Francis and the San Damiano Cross: Meditations on Spiritual Transformation

Subtitled "Meditations on Spiritual Transformation," this work is organized around the San Damiano Cross and its effect on St. Francis of Assisi. For those who don't know the story, Francis came upon the cross in a ramshackle church and as he prayed, heard the voice of Christ telling him "Go and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin." Each short chapter consists of a description of one of the elements of the San Damiano crucifix, Francis' response, and "our" response. I found all of these thought provoking, but because I was unfamiliar with this cross and its myriad symbols, I felt the need to download an enlarged color picture from the Internet to keep nearby as I read. I did not need graphics, however, to understand the relationships Saint Sing uncovers among the cross, Francis' life, and ours. She says, for example, that we are all called to make repairs, perhaps in our work, our environment, or our relationships with others or with God. And in the story of St. Francis' embracing lepers, she sees our call to work "daily and steadfastly to bring the lepers of our lives to our family table, especially the lepers within our own family already sitting in our midst."