Saints and sinners anyone? Yet who can claim to be wholly one or the other?

The point of my “Two Quotes” series is to lay before you literary, artistic and/or musical juxtapositions, and let you be the judge of their similarities and their contrasts. Click here for more.

St. Francis, born to Italian nobility in the 13th century, renounced his worldly possessions and took a vow of poverty to serve God as a monk. Eventually he gathered other like-minded aristocratic scions and founded the Franciscan order of friars. He’s well known for being a lover of God’s creation, even going so far as to preach to the birds and the fishes. He wrote “The Canticle of the Creatures” in 1224 while recovering from an illness and it is the earliest piece of literature written in Italian rather than Latin, the language of the church. Dante alludes to it in Canto 11 of Purgatorio.

The Canticle of the Creatures

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honour, and all blessing.

To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day and through whom You give us light.

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour;
and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather,
through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night,
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your
love, and bear infirmity and tribulation.

Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no one living can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.

St. Francis of Assisi

Johnny Cash was the son of a poor Arkansas cotton farmer. Moving to Memphis, Tennessee, he formed a band and became a best-selling musical artist known for his deep voice and his black-clad demeanor. He was given the nickname “the Undertaker” early on by fellow artists and was known worldwide as the “the Man in Black.” One of his biggest hits was “Folsom Prison Blues.” After he became a Christian, he kicked his alcoholism and gave free prison concerts where he would share the gospel with inmates. He released his song “Flesh and Blood” in 1970. You can skip the video if you’re not a fan but I’d encourage you to listen to his introductory remarks where he recounts how he came to write the song.

Flesh and Blood

Beside a singing mountain stream
Where the willow grew

Where the silver leaf of maple
Sparkled in the morning dew
I braided twigs of willows
Made a string of buckeye beads
But flesh and blood needs flesh and blood
And you’re the one I need
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood
And you’re the one I need

I leaned against a bark of birch
And I breathed the honey dew
I saw a North-bound flock of geese
Against a sky of baby blue
Beside the lily pads
I carved a whistle from a reed
Mother Nature’s quite a lady
But you’re the one I need
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood
And you’re the one I need

A cardinal sang just for me
And I thanked him for the song
Then the sun went slowly down the west
And I had to move along
These were some of the things
On which my mind and spirit feed
But flesh and blood need flesh and blood
And you’re the one I need
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood
And you’re the one I need

So when this day was ended
I was still not satisfied
For I knew everything I touched
Would wither and would die
And love is all that will remain
And grow from all these seeds
Mother Nature’s quite a lady
But you’re the one I need
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood
And you’re the one I need

Johnny Cash (1970)

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Credit is due to Sammi’s Day 4 writing prompt, “Flesh and Blood,” which led me on this seemingly unlikely track.