All that is big starts small. So it was with this little seed called Francis, planted by the hands of God in the garden of our time. Francis loved very much his father, a very rich merchant, but did not love the wealth, for he knew that the treasures of this world do not compare to those of the Heavens.
He followed in the footsteps of his father, even the bad examples. However Francis was very kind and had a virtuous mother, Picá, who was a pious Godfearing woman And in his heart God was blossoming love for the poor. He vowed he would always give something to those who asked “for the love of God”.
Little by little, Francis gave in to the bad examples and customs of his time. Until something happened and changed Francis’ life and our story! God spoke to him!
Who can do the most for you? The Lord or the slave? The Lord!
So why do you despise the Lord and follow the slave? Francis left his plans of vainglory behind and started to praise the Lord. He read the Gospels and marvelled with the deeds of Christ and his apostles.
Each day his love for God and the Church, mystical body of Christ, grew. One day, he encountered a sick man, a leper, and Francis was terrified by the lepers. He felt like running, but inside his heart he felt a great love for the poor sick man and decided to face his fear.
With the grace of God and will power, he went to find the poor man. Then, a great transformation what was gall became honey, and the honey, gall. He felt the sweet taste of loving waiting nothing in return, but also felt the bitter taste of wealth, vanity and the illusion of achieving happiness in the world through materialistic things.
In one of his walks, he found a church in ruins and spent a lot of time praying there, until one day something amazing happened. While being in prayer before the crucified Christ and the image moved his lips and spoke: Francis, do you see that my Church is in ruins? Go and restore my Church.
Francs quickly ran to his father’s store and got money to restore the church. His father, however, knowing that Francis was giving out money to the poor and restoring a little church in ruins, got angry and called him out. Francis’ father did not understand the greatness in his son’s heart, that he tried to be totally obedient to God.
Francis, full of peace and joy, surprised his father returning all his belongings to him. Singing and praising God, Francis restored the little church, begging and collecting stones. Just then, he realized that we are the living stones in the Church of Christ and we were the ones that needed restoring and to be brought back to a life of sainthood.
And so began his journey. Preaching the Gospel , many followed his example. He was always cheerful and thankful to God for all the creation, and treated each and everyone like they were his brothers and sisters.
Subtitles: Paula MacDonald and Deisson Diedrich All of that, through Grace and for the glory of God, who lives and reigns for the centuries of centuries. Amen. Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
