The St. Katharine Drexel Region of the Secular Franciscan Order

St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity

Regional Spiritual Assistant

St. Francis of Assisi Friary

1901 Prior Road

Wilmington, Delaware 19809

tel: (302) 798-1454       fax: (302) 798-3360       website: skdsfo       email: pppgusa@gmail.com

August 2026

Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,

The Lord give you His peace

Through the gift of His presence in the beauty of creation

And in the wonderful image and likeness

Of our Creator in each one of us!

The Canticle of the Creatures stands as one of the most enlightening gifts that Saint Francis of Assisi offered to the Church and to the world. It is not merely a poem celebrating the beauty of creation. It is the song of a man whose heart had been transformed by grace, purified through suffering, and enlarged by forgiveness. It was composed near the end of Francis’ earthly life when blindness, illness, misunderstanding, and physical weakness had become his daily companions. Humanly speaking, he had every reason to lament. Yet instead he praised. His song emerged not from comfort but from communion, not from success but from surrender. It teaches every Franciscan that genuine praise does not ignore suffering but embraces it through trust in the goodness of God.

Francis learned to see creation not as an object to possess but as a family to receive. Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Sister Water, Brother Fire, Sister Mother Earth, and finally Sister Bodily Death were not poetic devices created for literary beauty alone. They were expressions of a profound spiritual vision. Francis no longer stood above creation as its master. He stood within creation as a brother. Everything that existed pointed beyond itself to the Creator, and everything reflected something of God’s generosity. To call the sun “Brother” and the earth “Mother” was not sentimentality. It was an acknowledgment that all creatures have their origin in the same loving Father.

Yet there is a remarkable movement within the Canticle that deserves particular attention. After praising the visible elements of creation, Francis unexpectedly turns toward human relationships. He blesses those who forgive. Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love and bear infirmity and tribulation. This verse is not an interruption of the Canticle. It is its climax. The harmony of creation reaches its fullest expression when human beings are reconciled with one another. The beauty of the sun and the stars finds its fulfillment in the beauty of mercy. Francis understood that a fractured human heart cannot fully join the song of creation until it has learned forgiveness.

Forgiveness is therefore not simply one Christian virtue among many. It is the restoration of creation’s original harmony. Sin introduced division into the world. Humanity became separated from God, from one another, from creation, and even from itself. Every refusal to forgive deepens these fractures. Every act of mercy becomes a participation in God’s work of recreating the world. The Canticle invites us to hear that work taking place around us continually. Every sunrise proclaims the faithfulness of God. Every stream speaks of His generosity. Every gentle breeze whispers His tenderness. But perhaps the clearest proclamation of God’s presence is found whenever one wounded heart forgives another.

Francis did not write these words from theory. His entire life had become an apprenticeship in forgiveness. Long before he embraced lepers, rebuilt churches, or gathered companions around him, he had known the wounds of family conflict. His relationship with his father, Pietro Bernardone, remains one of the defining stories of his conversion. Pietro was a successful cloth merchant, ambitious for his son and eager that Francis should inherit both his business and his social standing. Francis, however, found himself increasingly captivated by another inheritance. The Gospel awakened within him desires that no earthly wealth could satisfy.

The conflict between father and son became public and painful. Pietro believed Francis had betrayed his family, squandered property, and dishonored the expectations placed upon him. Francis had sold cloth and given the proceeds to repair the Church of San Damiano. Pietro demanded restitution and sought legal judgment against his son. Before the bishop of Assisi, Francis did something extraordinary. He returned not only the money but even the clothes he wore. Standing naked before those assembled, he declared that from that moment he could say only, Our Father who art in heaven, for he no longer belonged to Pietro Bernardone but entirely to God.

This dramatic gesture has often been remembered as the moment of Francis’ radical poverty. Indeed, it was. Yet it must also be understood as an act of freedom from bitterness. Francis did not reject his father because he hated him. He surrendered everything because he wished to belong wholly to Christ. There is a profound difference between renunciation born of anger and renunciation born of love. Francis did not spend the remainder of his life condemning Pietro. He did not define himself by his father’s rejection. He did not carry resentment as a hidden possession after relinquishing every visible possession.

The temptation would have been understandable. Few wounds cut more deeply than those inflicted within families. The longing for parental approval remains one of the strongest desires of the human heart. To be misunderstood by one’s own father can become a lifelong burden. Yet Francis refused to allow that wound to become the center of his identity. His identity rested instead in being the beloved son of the heavenly Father. Because he discovered this deeper sonship, he became capable of forgiving the earthly father who had failed to understand him.

Forgiveness does not erase memory. Francis undoubtedly remembered every painful conversation, every accusation, every misunderstanding. Forgiveness transforms memory by removing the poison that would otherwise continue to flow from it. The past remains, but it no longer dictates the future. The wound remains visible, yet it becomes a place where grace is revealed rather than resentment.

The traditions surrounding the final years of Pietro Bernardone suggest that reconciliation did eventually occur. Whether every historical detail can be verified is less important than recognizing the unmistakable direction of Francis’ heart. Nothing in his life suggests lingering hostility. Everything points toward mercy. The man who embraced lepers, reconciled feuding civic leaders, and blessed those who forgave for love of God could hardly have excluded his own father from that mercy. Francis’ life itself became the commentary on the verse he later inserted into the Canticle.

This should speak powerfully to every Franciscan today. It is possible to profess poverty while remaining rich in resentments. It is possible to embrace simplicity while carrying complicated grudges. One may wear the habit, recite the Divine Office, serve the poor, and yet preserve old injuries within the heart. Francis would recognize such contradictions immediately. True poverty includes surrendering the illusion that we possess the right to nurse hatred. Forgiveness becomes one more form of evangelical poverty because it relinquishes our claim to revenge and entrusts justice to God.

The Canticle reminds us that creation itself never ceases giving. The sun does not withhold its light because humanity has sinned. The rain does not refuse the fields because people have become selfish. Water continues to serve. Fire continues to warm. Earth continues to nourish. All creation reflects the lavish generosity of God. Human forgiveness participates in that same divine generosity. We forgive not because others deserve it but because God continues pouring His goodness upon those who have not deserved it, including ourselves.

This does not make forgiveness easy. Francis never suggested that mercy ignores suffering. The verse about forgiveness is joined immediately to bearing infirmity and tribulation. The two belong together. Only those who have suffered know the true cost of forgiving. Cheap forgiveness denies pain. Christian forgiveness acknowledges pain fully while refusing to let pain have the final word. It is not passive resignation. It is active participation in the Cross of Christ.

Francis understood that the Crucified Lord remained the measure of every act of forgiveness. The one who prayed before the crucifix at San Damiano spent his life contemplating the God who forgave while being rejected. Christ did not wait until humanity became worthy before extending mercy. He loved first. He forgave first. Francis learned that every disciple must enter the same pattern. To forgive is to imitate the crucified Christ, whose love proved stronger than violence, betrayal, and death itself.

There is another dimension of forgiveness that Francis quietly teaches. Forgiveness also restores our ability to praise. Hearts consumed by resentment cannot truly sing. They may recite prayers, but their praise remains restrained by the weight of unresolved anger. The Canticle emerged from a heart that had become spacious enough to include every creature because it excluded bitterness. Praise and forgiveness belong together because both arise from gratitude. The forgiven person becomes forgiving. The forgiving person becomes joyful. The joyful person becomes capable of praising God in every circumstance.

Our contemporary world often encourages another path. We are taught to preserve grievances as badges of identity. Injuries become defining narratives. Social divisions deepen because forgiveness appears weak or unrealistic. Francis offers a radically different witness. Strength is revealed not through domination but through mercy. Freedom is found not in winning every conflict but in surrendering hatred. Peace begins not with changing others but with allowing Christ to heal our own hearts.

Franciscan fraternity depends upon this truth. No community can survive without forgiveness. Differences in personality, misunderstandings, failures, disappointments, and human weakness inevitably arise wherever people live together. The question is not whether conflicts will occur but whether mercy will be stronger than conflict. Francis knew this from experience. Even among his beloved brothers there were tensions and disagreements. Yet he continually recalled them to humility, mutual service, and reconciliation. The fraternity existed not because everyone was perfect but because everyone depended upon the mercy of God.

The same applies to the wider human family. When Francis crossed battle lines to meet the Sultan, he demonstrated that dialogue begins with seeing another person first as a fellow creature loved by God. Forgiveness creates the possibility of encounters that fear would otherwise prevent. It breaks the endless cycle in which injury produces retaliation and retaliation produces deeper injury. Mercy interrupts history’s habit of repeating violence.

As Franciscans contemplate the Canticle today, we may ask ourselves whether our praise extends as far as Francis’ praise. It is easy to bless God for beautiful sunsets. It is more difficult to bless Him through those who forgive. Yet Francis deliberately included them because he knew that reconciled humanity is among God’s most beautiful creations. Every act of forgiveness becomes another verse in the ongoing canticle of creation. Every restored relationship adds another harmony to the song of the universe.

Francis’ forgiveness of Pietro Bernardone becomes especially significant because it reveals that holiness begins close to home. It is easier to forgive humanity in the abstract than particular people whose words have wounded us deeply. The father who misunderstood him represented not merely one difficult relationship but the deepest personal trial of Francis’ early life. By forgiving there, Francis learned to forgive everywhere. The grace received in one relationship expanded until it embraced all creation.

The Canticle concludes by praising those who endure in peace and those whom Sister Death finds living in God’s grace. There is profound wisdom here. Death cannot frighten those who have already surrendered resentment. They have died daily to pride, vengeance, and possessiveness. They have learned that nothing truly belongs to them except the love they have received from God and shared with others. Such people can welcome Sister Death because they have already entered the freedom of the Kingdom.

Francis leaves us not simply with beautiful words but with a demanding invitation. He asks us to look upon creation with reverence, upon suffering with trust, upon enemies with mercy, and upon God with unending praise. He reminds us that forgiveness is not separate from contemplation but one of its highest expressions. The contemplative heart sees the world as God sees it, and God always sees beyond sin toward redemption. To forgive is therefore to participate in the very vision of God.

May we learn from Francis that every creature points us toward the Creator, every wound can become a place of grace, every relationship can be touched by mercy, and every act of forgiveness restores something of the original harmony for which creation longs. May we discover that the Canticle is not only a hymn to the beauty of the world but also a summons to become instruments of reconciliation within it. Then our lives, like the life of the Poor Man of Assisi, will become living songs in which Brother Sun shines more brightly because hatred has been relinquished, Sister Water flows more clearly because bitterness has been washed away, and every human heart becomes capable of joining the eternal praise of the Father through the Son in the joy of the Holy Spirit.

What a wonderful legacy we have been left in the charism of the Poverello of Assisi! If only we would realize the power that what we believe has in transforming each person! Charism is a “gift” that is freely given by God to envelop us with His love and encourage us to let go and let God lift us above and beyond the mundane and enter an experience that only grace can offer.

Peace and Blessings

Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.

Regional Spiritual Assistant

NB-There is no reliable source to date that speaks of a formal forgiveness and acceptance of forgiveness between Francis and Pietro. Francis’ actions speak of a forgiveness granted by his interaction with all creation, people included, thus, even to his father who in the sources seems never to have formally asked or accepted forgiveness of his son.

St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity

Regional Spiritual Assistant

St. Francis of Assisi Friary

1901 Prior Road

Wilmington, Delaware 19809

tel: (302) 798-1454      fax: (302) 798-3360      website:  skdsfo     email: pppgusa@gmail.com

June 2026

Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,

The Lord bless you with His peace!

St. Francis of Assisi stands in Christian history as one of the most luminous witnesses to the mystery of God’s self‑sacrificing love, a love that finds its most concentrated and symbolic expression in the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although Francis lived centuries before the formal development of the Sacred Heart devotion, his life, spirituality, and writings reveal a profound intuitive grasp of the same truth: that the Heart of Christ is the burning center of divine charity, poured out for humanity in total self‑giving. To contemplate Francis is to contemplate a man who allowed himself to be shaped entirely by the love that flows from the pierced Heart of the Savior, and to contemplate the Sacred Heart is to contemplate the divine source that animated Francis’s radical poverty, humility, and compassion. The two themes, therefore, are not separate but mutually illuminating, each revealing the depth of the other.

Francis’s journey begins with his encounter with the crucified Christ, an encounter that transformed him from a pleasure‑seeking youth into a man consumed by the desire to imitate Jesus in every aspect of life. The moment before the San Damiano crucifix, when Francis heard the words Rebuild my Church, marks not only the beginning of his mission but also the beginning of his lifelong immersion into the mystery of Christ’s suffering love. The crucifix he prayed before depicted Christ not in agony but in serene majesty, yet still wounded, still offering himself. This image profoundly shaped Francis’s understanding of divine love: a love that suffers, a love that gives itself without reserve, a love that remains open even when pierced. In this sense, Francis’s spirituality already contains the essential elements of the Sacred Heart devotion, which centers on the wounded yet radiant Heart of Jesus as the symbol of God’s boundless mercy.

The Sacred Heart is, at its core, a revelation of God’s interior life. It is not merely a symbol of emotion but a symbol of the divine will to love, even unto death. When Jesus’ Heart is pierced on the cross and blood and water flow out, the Gospel of John presents this as the culminating moment of salvation, the moment when Christ’s love is fully revealed. Francis, who meditated constantly on the Passion, understood this intuitively. His writings show a man who saw in the crucified Christ the very definition of love. He urged his followers to look at the humility of God and to contemplate the One who gives Himself entirely in the Eucharist and on the cross. For Francis, the cross was not simply a historical event but a living reality, a present outpouring of divine love that demanded a response of total surrender.

This surrender took the form of radical poverty, which Francis embraced not as an ideology but as a way of participating in Christ’s self‑emptying. The Sacred Heart devotion emphasizes the emptying (kenosis) of Christ, the self‑emptying love that led Him to take on human flesh and to endure suffering for the sake of humanity. Francis’s poverty mirrors this divine kenosis. By stripping himself of possessions, status, and even personal security, Francis sought to imitate the humility of Christ, who though he was rich, became poor for our sake (2Corinthians8:9). Poverty for Francis was not deprivation but freedom—the freedom to love as Christ loves, without clinging to anything. It was a way of making space in his own heart for the love that flows from the Heart of Jesus.

Francis’s love for the poor, the sick, and the marginalized also reflects the compassion of the Sacred Heart. The Heart of Jesus is often depicted as aflame, surrounded by thorns, and pierced, signifying both the intensity of divine love and the pain that love endures. Francis lived this compassion in concrete ways. His embrace of the leper, which he once found repulsive, became a turning point in his conversion. In the leper, Francis encountered Christ Himself, and in that encounter he discovered that true love requires vulnerability, sacrifice, and the willingness to suffer with others. This is precisely the message of the Sacred Heart: that God’s love is not distant or abstract but deeply involved in human suffering. The Heart of Jesus is wounded because it loves; Francis’s heart became Christ-like because he allowed himself to be wounded by the suffering of others.

The culmination of Francis’s conformity to Christ came in the stigmata he received on Mount La Verna. This extraordinary event, in which Francis bore in his own body the wounds of Christ, is perhaps the most striking parallel to the Sacred Heart devotion. The stigmata is not merely a physical phenomenon but a mystical union with the suffering love of Jesus. Francis did not seek the stigmata; he sought only to love Christ completely. The wounds were the divine response to that desire, a sign that Francis had become so united to the Heart of Jesus that he shared in the very marks of His love. The Sacred Heart, too, is a wounded heart, and the wounds are not signs of defeat but signs of love’s triumph. In Francis, the wounds of Christ become visible again in the world, reminding all who see him that divine love is not an idea but a reality that takes flesh.

The Sacred Heart devotion, which developed more fully in the centuries after Francis, especially through the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, emphasizes reparation for sin and the call to love Christ in return for His love. Francis lived this long before it was articulated. His life was a continual act of reparation, not in a punitive sense but in a relational one. He sought to console the Heart of Jesus by loving Him with purity, by living the Gospel without compromise, and by drawing others into the same love. His preaching was not harsh or condemnatory but filled with joy, urging people to turn back to God because God is love. Francis understood that sin wounds the Heart of Jesus not because God is offended in a human sense but because sin separates us from the love that God longs to give. His mission, therefore, was to heal that separation by calling people to conversion, reconciliation, and peace.

The Sacred Heart also emphasizes the Eucharist as the living presence of Christ’s self‑sacrificing love. Francis’s devotion to the Eucharist was intense and reverent. He saw in the consecrated Host the same Christ who hung on the cross, the same Heart that continues to pour out love for humanity. He wrote with awe about the humility of God, who hides Himself under the appearance of bread and wine:

Let the entire man be seized with fear; let the whole world tremble;

let heaven exult when Christ, the Son of the Living God,

is on the altar in the hands of the priest.

O admirable height and stupendous condescension!  O humble sublimity! O sublime humility!

that the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God,

so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under a morsel of bread.

For Francis, the Eucharist was not a ritual but a relationship, a moment of intimate union with the One who gives Himself entirely. This Eucharistic devotion aligns perfectly with the theology of the Sacred Heart, which sees the Eucharist as the sacrament of divine love, the place where the Heart of Jesus continues to beat for the world.

Francis’s Canticle of the Creatures, often seen as a hymn to nature, is also an expression of his understanding of divine love. He saw all creation as a reflection of the goodness of God, a goodness that flows from the divine Heart. The Sacred Heart devotion teaches that God’s love is the source of all life, sustaining and renewing the world. Francis’s joyful praise of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and all creatures is rooted in his awareness that everything exists because it is loved by God. His ecological sensitivity, centuries ahead of its time, arises from his contemplation of the Creator’s love, a love that is generous, overflowing, and self‑giving.

The connection between Francis and the Sacred Heart becomes even clearer when considering his approach to peace and reconciliation. The Heart of Jesus is often invoked as the source of peace, a peace that comes from the healing of relationships, between God and humanity, and among people themselves. Francis embodied this peace in his interactions with others, including his famous meeting with the Sultan during the Crusades. He approached the Sultan not with hostility but with respect and openness, seeking dialogue rather than conflict. This attitude reflects the Heart of Jesus, who seeks to reconcile rather than divide, who loves even enemies, and who desires unity among all people. Francis’s peacemaking is therefore another expression of the divine love that flows from the Sacred Heart.

In contemplating Francis and the Sacred Heart together, one sees a profound harmony. Francis is, in a sense, the human echo of the divine Heart. His life makes visible what the Sacred Heart symbolizes: a love that gives everything, holds nothing back, and embraces all creation. The Sacred Heart reveals the inner life of God; Francis reveals what that love looks like when lived by a human being fully surrendered to grace. The two together offer a powerful vision of Christian discipleship, one that calls believers not merely to admire Christ’s love but to participate in it.

This participation requires transformation. The Sacred Heart devotion invites believers to allow their own hearts to be shaped by the Heart of Jesus, to become more compassionate, more humble, more willing to sacrifice for others. Francis shows that this transformation is possible. He was not born a saint; he became one through continual conversion, through daily choices to love, forgive, and serve. His example challenges modern Christians to examine their own lives and to ask whether they are allowing the love of Christ to penetrate their hearts. The Sacred Heart is not a distant ideal but a living reality that seeks to enter the human heart and make it new.

In a world marked by violence, division, and indifference, the message of the Sacred Heart and the example of St. Francis are urgently needed. They remind us that love is not weakness but strength, that humility is not humiliation but freedom, and that sacrifice is not loss but gain. The Heart of Jesus continues to beat with love for humanity, and Francis continues to inspire those who seek to follow Christ more closely. Together, they offer a path toward healing, reconciliation, and peace, a path that begins in the heart and radiates outward into the world.

May the gentle spirit of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi and our Holy Mother St. Clare of Assisi guide our hearts in peace and trust. In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, may we all find strength, healing, and renewed hope. In that Heart opened for love of us, may we enter the loving embrace of the Father’s Love and be filled with the gifts of His Holy Spirit to be Pilgrims of Hope in our world.

You and your loved ones will be remembered in my prayers each day. Your intentions will also be with me during Mass. May God’s tender love and mercy surround us all.

Peace and Blessings

Fr. Francis A. Sariego, OFM Cap

Regional Spiritual Assistant

St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity

Regional Spiritual Assistant

St. Francis of Assisi Friary

1901 Prior Road

Wilmington, Delaware 19809

tel: (302) 798-1454      fax: (302) 798-3360      website:  skdsfo    email: pppgusa@gmail.com

February 2026

Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,

May the Lord grant you peace!

In the Spring of 1207, while in the woods of Monte Subasio, Saint Francis was accosted by several thieves. They asked Francis who he was and he replied simply, I am the herald of the great King!  We know the story: they stripped him of his tunic, threw him into a ditch, and went away amused at the self-aggrandizing words of this “lunatic”.  Francis was untroubled at the harsh treatment given him. Our Seraphic Father truly an example for all his children-to-be got up and cheerfully continued his way.  Eccentric to say the least! … but truly in love with God and life so that even harsh treatment could not destroy the inner peace and joy he was discovering more deeply every day.

His response to the brigands was based on a profound conviction that the Lord had spoken to him from the Cross of San Damiano charging him to rebuild my Church, for as you can see it is falling into ruin.  St. Francis understood these words literally. His “job” was to rebuild churches. He was the divinely-appointed ecclesiastical architect and general contractor. Actually, it is not far-fetched to give him these titles.  The day would come when he would be the “architect” of a whole new way of life and build the Family of the Penitents of Assisi with the lives and love of those “living stones”, who eventually would follow the example of the Poverello of Assisi. The Providence of God would take care of his needs. The good people of Assisi and so many others would be the all-providing hand of God for this young “penitent” who had embraced his fears, kissed the leper, and given all that possessed him back to the world.  He threw himself with abandon into the loving arms of his Father in heaven.

St.  Francis was a “man on a mission”, a mission yet to be defined, but one that he did not hesitate to begin, leaving all the specifics up to God.  How wonderful our lives would be if only we would be that trusting of God!  We trust human beings, erratic as they or we can be, and yet we find difficulty trusting God, Whose love is everlasting! (Psalm 136).  Go figure! The work of rebuilding churches with the sweat of his brow and strength of his own limbs caught the attention of many, especially the elite of Assisi society. Francis, as they, was accustomed to be catered to in his whims, though there was a tender spot in his heart for those less fortunate on the lower rung of the social ladder.

Whatever the reason, it seemed he captured the attention of everyone.  All were aware of Francis.  He had caused excitement and consternation among the populace of Assisi. True leadership seems to demand a definite response: yes or no, accept or reject, adhere or detach, follow or leave.  Any who encountered Francis Bernardone, and knew of his previous life as the fair-haired-son of the self-made wealthy merchant, could not remain indifferent to the transformation before them.

Except for the presence and support of an unknown friend, St. Francis was relatively alone in the first years of his new life.  No doubt there were many questions and personal difficulties he would have to overcome.  He struggled with the “demons” within and the difficulties without, as any of us do during a lifetime. With the help of divine grace, he sought to become the new wine and new wineskin (Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, Luke 5:33-39).  He did not seek to establish a new Order in the Church, but to establish order in his life.  His cheerful character and determination, his acceptance of voluntary poverty to avoid the entanglements that our possessions so often cause us, his deep love and concern for the “refuse” of society numbering himself among them, were only a few of the characteristics of this “new person” Francis was becoming more decisively each day. And these all served as “magnets” that attracted so many in those first few years to follow his example.  They too would eventually become “heralds of the great King”.

Emphasizing the word “herald” is important.  Heralds were trusted people charged with a given mission.  They spoke in the name of the other. They did not wield the authority. They did however yield to the authority of God’s Word. They spoke in the name of One whose words were to be repeated verbatim, and to Whose Word they were to be conformed.

Jesus Himself speaks of the attitude of His “heralds”.  He tells us not to worry when we are questioned regarding the >Good News= we are commissioned to proclaim to the world.  Speaking in the name of Jesus and witnessing our allegiance to Him, Jesus tells us: Do not be afraid of what you are to say or how you are to say, the Spirit of my Father will be speaking in you (Matthew 10: 19).  Because the heralds were trusted people entrusted with the words of their master, an integrity and credibility were bestowed upon the herald by the mere fact of the office they fulfilled and by the one whom they were delegated to represent, and in whose name, they delivered their message.  A herald spoke from a source beyond himself.  He spoke with certainty. Thus, the herald spoke with unquestionable authority. In this sense, St. Francis was a true herald. He proclaimed the words of the Master and lived them.

In the First Life of St. Francis written by Blessed Thomas of Celano, we read that in winter (February) of 1209: Francis went to another place, which is called the Portiuncula … When on a certain day the Gospel was read in that church, how the Lord sent his disciples out to preach, the holy man of God, assisting there, understood somewhat the words of the Gospel; after Mass he humbly asked the priest to explain the Gospel to him more fully … Francis, hearing that the disciples of Christ should not possess gold or silver or money; nor carry along the way scrip, or wallet, or bread, or a staff; that they should not have shoes, or two tunics; but that they should preach the kingdom of God and penance, immediately cried out exultingly: This is what I wish, this is what I seek, this is what I long to do with all my heart.  The holy father, overflowing with joy, hastened to implement the words of salvation, and did not delay before he devoutly began to put into effect what he heard. … For he was no deaf hearer of the gospel … He then began to preach penance to all with a fervent spirit and joyful attitude … His word like a blazing fire, reaching the deepest parts of the heart and filling the souls of all with wonder… In all his preaching, before he presented the word of God to the assembly, he prayed for peace saying, May the Lord give you peace … Many who hated peace, with the Lord’s help wholeheartedly embraced peace.  They became children of peace. (1 Celano, 21-24)

God=s word was no idle spiritual devotion for Francis. It was the guiding factor in his life. As God spoke, so Francis sought to do. When our Seraphic Father heard the words of the Gospel on that grace-filled day, his concerns and questions were answered. It seemed as though God Himself were saying to Francis: ‘Abandon worries and concern for tomorrow in the hands of the One Who provides for every moment and without Whom nothing can be. Trust. Do not be afraid=. He preached this profound message to others more by actions than by words. His simplicity and childlike trust in the Providence of God attracted others to follow his example.

Friars and Sisters who lived in formal religious houses and monasteries gave a powerful witness of total detachment. There were also men and women, our brothers and sisters, who could not leave their families and/or responsibilities in society. They deeply desired and sought to live this powerful witness to the gospel life in their daily secular experiences.  They became the yeast kneaded into the dough, the light placed on a candelabra (Matthew 13:33).

The Gospel is a call offered to everyone willing to listen and to follow.  The more we faithfully listen to the Word within, the better we are empowered to respond to a world that surrounds us. Give priority to God and trust in His all-providing and all-loving Presence, and life will be fulfilled beyond your desires. The famous statement of St. Iraeneus: The glory of God is the human being fully realized. Is a powerful and encouraging reminder of grace that builds on nature. Conformed to the Person of Christ is the ultimate realization for a Christian who in, with, and through Him (Doxology after Eucharistic Prayer) lets go of everything and lets God “take over”.

As spiritual children of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi, let us remember the power the Word of God exercised in his life and that should exercise in our own.  St. Francis expected the Rule, Testament, and the life of the Gospel as origin and consequence to be lived “without gloss”.  Let us read the Word and listen to It with our heart. When necessary, ask clarifications, as St. Francis did, to enlighten you that you may better understand what the Lord is saying to you through His Word.

St. Francis is that man with a disarmed heart, as he was called by the Sicilian Bishops several decades ago. Stand disarmed before human beings and disarmed before God and His Eternal Word.  Francis wanted the brothers to live not only the Rule and Testament but also the Gospels without gloss. “Gloss” only mitigates and/or even changes the meaning as it is written by the author. Following our Seraphic Father’s example, let us always have an open and disarmed heart to the challenges God’s Word may offer us.  As Heralds of the Great King, we proclaim His Word. Let the words of the Divine Word Incarnate enter your heart as He speaks to each of you personally. Matthew reminds us so powerfully in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount:  Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven (Matthew 5: 3-12). He reminds us: Do not be afraid. It is I (John 6: 20).

If only we realized the beauty of our Franciscan Vocation and the heights of holiness we could achieve following the example of St. Francis of Assisi! We would be able to eradicate from our lives and fraternities all that does not speak of Franciscan humility and charity.  This is not “pie-in-the-sky” religiosity. Our Franciscan charism offers us the foundation for a life worth loving and living.  Love must come first if we are ever to really live. Love of who we are must come first. The Church in Her leadership has always praised our Franciscan spirit and encouraged the sisters and brothers to live it fully. For this to be effective in our lives, remember the words of St. Francis that tell us how to live the life we accepted “without gloss”.

Let us let the Word take hold of our lives.  Whatever God says to us in His most holy Word, let us say with Saint Francis: that is what I want with all my heart.  Let the hope, trust and optimism that has its source in the Lord Himself (cfr. Romans 15: 13)  overflow into the lives of all whom we encounter and to whom we minister.

May God bless you; may Our Lady and good St. Joseph guide, guard, and protect you; and may our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi and our Holy Mother St. Clare look over each one of you, his spiritual children, and your loved ones with loving care.

Peace and Blessings

Fr. Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.

Regional Spiritual Assistant

Happy Lent 2026

St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity

Regional Spiritual Assistant

St. Francis of Assisi Friary

1901 Prior Road

Wilmington, Delaware 19809

tel: (302) 798-1454      fax: (302) 798-3360      website: skdsfo     email: pppgusa@gmail.com

December 2025

Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,

May the Infant Jesus grant your heart the Peace you desire.

May His Star enlighten your mind with the splendor of His Truth.

May His Love consume your heart so that it beats solely for Him.

Peace, Truth and Love are independent attributes and virtues that have an effect on each other.   Taken together, they have the ability to fill a soul with real and lasting Joy.  When we enter this ‘three-step program’, we have an insight to understand a little more the depths of the Christmas Joy we wish one another.  Most people want to be ‘happy’, and there is obviously nothing wrong with being happy.  Happiness is a wonderful experience.  Happiness often brings with it a sense of elation, relaxation, optimism, and more of those ‘good feelings’ we all enjoy.

Regretfully, this sensation is not permanent. Unless there is Joy in our heart and soul, happiness is only a passing moment with no real lasting effect except that of regret that it did not last longer.  It leaves a yearning for the ‘feeling’ to return.  When we follow the ‘process’ of that simple Christmas, Peace-Truth-Love, a more lasting Joy enters our heart and soul. It is this Joy that Christmas and the Mystery of the Incarnation help us to acquire. When we understand how the Eternal Word, equal to God from all ages, entered human history so that humanity could enter the timelessness of God’s Love, we lay the groundwork for the Peace-Truth-Love of God to possess us.  God Himself offers us insights into all this through His own inspired Word.

Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear …  Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm! … The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. (cfr. Isaiah 7: 4-15) For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests.  They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful. (Isaiah 9: 5-6) … who brings glad tidings announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation … (Isaiah 52: 7)

Do you remember how prevalent it became for us to hear the word ‘Shalom’, the Hebrew word for ‘Peace’, extended to others at the moment of the Sign of Peace during Mass?  Our own Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi made the word ‘peace’ his own particular greeting: The Lord give you peace!  When we reflect upon what peace means to us and pray for it, most often what we ask for is tranquility of soul or cessation of some external violence affecting ourselves or others.  This peace is most needed and an appropriate gift to prayerfully request of God.  However, in Scripture, the word ‘Shalom’ that we translate as ‘peace’ has a deeper and more life-altering meaning.  Our ancestors in the faith of Abraham, from whom our Savior descended according to the flesh, used this word to mean ‘completeness’, ‘fullness’, ‘integrity’, and the like.  What flows from this ‘fullness’ and ‘completeness’ is another expression of ‘shalom’.

The Mystery of the Incarnation begins with ‘shalom’.  The Angel Gabriel came to Mary and greeting her said: ‘Shalom’ favored one! The Lord is with you. (Luke 2: 28) This greeting of fulfillment, completeness, wholeness filled Mary with a sense of confusion at why this should be said to Her. The prophecies were now to be fulfilled, the time established had reached completion, the person to enter human history was the Creator/creature in the wholeness of a Person Whose two distinct and total natures were not in conflict but in total harmony with each other. ‘Shalom’, the Angel said to Mary, as an introduction and encouragement to accept the challenge because, with Her consent, the Father would send His Spirit to overshadow Mary. Thus, His Covenant and all the Prophecies would be fulfilled in Jesus, His Incarnate Son, the Word made flesh.  ‘Shalom-Peace’ is anything but an apathetic courteous greeting. It is an eternally packed word that brings harmony and serenity, and leads to acceptance of Truth.

Jesus then said … ‘If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8: 31-32) I have much more to tell you … but when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. (John 16: 12-13) Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, Father …  Consecrate them in the truth.  Your word is truth (cfr. John 17: 1-17).  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. (John 18: 37)

Peace of heart and soul is a liberating gift.  Inner peace frees us to be who we were created to be.  There is no longer any need to protect an ‘image’ of what we want others to think of us.  Protective comfort zones are eliminated.  Intimidating precautions and false securities that offer illusory hope are eliminated.  Deceptive images we use to camouflage our real personalities are ‘unmasked’.  A soul at peace is transparent and that person is at peace with him/herself.  Transparency is Truth, and vice versa.  Peace frees us from the need to ‘compete’ with others. Self esteem is rekindled and we accept the fact that You are who you are before God and nothing more (cfr. St. Francis of Assisi).  Truth and transparency, fruits of a person at peace with God, self and others, inevitably leads to Love.

The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love him … He gives health and life and blessings (Sirach 34: 17).  For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts (Hosea 6: 6). Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him … Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him (John 14: 21-23).

Love is a deceptive word.  It is most often used to express an emotional rapport between persons.  While love can be expressed as a ‘fuzzy feeling’ of the senses, true love is something else. When we define love, we have already limited or even destroyed it in our minds and hearts. Peace that leads to transparency is capable of love in its fullness. We know that love is God.  True spiritual love is manifest in the ability to totally surrender ourselves to the other. This surrender is not a submission to another’s dominance. Loving surrender does not count the cost, it supports and encourages. It lives the present, in view of the future, grateful for the experiences of the past.  Love helps us to live in the present, and thus in the Presence of God.

It is a marvelous blessing for anyone to possess Peace-Truth-Love.  To state it this way though, seems so academic. They are academic qualities, virtues, attributes that can be taught, preached, reflected upon.  But what are the practical effects of these three Christmas gifts of the Father to His world in Jesus?  Simply put:

–   Peace calms the heart and soul. It offers the space for serenity within and brings about a certain contentment, tranquility, silence in our personality and demeanor. A peace-full person is usually calm, balanced, thoughtful, patient, prudent .

–   Truth encourages the person to greater transparency, thus, to live a simpler life. A simplicity of lifestyle eradicates all exaggerations, false securities in persons, places, and things.  We are relieved and free to just be ourselves.

–   Love is the last of the three ‘steps’ that challenges us to open our hearts to others. The inner peace and total transparency free us to accept others as we would be accepted.  They become ‘companions on the journey’ who enhance and support us as we do them. They are not obstacles to overcome or enemies to conquer. They are sisters and brothers in God’s great family of creation redeemed in the Blood of the One Whose Birth we celebrate.  In His Blood God’s Covenant with Humanity is ratified and we become truly adopted children.  We are children not of the womb.  We are children of the heart, the Eternal Loving Heart of the Father.

Sisters and Brothers in the Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi and our Holy Mother St. Clare, let us accept the greeting as a blessing and a challenge. Let us strive at this Holy Season and throughout the year to seek that peace that only God can give. Let us gratefully accept God’s will for us and the role He has asked we fulfill in our life.  Thus we shall see all others in the same light, ‘blessed’ and ‘challenged’.  May the words of the angels at Bethlehem to the shepherds be in our hearts and on our lips: Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to those on whom His favor rests (Luke 2: 14).

Christmas is a time of gift-giving and gift-receiving.  Recognize the gift we are and are called to be. Thus, we may become a joy-filled, life-giving, sister and brother in the family of the Poverello of Assisi. For this intention and whatever ones you may hold most dear in your hearts, be assured that you and your loved ones will be remembered in a special way in all the Masses I celebrate during this holy season.

Let’s remember that this Advent begins the celebration of the 8th centenary of the Paschal Mystery of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi. Aware of his approaching death, he and awaited his encounter with Life Himself, Uncreated Source of Being, GOD.  St. Francis sang his song as he saw with his heart’s eye the immensity God’s creation reborn and transformed in the magnificence of God from Whom all comes and in-with-through Whom all are “reborn”.  Advent/Christmas is the mystery re-presented in liturgy each year for us to journey with the heart and liturgy as of Seraphic Father did. Contemplate with your mind and heart each day. Offer others the gift of your contemplation. The Jesus considered, contemplated, and offered others will be a source unexpected of Peace-Truth-Love.

In the Name of Jesus I wish all of you a Spirit-filled Advent and a Holy and Happy Christmas Season. As you enter the new calendar year with all its expectations and uncertainties, hopes and fears, may your dreams be fulfilled in a world renewed in Jesus and filled with His Spirit. Let us never forget: A Child is born to us! A Savior is given to us! Come, let us adore Him!  Fear not!  It is I!  I have conquered the world!

Blessed and Merry Christmas 2025 and a Happy New Year 2026!

Peace and Blessings

Fr. Francis A. Sariego, OFM Cap

Regional Spiritual Assistant

Holy and Happy Christmas 2025

Happy New Year 2026

May the New Year be filled with God’s

Peace, Joy and Love.

St. Katherine Drexel Regional Fraternity

Regional Spiritual Assistant

St. Francis of Assisi Friary

1901 Prior Road

Wilmington, Delaware 19809

tel: (302) 798-1454      fax: (302) 798-3360      website:  skdsfo    email: pppgusa@gmail.com

October 2025

Dear Sisters and Brothers in St. Francis,

The Lord grant us all the precious gift of his peace!

The life we know of St. Francis of Assisi tells us of his aspirations, divine inspirations and immediacy with which he sought to respond to the Father’s Will.  Though blind and dying, the last two years of his life were not lived in vain. Overcoming himself and the many challenges concerning the Order that his brothers placed before him kept St. Francis humble and open to divine inspiration. The words of God’s presence, and at times intervention, rang in his ears and heart.

–     Francis, Go rebuild my Church, for as you can see it is falling into ruin. (Crucified of San Damiano)

–     Relinquish all your wealth. Take up your Cross. Follow me. (Three openings of the Gospels for guidance)

–     Francis, whose Order is this, yours or Mine? (Discouragement with brothers and God’s response)

–     The Rule to be followed without gloss, without gloss, without gloss.  (Words heard regarding Rule), and more.

Once the Order began to grow, Francis saw that the initial thrust was being modified. He had relinquished his office as General Minister. However, he still would always be, “The Brother”.  Even those who may have considered him “too stuck in his ways” or “not updated with the times” or “needing to update the brotherhood to be like other orders”, Francis would stand firm in his resolve. He was able to let go in humility, but the desire for the original charism as he received it from “the Lord” was always alive in his soul. Divine inspiration consoled and even encouraged him to “let go and let God” resolve the “Franciscan Question”.  History has proven the wisdom in this final acceptance of Francis…to a point!

The Approved Rule of the Franciscan Family is the same for all in the First Order who profess it. Nevertheless, the Church has seen fit to approve three subtle distinctions of life expressions that modify but do not destroy the mind and heart of our Seraphic Father. There is no need now to get into the history more deeply.  Each group has its history, reasons and justifications.

The Friars Minor, called the Observants, the Friars Minor Conventual, and the Friars Minor Capuchin are the three approved independent branches of the First Order of Friars Minor founded by St. Francis of Assisi. (We must never forget the Third Order Regular who can trace its origins to St. Francis also. They are not considered here because the Rule they follow is distinct from the First Order Rule. Nevertheless, the mind of the Founder is always expected to be followed, whatever the Rule professed.) The first three mentioned have the same Rule to follow, and the same Testament they revere as the last words of the Poverello to his brothers.

This year of the Transitus of St. Francis, celebrates the Paschal Mystery of the one marked with the sign of the Crucified. We celebrate the Passion of his life filled with joys, challenges, successes, seeming failures, and total fulfillment in the Lord. To paraphrase the title of a small book on St. Francis: Francis found that the “Journey Is The Dream!” And the “dream” is Faith in the call to “Rebuild My Church”, Hope acting on that belief by moving forward on the journey regardless of “hurdles”, and encountering and joyfully recognizing the Love of God at every turn even when we are led through the dark night of the soul.

Central to the Paschal Mystery of St. Francis is the legacy of his final Testament.  St. Francis’ Testament is a deeply personal document. Before his death in October 1226, St. Francis dictated his final word to the brothers, not as a new Rule, but as a reminder to all the brothers of the fundamental beliefs and challenges that had governed his life by affecting the choices and decisions he made. While the Rule establishes the framework of Franciscan life, the Testament offers us an insight to its soul.  It is a reminder of the spirit that guided St. Francis through his radical embrace of the Gospel. The Testament is the last expression of St. Francis’ deep conviction that the Gospel Life he proposed for others was truly divinely inspired and thus requiring no alterations.

The Rule and Testament speak of St. Francis’ commitment to the inspiration begun at San Damiano that blossomed into a religious Order of evangelical men and women professed to live the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in obedience, without anything of one’s own, and in chastity. Before his death in October 1226, Francis dictated the text of his will and Testament, or as he called it My Testament. He was speaking to all the friars through this document so that we may observe in a more Catholic manner the Rule we have promised to the Lord.

Francis expressly told his friars not to look at this document and say, This is another Rule, because this is only a remembrance, an admonition. The Testament reiterates emphasizing his expectation that his spiritual brothers live the Rule without “interpreting” his words. They are to listen to the words and follow what is written “without gloss”. (This could be said of any document we solemnly profess to live. Let us never forget a very simple truth: You are only as good as your word! At our Profession we “gave our word” to be faithful to all we professed.)

The Testament, directed to all the friars of the original Franciscan Brotherhood, now officially separated into three distinct branches of the First Order, can help us understand Francis’ will that we not deviate from the Rule. Francis is the image of one conformed to Jesus. The Testament tells us in Francis’ words how that came about for him. Thus, the Testament becomes a last desire of Francis to help his brothers understand and live the authentic expression of the Rule.   I have done what was mine to do. You must discover what is yours.

As Secular Franciscans you may ask “What does this have to do with us”. Directly, nothing! But understanding the mind and heart of St. Francis, through his last will and testament, much!

Celebrating the Year of the Paschal Mystery of St. Francis is the way we reflect on the Gospel Life all Franciscans live. As Franciscans living in a secular society, you are called to be a light and a leaven. You are called to shine with your lives that others may see the face of Christ and thus encourage others to love and live the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Testament is our Seraphic Father’s last desire for us to accept the “gift” of Gospel Life as brothers and sisters united in the name of Christ and St. Francis. Thus doing, we learn to disarm our hearts to embrace all people.

The Italian bishops a number of years ago gave St. Francis the title “the Saint with a disarmed heart”. Conformity to Christ must follow the spiritual warfare of disarmament of hearts. If we follow our Father’s example ultimately, we will follow Christ’s and thus be conformed to Him. We can be God’s way of changing the world.  That will never happen though, until we change ourselves first. What we seek to find in others, we must be willing to show and practice in ourselves.

The Testament of St. Francis is a final exhortation, admonition, and remembrance for the brothers, and ultimately the sisters, who would read these words, to do likewise.  Francis himself tells the friars that his Testament is not a new Rule for them. Nonetheless, the personal reflection he expresses is as valid for us today as it has been for all professed friars through the past eight centuries. The Testament recalls the initial simple vision of his life.  He wrote it to counter the compromises he saw creeping into his rapidly growing order.

The document passionately reasserts his original radical commitment to the Gospel Life lived in poverty, manual labor, and devotion to the Church. The desire for St. Francis to counter any compromises not proposed by the Church should be an incentive for us all to be faithful. Compromises, dispensations, alterations, additions and subtractions are usually ways not to live the life more fully and intensely. Thus we rather let go of the challenges, diminish the intensity of life, and become at best mediocre. We allow ourselves this mediocrity and soon lose all enthusiasm and desire.

Remember the Church in Laodicea in the Book of Revelation: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (Revelation 3: 15-17). Tough words! God knows us. God knows our capabilities and our abilities. He endowed us with all that we need to be saved and give God the glory. Refusing to use and enjoy what was for us and for each one of us alone, is an insult to the Eternal Donor. The great “gift” of following Jesus more intimately as a “Gospel People”, is an awesome “gift”. Refuse the gift; refuse the Donor! Then what?!

The Jubilee Year of the Paschal Mystery of St. Francis, and what that means for all Franciscans, is a true journey of the heart. St. Francis was preparing for his moment of encounter with God. He desired to revive in the hearts of his brothers and sisters all that his life had been for him, from the response to the call of the Crucified of San Damiano to the Seal of Approval by Jesus on Mount Alverna. He expected and hoped his brothers and sisters would accept the charism of the Gospel Life they professed. The joyfulness of the life expressed by the brothers attracted others, and the uniqueness of its expectations challenged total commitment to the gift God offered them through St. Francis.

The Canticle of Praise and the Testament, both written so close to the arrival of Sister Death for Francis, reveal a soul imbued with divine inspiration. In the Canticle his soul sees everyone and all things in God.  Nevertheless, it is the Testament that is the final urging of a heart and soul totally God’s in Jesus through the Spirit. His words urge and expect the brothers to accept the challenge of the Gospel Life they professed “without gloss”. Nothing was to mar or change, in any way, what was given to him as a divine gift – And the Lord gave me…

As Secular Franciscans, you live in a society conditioned more commonly and necessarily by the demands of the secular world.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12: 2).  These are easy words to quote, but not always easy to put into practice. The politics of a nation or given place, the circumstances of life, and so on, often condition the only response we believe we are able to give.  Often the response expected, and at times the one given, may seem “un-Franciscan”, “un-Christian”, “un-holy”, or downright sinful. What are you to do? We are to embrace our vulnerability and trust in the Lord at all times in every way.

In the Testament our Seraphic Father begins with a memory. Not of triumph or glory, but of revulsion, his initial disgust toward lepers. He admits that he found them unbearable. But then, something happened. He says, The Lord gave me, Brother Francis, thus to begin doing penance in this way: for when I was in sin, it seemed too bitter for me to see lepers. And the Lord Himself led me among them and I showed mercy to them. That moment, that encounter, changed everything. What had seemed bitter became sweet. It’s not just a story of personal growth. It’s a spiritual turning point. Francis found Christ in the lepers. He found joy in what the world rejected. And that, in many ways, is the heart of his entire life.

From there, Francis speaks of his reverence for churches and the Eucharist. He adored Christ in all the churches throughout the world and blessed Him for His redeeming sacrifice. This wasn’t just liturgical piety, it was a visceral, living devotion. He saw the presence of Christ not only in the poor and the suffering, but also in the Sacrament and in the sacred spaces where the faithful gathered. And what’s remarkable is his attitude toward priests. Even those who persecuted him, he honored, not because of their personal holiness, but because of their role in administering the Eucharist. He says, I want to respect, love and honor them and all others as my lords. That’s a powerful statement. It’s not blind obedience it’s theological humility. Francis saw Christ in the priesthood, and so he bowed not to the man, but to the mystery.

He speaks of the Word of God with deep reverence. He wanted any scraps of Scripture found in unworthy places to be gathered and treated with honor. That’s not superstition it’s love. He understood that the Word is alive, that it speaks and thus deserves respect and obedience. And he extended that respect to theologians and ministers of the Word, recognizing that they nourish the soul. Again, it’s not about hierarchy, it’s about gratitude.

Then Francis turns to the founding of his brotherhood. He says, After the Lord gave me some brothers, no one showed me what to do; but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the form of the Holy Gospel. That line is crucial. He didn’t set out to create an Order. He didn’t have a plan. He simply wanted to live the Gospel, literally, radically, joyfully. And the brothers who joined him desired the same. They gave away everything, wore patched tunics, and lived in abandoned churches. They prayed, worked, and rejoiced. They were poor, but they were free.

Francis’s emphasis on poverty wasn’t romantic. It was deliberate. He saw poverty as a way to strip away ego, ambition, and distraction. It was a way to depend entirely on God. He worked with his own hands and encouraged his brothers to do the same. He didn’t want them to become idle or proud. He wanted them to remain grounded, humble, and in solidarity with the poor.

Throughout the Testament, there’s a recurring phrase: The Lord gave me. Whether it’s his conversion, his brothers, his understanding of the Gospel, it’s all grace. Francis doesn’t take credit. He sees himself as a vessel, a recipient of mercy. That humility isn’t a pious performance, it’s real. It’s the fruit of a life steeped in prayer, suffering, and love.

And yet, there’s urgency in his words. He knows he’s dying. He wants to leave behind not rules, but spirit. He warns his friars not to treat the Testament as another Rule, but as a remembrance and admonition. That’s important. The Rule governs the structure of the Order. The Testament reveals its soul. It’s a call to fidelity, simplicity, reverence, and joy.

One of the most striking aspects of the Testament is Francis’s love for the Church. He doesn’t rebel against it. He doesn’t criticize it. He honors it. Even in its brokenness, he sees it as the Body of Christ. That’s not naive, it’s prophetic. He challenges us to love the Church not because it’s perfect, but because it’s holy.

So what does this Testament mean for us today? It’s not a historical artifact. It’s a living challenge. Francis’s embrace of the lepers calls us to solidarity with the marginalized. His reverence for the Eucharist invites us to deeper devotion. His love for Scripture urges us to honor the Word. His simplicity confronts our consumerism. His humility rebukes our pride. His joy in suffering reveals the paradox of Christian hope.

The Testament is a mirror. It shows us what it looks like when a soul is utterly surrendered to God. It’s raw, honest, and luminous. It doesn’t offer easy answers. It offers a life, a life poured out in love, shaped by the Gospel, and sealed by grace.

In the end, it’s a love letter: to God, to the Church, to his brothers, and to the world. It reminds us that holiness is not about perfection, but about surrender. It calls us to live not by rules alone, but by the Spirit who breathes through the Gospel. And it leaves us with a question, not what would Francis do, but what is the Lord asking of us now?

Let us listen, as Francis did, with open hearts and empty hands. Let us follow, not with fear, but with joy. And let us remember that the Gospel is not a burden, but a gift, a gift that transforms bitterness into sweetness, and death into life.

Celebrating the Year of the Paschal Mystery of St. Francis of Assisi is the way we will reflect on the Gospel Life all Franciscans have professed to live. And the unique expression of our Seraphic Father’s last desire is for us to accept the “gift” of Gospel Life in Fraternity. (Regardless of which Franciscan “Rule” we profess, to Live Jesus really has no substitute. We either live Jesus or not. And, it was given to Francis what values were essential in living it.)  When we listen to his words and conform ourselves to the spirit of St. Francis we can be assured of a path leading to our conformity to Christ.

Let us remember the last words of St. Francis in his Testament: And whoever observes these things, let him be blessed in heaven with the blessing of the Most High Father, and on earth with the blessing of His Beloved Son with the Most Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, and all the powers of heaven and with all the saints. And, as far as I am able, I, little brother Francis, your servant, confirm for you both within and without, this most holy blessing. Amen.

Peace and Blessings

Francis A. Sariego, O.F.M. Cap.

Regional Spiritual Assistant