Saint Francis and Sultan al Malik found something special from God in each other that changed their worlds for the better. In their memory, I wish Pope Francis all the best, and all the blessings God can give him in his life and his service.

Prepare your best Saint Valentine's Day cards for them. Our pets are our sisters and our brothers, and they call us to be better people and better stewards of creation than we are now.

St. Francis of Assisi always called creatures his brothers and sisters and he worked to further widen the fraternity to link humans and creatures in the same relationship with God.

Francis of Assisi believed that he was a creature of God and that his creatureliness made him and all of us part of Creation. We use Francis' teaching to remind us that we were created by the One who created all things.