Homily for 4 October 2023 by Fr. Kevin Walsh
Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
Neh 2:1-8, Psalm 137, Gospel Lk 9:57-62
Jesus’ strong words in the gospel – no one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God – ring in the ears and heart of a monk. Monastic life regularly reminds us that we must be willing to be led forward, often in a trust that is evolving at the very same time we are in the midst of saying yes – a yes grounded in the firm desire to always be offering welcome to the wisdom and the power of God. We readily acknowledge that by ourselves, it’s most likely gonna be a mess.
Maturing faith and attentive prayer open us to hear Jesus calling us to follow, just as he called those in the gospel. At the same time, we are mindful that we must resist a strong human tendency to ask the Lord to be patient with us while we attend to our personal agenda, while we concern ourselves with what we only come to slowly acknowledge is our past.
With Nehemiah we are sad at conditions in the ‘city of God’ that move us to pray. With him we ask to be allowed to help rebuild the dwelling place of God – not wood and stone – but people, a holy people, knowledgeable in a faith nurtured in lectio divina. ‘Il poverello.’ Saint Francis, whom we honor today, heard and embraced this gospel, surrendering his past. So attentive to God was he that as he prayed in the Church of San Damiano, he heard God’s voice directing him to rebuild God’s church. On the eve of the historic synod about to occur in Rome, we pray that with Saint Francis of Assisi we may be unencumbered in saying yes to follow the Lord leading his church forward into the future.
