Franciscan Sister Marsaia Kaster offers Franciscan Station: Go Repair My Church in a series of reflections highlighting St. Francis of Assisi.
In the deserted church of San Damiano, Jesus spoke to Francis from the crucifix: “Go, Francis, and repair my church which is falling into ruin.” Francis had been pleading with God to show him what to do. Now Francis became a builder of churches; gathering stones and mortar, climbing ladders and repairing old churches.
Little did Francis know that he was called to “prop up,” to hold firm, to repair the larger Church, the Body of Christ, which was falling down. In a dream Pope Innocent III saw Francis “putting his own back under the Church lest it fall.”
By the Gospel life of the brothers, by preaching to all people the compassion of God, by their love for the Church, by example and in humility, Francis and his followers would rebuild the Church.
Does my faith, and my love for the Church and its members lead me to help rebuild the Church?
