How Virtue Conquers Vice
Where there is charity and wisdom,
there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Where there is patience and humility,
there is neither anger nor disturbance.
Where there is poverty with joy,
there is neither covetousness nor avarice.
Where there is inner peace and meditation,
there is neither anxiousness nor dissipation.
Where there is fear of the Lord to guard the house,
there the enemy cannot gain entry.
Where there is mercy and discernment,
there is neither excess nor hardness of heart.
The Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi is October 4.
Image: St. Francis Giving his Mantle to a Poor Man by Giotto, ca. 1297.
From the Web Gallery of Art (https://www.wga.hu/index.html): “This is the second of the twenty-eight scenes (twenty-five of which were painted by Giotto) of the Legend of Saint Francis…Francis hands his valuable golden cloak to an impoverished citizen. The scene takes place in front of two rocky hills, on whose peaks two very different types of architecture rise up–the world of the city and of the cloister confront one another here. The descending slopes meet behind the figure of the saint, emphasizing his position in the picture, as well as characterizing his situation in life: this is a first indication that the saint will decide to lead a secluded life of poverty.”