in your heart, God will open Himself to you.

Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received—fading symbols of honor, trappings of power—but only what you have given: a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.

Embrace the God of us all and God’s Word wherever it surfaces. Initiate God’s preference for the poor and the powerless. Enter into God’s plan of liberating all peoples from everything that oppresses them and obstructs their development as human beings. Do not grow tired of working for a peace among all people.

Help remove unjust structures and patterns of exploitation. Uphold the rights and dignity of the human person. Foster the creation of a society where human life is cherished and where all peoples of the planet can enjoy its gifts, which God created for all, in the spirit of love and justice and equality.

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