"Why were the saints, the saints?" - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo is in honor of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi…

The feast is on October 4th every year to commemorate the life of Saint Francis (1181- 1226).

This story and photo from Agnes Montano is particularly apropos because Saint Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment.

One day Avatar Meher Baba dictated the following about saints, especially in regard to Saint Francis.

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“Why were the saints, the saints? Because they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful and patient when it was difficult to be patient.

And because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still, kept silent when they wanted to talk, and were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable. That was all. It was quite simple and always will be.”

— Avatar Meher Baba

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Not all Meher Baba’s guests at Meher Mount come in human form.

When my husband Juan Mendez and I were caretaking at Meher Mount, a yearling buck visited on a daily basis. He would spend most of the day leisurely resting in a spot by the statue of St. Francis.

Francis — as we started calling the deer — was not frightened by our presence.

One day Francis ventured onto the veranda. He nuzzled against one of the glass doors in the reception area. Then he seemed to look straight at Meher Baba’s photos hanging on the wall.

He pressed his nose hard against the door, as if wanting to come inside.

The gentle nature of this deer was an endearing reminder of the connections we – animals, plants and trees – share with the Divine and how God expresses Himself in all living beings.

~Agnes Montano, Temporary Caretaker & Board Member

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Sources

• Bhau Kalchuri, Lord Meher: The Biography of the Avatar of the Age Meher Baba, Online Edition, page 2098, accessed September 11, 2024. (c)Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust.

• Carolyn M. Ball, Meher Baba in Assisi . (Myrtle Beach, SC: Arti Books). (c)2019 by Carolyn M. Ball.

• Agnes Montano, “Francis (the Deer) Visits St. Francis (the Statue),” Meher Mount Story Blog, accessed September 11, 2024.

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"It's a sanctuary for all life, large and small."

Your Friday photo is in honor of Earth Month and the ecosystem at Meher Mount…

Watering holes are vital to various ecosystems. At Meher Mount, that watering hole is the pond near the Visitor Center. It attracts and sustains a wide variety of wildlife — both day and night — that call the mountain home.

You might even see some of these residents during your visit. Sam Ervin photographed this deer stopping by the pond for a drink of water.

“The pond is an essential part of Meher Mount’s role as a sanctuary for all life, large and small. A hub for life in a challenging environment. ”

— Ray Johnston, Caretaker

Open water is scarce atop Sulphur Mountain in the dry months. So the pond is a lifeline for the many species that depend on having access to an open water source.

This tiny pond is usually alive with birds, insects, and sometimes larger animals.

Nights at the pond are busy and often loud with a chorus of frogs and the sound of nocturnal wings, hooves, and tiny feet running through the leaves.

All are part of the ecosystem at Meher Mount.

~ Ray Johnston

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Ecosystem: A community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) and nonliving elements interacting with each other and their surroundings (environment) and weather to form a bubble of life.

Natural ecosystems are broadly classified into two types: Terrestrial (land) such as desert, grassland, mountain, rain forest; and aquatic (water) such as ocean, rivers, lakes.

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