In his blog, DatingGod.org: Franciscan Spirituality for the 21st Century, Br. Dan Horan, OFM, expounds on a modern take on the richness of the tradition of St. Francis. Francis is no animal loving hippy, rather he is a much deeper Saint with a passion for justice, the earth, and all of creation.

Br. Dan likens a relationship with God to dating — learning more about a person in relationship. If we remove the sexual and amorous side of dating and focus on the “getting to know you” part of dating there is an opportunity for us to have deep union with God, even deeper than we might expect to have with anyone else. A book by the same name is well worth a read.