Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi. Fr. Rolheiser writes in his article called, Kissing the Leper, of a story told about St. Francis, perhaps more mythical than factual, which illustrates how touching the poor is the cure for a mediocre and dying faith. Francis was a rich and pampered young man. Riding down a narrow road, he found his path blocked by a leper. He was particularly repulsed by lepers; their deformities and smell revolted him, and so he tried to steer his horse around the leper, but the path was too narrow. Frustrated and angry, but with his path clearly blocked before him, Francis eventually had no other choice but to get down off his horse and try to move the leper out of his path. When he put out his hand to take the leper’s arm, as he touched the leper, something inside of him snapped. Suddenly, irrational, unashamed, and undeterred by the smell of rotting flesh, he kissed that leper. His life was never the same again. In that kiss, Francis found the reality of God and of love in a way that would change his life forever. Today, many of us struggle with the same issues as did the pre-converted Francis: a pampered life and a mediocre and dying faith. We know that our faith calls us to work for social justice and that this demand is non-negotiable. Simply put, if we touch the poor, we will touch Christ. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto to me,” Christ assures us. In the poor, God is ever-present in our world, waiting to be met. In the powerless, one can find the power of God; in the voiceless, one can hear the voice of God; in the economically poor, one can find God’s treasures; in the weak, one can find God’s strength; and in the unattractive, one can find God’s beauty. Like Francis, we must get off our horses and kiss the leper. If we do, something will snap, we will see our pampered lives for what they are, and God and love will break into our lives in such a way that we will never be the same again.