Obama's visit to Cairo - A Franciscan tie-in

While browsing through the Web news and blog sites this morning, I came across this June 4 entry by David Gibson on his blog "Pontifications," (http://blog.beliefnet.com/pontifications/). He was sharing another writer's comparison of President Obama's visit to Cairo and a visit St. Francis of Assisi made hundreds of years ago. Both came to promote peace, both hoped to use the power of words to do so. Of course, Francis' idea was to convert the Muslim population to Christianity. Yet, his approach was so humble and gentle, he won the respect of the Sultan, and was given a passport to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. What the might of the Crusader armies could not achieve, entering Jerusalem, a little barefoot man, in a patched habit, was able to do. A story worth reflecting on.