Giovanni di Bernardone was born into a family of wealthy Italian merchants in 1181. Nicknamed “Francesco” by his father, he didn’t care for the family business, and he used his family’s wealth to indulge in fine clothes and entertainment. Francis sought honor and glory as an occasional soldier, but after a series of dreams his heart changed. He was in love, and Lady Poverty was his bride. After enduring his father’s wrath, he surrendered his inheritance and started the Order of Friars Minor. He saw God everywhere and in everyone, and with that love he served the sick and lepers, preached, wrote hymns, made converts, and was graced with the stigmata before dying peacefully at the age of only 44.
CHALLENGE
Before he started his order, St. Francis was praying and heard, “Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.” He took it to mean the church building where he was praying but he soon realized it was the Church itself. Today the family, the Domestic Church, is under attack and falling into ruin. What is the state of your Domestic Church? What do you need to do to repair it?
