This attitude of reverence and affection led [St. Francis] to pick snails up from the roads so they would not be trodden under foot. In winter he gave honey to bees so they would not die of want and cold. He asked his brethren not to cut trees down to the root with the hope that they could regenerate and grow again. Indeed, he felt that spaces ought to be reserved in gardens for weeds so that they could survive, because "they also proclaim the most splendid Father of all beings."
— Leonardo Boff, The Prayer of Saint Francis