Jesus taught us: “[I]t is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” (Luke 9:48).

But we didn’t hear. We didn’t see. (Matthew 13:14-15).

And so, in 1204 the army of the Western Christians fought the army of the Eastern Christians at Constantinople. The armies wanted to show which Christians were “The Greatest.”

The Western Christians “won,” sacking the city, plundering its ancient wealth, and smashing its incomparable beauty.

Fortunately, in 1205 one follower of the Way of Jesus heard. One follower of the Way of Jesus saw.

One young man in Italy decided to become the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.

He renounced all the wealth and lusts of the world. Living in absolute poverty, begging for his food, he traveled from place to place, preaching the Good News about Jesus Christ.

This “least of the least” is known to us as St. Francis of Assisi.

It seems impossible that lowly St. Francis of Assisi—who lived in extreme poverty and who lived without any weapons—could be far greater than entire armies of soldiers dying in battle. But what is impossible for us is possible for God. (Matthew 19:26).

“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

God chose St. Francis of Assisi to make the Way of Jesus great again!

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To read more about St. Francis of Assisi, please read my book Visions of the Church (published together with my book Visions of America), at pages 182-185.

To read more about how to build a good civilization by renouncing war, arrogance and selfishness, and by being a blessing to ALL people, please read my blog “How Do We Build a Civilization That Is Good—That Is Very Good?”.

To read about St. Francis of Assisi giving us the Nativity Scene, please read my blogs: “St. Francis of Assisi’s Vision of the Nativity”, “The Nativity Scene: Baby Jesus”, “The Nativity Scene: Mary”, “The Nativity Scene: Joseph”, “The Nativity Scene: The Homeless Family”, “The Nativity Scene: The Humble Stable”, “The Nativity Scene: The Shepherds”, “The Nativity Scene: The Magi”, “The Nativity Scene: The Sheep”, and “The Nativity Scene: The Angels”; and by reading the chapter “Relying on the Lunar Module” in my book Visions of the Church (published with my book Visions of America), at pages 181-185.

The chapter about St. Francis of Assisi refers to the Lunar Module because I use the flawed—yet triumphant—flight of Apollo 13 as my narrative thread to give an overview of 2,000 years of Church history in only 60 pages.

To read more about the Nativity, please read my book Hoping in the LORD, at pages 12-46.