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Francis came upon San Damiano, a little church in need of a good bit of repair. He entered and knelt down underneath a large wooden crucifix painted in the Byzantine style of an icon.

The open eyes of Jesus on the cross seemed to lock him in a stare that was both intimidating and beckoning at the same time. He couldn’t look away as feelings of doubt and fear, guilt and desire welled up within him. “Lord, what do you want me to do?” he asked. “Show me what you want me to do with my life.”

And the Lord answered! A voice as clear as the day responded: “Francis, go and rebuild my church which, as you see, is falling down.”

That was all he heard. That was all he needed to hear. It took a bit longer, however, to realize that Jesus wasn’t asking him to physically rebuild San Damiano as well as a few other rundown churches near Assisi. He did that, of course, but it gradually dawned on him that his vocation was to rebuild the church, the human institution that was perilously close to falling apart.

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See 28:00 to 30:00.

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SAINT FRANCIS cartoon | SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI | cartoon for kids | story of saints | english

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Create a drawing on one of the reflection questions.

Complete your drawing by  26 September 2020.

Upload your drawing here.

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How do I hear God through my parents or even my teachers?

Share your reflection by inserting under this column.

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Perfect Charity

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Francis prayed to the Crucifix and the Lord Jesus, spoke to him.  “Go and rebuild my church”

Francis took seriously the inspiring words of Jesus on the crucifix.  He knew that it was his mission to accomplish.  And so, he returned to his wealthy father and gave up his inheritance.  He lived with the poor and began to preach and live the Gospel of Jesus.  The people saw Jesus in Francis.  Francis with the help of the people started building Churches around the area to care for the poor, the sick, the rejected.

Who is the Church?

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This week's lesson is about St Francis rebuilding the Church.

At this time in St Francis's life, we join him before he decided to become a friar.

St Francis had just come back from two wars and was living in Assisi, helping his father with his business.

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According to Franciscan sources, a miracle in which Saint Francis' heard an exhortation from Christ occurred in 1205 in this church:

One day out in the countryside to meditate. Finding himself near San Damiano, which threatened ruin, old as it was, driven by the impulse of the Holy Spirit, he entered to pray. Kneeling in prayer before the image of the Crucifix, he was invaded with a great spiritual consolation and, as he affixed his tearful eyes on the cross of the Lord, with the ears of his body he heard a voice descend to him from the cross and say three times Francis, go and repair my church which, as you see, is all in ruins!. On hearing that voice, Francis remained astonished and trembling, being in the church alone and, perceiving in his heart the power of divine language, felt kidnapped of his senses. Finally returning to his senses, he girded himself to obey, concentrated everything on the mission to repair the church of walls, although the divine word was referring principally to the Church which Christ purchased by his blood, as the Holy Spirit had made him understand and how he later revealed to his fellow brothers.

Afterwards Saint Francis took action to physically repair the structure of the San Damiano church, although he eventually realized that God's message to him was to restore the entire Catholic Church as a whole body rather than literally repair one stone structure. The San Damiano cross which spoke to Francis currently hangs in the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi.

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The team will be collecting the drawings of all the classes in the level to stitch together & form a digital banner for St Francis Feast Day!

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My reflection is ......

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1. Who is the Church?
2. Have you ever made a well-meant mistake? (e.g. think of St Francis taking from his father because he wanted to build the church)
3. How can you help to "rebuild" both the church and the Church?