ABSTRACT
It is said that Saint Francis of Assisi' life was decisively transformed when he attended Mass at the Portiuncular in February 1208 and heard 'the Gospel passage in which the apostles were commissioned to preach'. From the standpoint of ecological theology, there are four aspects of his ministry which deserve particular attention. The first concerns simplicity. The second concerns kinship. Francis took literally the claim that the Gospel should be preached to 'all creation'. The third concerns generosity. Francis did not just perceive an ontological bond between all creatures by virtue of their common Creator, he sought to manifest that unity through acts of moral generosity. The fourth concerns celebration. The theological significance of Francis' life may be understood as a prefiguring of that state of peaceableness within creation which will finally be accomplished at the end of time.
