Host Karen Wright Marsh tells the story of Francis and Clare Assisi and discusses their lives with Jonathan Merritt, award-winning faith and culture writer.

Everyone knows placid Francis of Assisi, the beaming saint of garden statuary. But in reality, Francis and his friend Clare were bold spiritual adventurers who risked everything to be like Jesus, no matter how crazy it seemed to their families, friends and neighbors. Do we dare to follow their example today?  

Meet host Karen Wright Marsh, and learn more about the show here: www.karenwrightmarsh.com

Guest Jonathan Merritt is an award-winning writer on religion, culture, and politics. He writes for The Atlantic and is the author of several critically-acclaimed books including Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words are Vanishing - and How We Can Revive Them.   Jonathan has published more than 3500 articles in respected outlets from The New York Times to Christianity Today.   Learn more at jonathanmerritt.com.

For further reading, Karen recommends:

Francis of Assisi: A New Biography by Augustine Thompson

Francis and Clare: A True Story by Jon M. Sweeney

Francis and Clare: The Complete Works in The Classics of Western Spirituality

Become a podcast partner! Make your gift at: www.theologicalhorizons.org/giving. Thank you!

Support the show