800 Years of St. Francis · Day 15 of 31 · Thursday, October 15, 2026
Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water, who is very useful to us, and humble and precious and pure. (From the Canticle of Creation)
I have often thought about a boy standing at the edge of a pond, choosing a stone. It wasn’t the flattest one or the one that would skip the farthest. He turned it over twice, decided something secretly about it, and let it go. He never watched where it landed. By the time the rings were spreading, he was already bent over looking for the next one.
Most of us do the opposite. We drop a word, a kindness, or a hard conversation into the water, and then we stand there counting circles, waiting for the ripples to tell us whether it mattered.
Francis called water humble, and I think he saw something true. Water doesn’t sort our days into what counts and what doesn’t. It receives everything. No surface on this pond is neutral, and no throw lands nowhere. Every word and every silence sends something outward, carrying the intention inside our hand at the moment we let go.
That is both a freedom and a responsibility. The kindness nobody noticed lost nothing. But the motive we hoped to hide travels with the stone too.
Notice today: Before your next word or act, don’t ask whether it will be seen. Ask what is actually in your hand.
The water makes no distinction. It receives everything, and it carries it farther than we will ever see.
At San Damiano: Personal retreats are available throughout the year, whether for a day of quiet or a few nights on the hillside. sandamiano.org/personal-retreats
Day 15 of 31 · 800 Years of St. Francis: A Daily October Companion · spiritualbreak.com
Reflection © 2026 Michael J. Cunningham OFS.
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