A Fool’s Blessing*
God of upturned expectations,
bless us with holy foolishness.
Help us take ourselves less seriously
and believe in what we did not think
could be done:
impossible situations,
limited resources,
injustices demanding rectification,
traumas needing healing.
Grant us a restless heart
when we witness oppression
and exploitation, hunger and war,
poverty and destruction.
Kindle in us a need to extend our hands
in service to a hurting world,
joining with kindred souls
in communities of care,
knowing ourselves to not be alone.
Help us trust in the tiny seeds we plant,
that they grow vigorously and flourish,
let the ripples we send across the waters
of life be multiplied by the efforts of others.
Infuse us with courage
to keep loving when it feels hard to love,
to keep being foolish enough
to think we can join with you
in transforming the world.
We are returning to our work with the archetypes in helping us to meet the challenges of the times we live in. We begin by exploring the archetype of apocalypse and what the invitation might be in the end of time which is also the beginning of time.
We will then explore four archetypes–Fool, Orphan, Sovereign, and Prophet–to inspire and challenge us to consider new ways of being and responding to the world we live in. St. Francis of Assisi is a powerful example of the Holy Fool at work, from stripping his clothing publicly, appearing naked in the church, renouncing his wealth, befriending all creatures, and calling his community of brothers “fools for Christ “reflecting the words of St. Paul. He tames a wolf and during the Crusades he walks unarmed across the Egyptian desert into the Sultan’s camp where he had every reason to expect his own death, a foolish act indeed.
We are always being called to new revelation and to see the world from another perspective. The inner Fool is the one who helps us to see things anew and to dismantle the accepted wisdom of our times.
Productivity, striving, consumption, and speed are some of the false gods of our western culture. A life committed to following the Divine path is one which makes the world’s wisdom seem foolish, but conversely, the world looks upon those with spiritual commitment often as the ones who are “fools.”
This can be a challenging archetype for some of us as we often try to do everything possible so as not to look foolish. However, this archetype is the one which helps to subvert the dominant paradigm. The author GK Chesterton, in his book about Francis of Assisi, explores the idea of Francis seeing the world upside down, which is really seeing it right side up, because we get a totally new perspective.
There is a subversive act of truth-telling through the Fool’s humor and playfulness. The Fool risks mockery by stepping out of socially acceptable roles and asks where are you willing to look foolish? Through the fool we find vicarious release for much we have repressed in ourselves. If we have always lived according to the “rules” or been overly concerned with how things look, the Fool invites us to break open and play. The Fool encourages us to laugh at ourselves, reminding us that humor and humility have the same root as humus, which means earthiness.
By ignoring predictable or conventional behavior we encounter a fresh perspective. The Fool also helps to reveal the hypocrisies of life. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions says that holy fools subvert prevailing orthodoxy and orthopraxis in order to point to the truth which lies beyond immediate conformity. The sacred function of the Fool is to tear down the illusions we hold so dear and illuminate what is new through playfulness and humor and using shocking or unconventional behavior to challenge the status quo or social norms. We are helped to see beyond the dualities we live by.
If the Holy Fool calls to you, or our other archetypes of Orphan, Sovereign, and Prophet, please consider joining us for a powerful 4-week online journey. I will be leading weekly live sessions and joined by a wonderful array of guest teachers.
*Blessing written by Christine for a book of blessings (due to be published in spring 2026)
Dancing Monk icon by Marcy Hall
