Active or Contemplative?

The Grotto of Brother Leo near Eremodi Carceri

On one occasion St. Francis said to the brothers who were closest to him, "What do you think? Should I give my time to prayer or should I go about preaching? I am a poor little simple one, with no skill in speaking; I have received a gift of prayer rather than that of preaching. Besides, in prayer we acquire graces while in preaching we deal out the graces we've received. In prayer we purify the desires of our hearts and enter into union with the one, true, and supreme Good, and we grow in virtue. In preaching, on the other hand, the dust of distraction and relaxed discipline enters the soul."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER XII

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