Among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. I Corinthians 2: 6-7
I am often asked, “What is a fractal?” Why are my commentaries entitled, “Franciscan Fractals”? My writings hopefully speak to the wisdom that God asks us to proclaim as mentioned in Corinthians. I attempt to write from an historic Franciscan perspective which began centuries ago. The Franciscan perspective is more relevant today than it has ever been. It addresses real-life situations and solutions through challenging today’s world which can be filled with senseless ramblings and noise.
Franciscan Fractals are written for those who wish to mature in their faith. We are encouraged to allow a shift whereby we see the world from God’s perspective rather than our own. Most church-going Christians today worship God at an elementary, basic, or fifth-grade level of understanding. At this level, God sits on a throne judging who is good and who is bad, rewarding those who are found good with prosperity, health, and eternal life. The nature of God could not be farther from the truth. St. Francis lived beyond these illusions through embracing prayer and poverty.
A fractal is a pattern that repeats itself over and over again on various scales of size. The fractal looks the same no matter how close or far away that one looks at it. In visualizing this, imagine the shape of a snowflake, or a bunch of Brussel sprouts, or the branches of a tree, or the pattern of a fern. Even the smallest parts of the human body such as the nervous and circulatory systems are arranged in terms of fractals. This says something about the nature of the universe that God created. God likes fractals!
The fractal is an example of God’s wisdom about which St. Paul speaks when he uses the terms “secret and hidden.” The world values that which is easily seen and not hidden, namely, power, money, status, and the oppression of others (for the “common good”). What is missing and not easily seen is the strength of love, mercy, and justice which are the tools that God uses to actively be present in the world.
The fractal of God’s love started long ago with the self-giving of love within God’s self. This outpouring of love became the Big Bang at the beginning of creation. That love then repeated itself in a universe resulting in the formation of the world and humanity. The love of God ultimately came to rest in the heart of human beings. Human beings intuitively know this because they are by nature drawn into relationship with others through a sense of love — whether they recognize it or not.
Within every fractal, it is love which forms its underlying structure. St. Francis saw this repeating structure when he embraced all things as part of God’s family. The “mature wisdom” of which Paul speaks is actually a fractal. It breaks apart our know-it-all mentality, changes our perspective of the world, and frees us to become whom we are created to be. The hidden fractals found in love, mercy, and justice are all that we need to live fully.
The key to this mystery is that you and I do not figure fractals out. Fractals figure us out, and give us the information that you and I did not know that we were missing. Such is the nature of God.
Blessings and Prayers,
Fr. John
