A few words to St Francis on your festival day, October 4th.

Dear Francis,
You were led from your raucousness and debauchery.
As leader of the pack,
they gathered around you, your disciples,
attracted by a charisma that lit up their lives.
Of course, your pockets held the wealth
which made living as free spirits so easy.
You took it all for granted.
The centre of your life was within you,
focussing on that self which has ruined so many.

But another Charisma sought your energy.
Different followers waited to be your disciples.
Different values, to be ripened by true joy.
Perplexed, perhaps that you were losing direction,
uncertainty gripped that carefree heart
and nothing satisfied.

From the centre of things, you were called to the margins,
where your destiny would discover you.
Kneeling, questioningly, in the dereliction of San Damiano chapel,
you were led to examine your own crumbling life.
In the midst of your despair, Jesus spoke to you,

“Francis, rebuild my Church.”

At first, a physical task,
drawing others to your side as only you could,
but there was so much more to come.
You did not always get it right. None do.
That is why God comes among us often,
casting his grace over us, like rose petals at a wedding.

It is said that, near death, Jesus gifted you with stigmata,  
scars, wounds of Christ, as marks on your own body.
But you had received these on your heart long ago,
when you walked as a companion of Jesus.
The Way of the Cross gave you Stations of prayer
by which you were able to shepherd poor, unloved,
uncared for humanity; vulnerable animals;
dancing birds, whose capricious flight was a sign of God’s joy.
And you did not forget the rich,
who more than most need to walk with you, into heaven.

[Mr G. St Francis day 2023]