St. Francis of Assisi: Rebuild My Church

St.Francis

Today at Mass, the priest reminded us of something striking: St. Francis of Assisi is almost never celebrated on a Sunday, yet today the Church made an exception. That alone is a quiet sign of how important his witness remains for our time.

Most people remember St. Francis for his love of animals and nature, but that is only the surface. Before he loved creation, he loved Christ crucified. His tenderness toward creatures flowed from a much deeper conversion, a heart seized by Jesus Christ.

Francis was born into a wealthy merchant family in Assisi. His life was comfortable, admired, and full of prospects. But one day, while praying before the crucifix in the small, deteriorating church of San Damiano, he heard Christ speak to him: “Francis, go and repair my Church, which, as you see, is falling into ruin.”

At first, Francis understood these words literally. He found a dilapidated little church and physically rebuilt it, stone by stone, using his own money and even begging for materials. But the deeper meaning of Christ’s call extended far beyond walls and roofs. The Lord was calling Francis to become an instrument of renewal within His Church, to help restore what had become wounded, neglected, and spiritually weakened.

Eight hundred years ago, the Church faced serious challenges: moral failures, abuses of power, worldly ambition, and spiritual lukewarmness. Francis did not respond by placing himself above the Church or by abandoning her. He responded through radical conversion and fidelity to Christ.

He renounced his inheritance and surrendered the security and privileges of his former life. In a dramatic public act before the Bishop of Assisi, Francis stripped himself of his earthly possessions and even returned the clothes that belonged to his father. He embraced a life of radical poverty, declaring that from that moment forward he had only “Our Father who is in heaven.”

From that poverty, God raised up a giant of faith.

Millions have come closer to Christ because of St. Francis, through his simplicity, his love for the poor, his humility, his fidelity to the Church, and his burning love for Jesus Christ, especially Christ crucified and Christ present in the Eucharist.

That is what it truly means to “rebuild His Church.” It is not merely about repairing buildings. It is about allowing Christ to rebuild hearts, families, communities, and the credibility of Christian witness in the world.

And this is where the life of St. Francis speaks so powerfully to our own age.

We live in a time of scandal, confusion, division, materialism, and wounded trust. It can be tempting to respond with anger, to point outward, condemn others, or demand that everyone else change. But Francis reminds us that authentic renewal begins much closer to home.

It begins with conversion.

Before asking Christ to rebuild His Church through others, we must allow Him to rebuild us. Before demanding holiness from the Church, we must ask whether Christ is making us holy. Before condemning the darkness around us, we must allow the light of Christ to expose and heal the darkness within our own hearts.

Francis did not rebuild the Church by becoming powerful. He rebuilt through poverty, humility, obedience, love, and complete surrender to Christ. He became small so that Christ could become great in him.

And perhaps that is one of the great lessons of St. Francis for the Church today: Christ does not need us to save His Church. He asks us to let Him save us and then to become instruments of His grace.

The Church belongs to Christ. She is His Body. And when she is wounded, the answer is not to abandon Christ or His Church, but to return more deeply to the One who founded her.

St. Francis understood this.

He looked upon the crucified Christ, heard the Lord's call, and gave Him everything.

Today, the same Christ calls us.

“Rebuild my Church.”

Perhaps He is not first asking us to rebuild something outside ourselves.

Perhaps He is asking us to let Him rebuild our hearts.

St. Francis of Assisi, lover of Christ poor and crucified, faithful son of the Church, intercede for us. Teach us to love Jesus more deeply, to embrace humility and conversion, to serve the poor, to remain faithful to His Church, and to let Christ rebuild His Church beginning with our own hearts.

Amen 🙏