Repairing God’s House

September 30, 2025

For those of you who have read a number of my reflections, you may know that St. Francis of Assisi is among my favorite saints. Because we celebrate his feast day in October, I thought it was appropriate to reflect on his life and his commitment to repair in a world desperately in need of just that.

St. Francis was born in 1181 to a wealthy family of cloth merchants in Umbria at Assisi. As a young man, he was known for a general spirit of worldliness and spent lavishly, enjoying a life of luxury. He was well-liked and his charm meant that he got away with many things. Though his father wanted him to become a businessman, Francis was much more interested with the glory and prestige of being a knight.

His opportunity came when he was 20 years old, and a war broke out between Assisi and Perugia. But Francis was taken prisoner by the Perugians and spent a year in confinement. Having not yet found the glory he was searching for, he decided to go to battle against the Germans and bought himself a fine outfit to wear on the front.

But Francis never went further than a day’s ride from Assisi, where he had a dream in which God told him he needed to return home. He listened, and this was the beginning of a change in the young man who longed for prestige over holiness. He gave his expensive battle outfit to a poor beggar. And not long after, he came upon a deformed and diseased leper. Francis kissed the man’s hand and gave him money.

Francis dedicated himself to a life of a service of God. He visited the poor and sick, freely giving to them. While praying at San Damiano Church in Assisi, he was blessed with a vision. The cross spoke to Francis, telling him “Go repair my house, which you see is falling down.” Francis took this vision quite literally, as the church where he was praying was deteriorating.

He went to his father’s house and took some cloth and a horse, which he sold. He gave the proceeds to the church so they could make repairs. But they refused the money, because even though Francis’s intentions were good, they knew his father would take issue with his actions.

“Go repair my house, which you see is falling down.”

Francis left the money on a windowsill.

When Francis’s father found out about the sale, he beat his son and threatened to disinherit him if he didn’t come back to the family business. Francis refused, so his father came after him for the money. But Francis told him that money belonged to the Church now. The case was brought before the Bishop of Assisi, who told Francis to return the money and put his faith in God. Francis did.

The vision from God had for greater implications for Francis’s life than just making repairs on one church. Though he did repair many churches throughout his life, his greater purpose was spreading Christianity throughout the world as the founder of the Franciscan Order. Francis died on October 3, 1226, and was canonized in 1228.

“Go repair my house, which you see is falling down.” I think about these words a lot. While Mercy Home certainly is not anywhere near falling down, I think a lot about the lives here that are in desperate need of repair. The children in our care come to our doors with stories of neglect, abuse, poverty, and unimaginable pain. I hope you will join me in praying for these young people, who are building brighter futures at Mercy Home.