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LETTER TO THE RULERS OF THE PEOPLE
To all Leaders and Representatives of the People


Adapted from Francis of Assisi’s “Letter to the Rulers of the People” Circa 1220
 

We the followers of Francis and Clare of Assisi and your co-workers in struggle for a better society, send greetings and peace and this message.

Keep a clear eye towards life’s end.  Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s creature.  What you are in God’s sight is what you are and nothing more.  Do not let worldly cares and anxieties of the pressure 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 God’s plan printed deeply in your heart , God will open Godself to you.

Remember that when you leave his earth you can take with you nothing that you have received – fading symbols of honor, trappings of power – but only what you have been 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 oppress them and obstructs their development as human beings.  Do not grow tires of working for a peace among all people.

Help remove unjust social 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.