Dear Good People of St. Philip

It is with great joy that we celebrate a Saint this Sunday, October 4th that many of us have known and loved for years: our beloved St. Francis of Assisi. In fact ever since I began discerning the priesthood back in 2001 St. Francis has been an inspiration and a guide to me on my own journey of faith. All masses this Sunday by special permission from the Bishop and in honor of this special Jubilee celebrating the 800th year of Francis' death (and entrance into heaven!), are the Mass of St. Francis of Assisi in place of the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time. So why all these special celebrations for one Saint when we don't do this for so many other great saints? The reason that the Vatican and Pope Leo have given is that St. Francis has something special to teach us because, "his time were not too different from our own." In fact, St. Francis brought renewal to a Church that was falling apart in a world consumed with itself and very worldly concerns such as wealth, corruption and wars.

At the center of Francis's life and calling was his call to "Rebuild God's Church" as he heard so clearly from the San Damiano cross. If you recall the story one day St. Francis was praying in an old dilapidated church dedicated to San Damiano. In that Church hung a crucifix that we now call the "San Damiano Cross" where St. Francis heard Jesus speak to him from this crucifix and say, "Francis, rebuild my Church which is falling into ruin." Immediately he understood this to mean to physically rebuild (or at least repair) the Church of San Damiano. In the process of repairing this church many others would join him in this project and Francis would gradually understand that God was not so desirous that he start a church remodeling business, but that he wanted him to "rebuild" the Church spiritually by preaching and a life of holiness.

This model of rebuilding the Church from the inside, that is to say the interior life of the Church (and the soul of the person) is still so essential today. As we look around us, we can see we live in a world that is very preoccupied by the physical and immediate and has no time for deeper and more spiritual things. St. Francis teaches us that when there are problems in the world and the Church (as there were in his time and still are in abundance today) the answer really starts with God, not us. This may strike us as simplistic and impractical and maybe it is, yet St. Francis accomplished more in his humble way of life in 42 years than most of us could do with 84 years or more. So where do we go from here? I would suggest start with your prayer and learn to speak with God in an open and humble way. Pray daily using both formal prayers like the rosary, novenas and scripture but also pray to God in silence using your own words and listening to him… and learn to love Jesus in the Mass. Like St. Francis try living with a little less and get rid of the distractions in your life. Finally, take advantage of community life especially if you have a family and try to have at least one meal a day with family or friends at a table without distractions like phones or televisions. In these ways we can all try to rebuild God's Church in small ways by rebuilding the Church within us.

In Christ,

Father Jeb