Francis: Compassionate Builder of
the Church
October 4, 2016
by Mico Pacheco
by Mico Pacheco
Poster by Mac Norhen Bornales
ONE EVENING, the Pope had a dream of a church in the midst of an earthquake. A strong earthquake it truly was and perilous to the structure, but despite its intensity, the church did not collapse. The Pope then saw a figure of a man holding onto the structure, as if supporting it so that it may not collapse. When the shaking stopped, the man turned around and lo, the man the Holy Father saw was Francis. This dream of the Holy Father paved way for the approval of a community of brothers who lived in poverty and committed themselves to charity - the FRANCISCANS.
Today we celebrate the feast of Holy Father St. Francis of Assisi. We know much about this saint, how he rejected his noble life to offer his life to Jesus through poverty, how he served people through charity and how he formed his mendicant community. His life proved to be a testament of one’s love for God, a love which involves giving everything for him and his people.
How the world needs a Francis today! We live in a world immersed in a mentality centered on profit, ruled by capitalist and neoliberal ideals which promote the good of the wealthy while neglecting the needs of the downtrodden. Our world today has lost the sense of sacrifice and immersed itself in a world of pleasure and enjoyment. While we progressed, we focused more on the self and lost our sense of community. Our selfishness made our passions prevail, wants and desires over what is truly important, acknowledging God's presence in our suffering brothers and sisters.
Francis, while praying inside an old abandoned church he found had a mystical experience when Jesus, through the crucifix hanging there spoke to him saying “Francis, rebuild my Church”. Francis thought that Jesus was asking him to rebuild the old abandoned church he was staying, that is why Francis gathered stones for the building. But later on he would realize that it was not the physical building he was being asked to rebuild but the Church, the People of God. His time was a time of suffering and turmoil, a time of poverty, plagues, social injustices and heresies. To rebuild the Church, Francis and his brothers lived and immersed themselves with the people. He showed them Christ through living exemplary lives of service. Francis and his brothers rejected the ways of pleasurable living in order for Christ to work through them. Francis showed mercy and not mercy which is solely his but mercy which emanates for God, who showed us how to be merciful through Christ.
In this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, let us look to Holy Father St. Francis as our model in showing mercy, as well as our own Holy Father, St. Dominic. Francis and Dominic shared a friendship, a bond and affinity which we see to this very day through their sons, us, the Order of Preachers and the Order of Friars Minor. In a time of darkness, Francis and Dominic became light for the Church. Dominic and his brothers rebuilt the Church through preaching Christ, bringing his Word to the hearts of the faithful, while Francis and his own community strengthened the Church by showing Christ, bringing the example of holiness and simplicity to the hearts of Christians. May we be inspired by our saint for today, St. Francis, and our Holy Father, St. Dominic. May we respond to the call to show mercy and become agents of mercy as we participate in building this Church to a strong testament to Christ, the Face of the Father’s Mercy.
Today we celebrate the feast of Holy Father St. Francis of Assisi. We know much about this saint, how he rejected his noble life to offer his life to Jesus through poverty, how he served people through charity and how he formed his mendicant community. His life proved to be a testament of one’s love for God, a love which involves giving everything for him and his people.
How the world needs a Francis today! We live in a world immersed in a mentality centered on profit, ruled by capitalist and neoliberal ideals which promote the good of the wealthy while neglecting the needs of the downtrodden. Our world today has lost the sense of sacrifice and immersed itself in a world of pleasure and enjoyment. While we progressed, we focused more on the self and lost our sense of community. Our selfishness made our passions prevail, wants and desires over what is truly important, acknowledging God's presence in our suffering brothers and sisters.
Francis, while praying inside an old abandoned church he found had a mystical experience when Jesus, through the crucifix hanging there spoke to him saying “Francis, rebuild my Church”. Francis thought that Jesus was asking him to rebuild the old abandoned church he was staying, that is why Francis gathered stones for the building. But later on he would realize that it was not the physical building he was being asked to rebuild but the Church, the People of God. His time was a time of suffering and turmoil, a time of poverty, plagues, social injustices and heresies. To rebuild the Church, Francis and his brothers lived and immersed themselves with the people. He showed them Christ through living exemplary lives of service. Francis and his brothers rejected the ways of pleasurable living in order for Christ to work through them. Francis showed mercy and not mercy which is solely his but mercy which emanates for God, who showed us how to be merciful through Christ.
In this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, let us look to Holy Father St. Francis as our model in showing mercy, as well as our own Holy Father, St. Dominic. Francis and Dominic shared a friendship, a bond and affinity which we see to this very day through their sons, us, the Order of Preachers and the Order of Friars Minor. In a time of darkness, Francis and Dominic became light for the Church. Dominic and his brothers rebuilt the Church through preaching Christ, bringing his Word to the hearts of the faithful, while Francis and his own community strengthened the Church by showing Christ, bringing the example of holiness and simplicity to the hearts of Christians. May we be inspired by our saint for today, St. Francis, and our Holy Father, St. Dominic. May we respond to the call to show mercy and become agents of mercy as we participate in building this Church to a strong testament to Christ, the Face of the Father’s Mercy.