I just want you to spend a minute
And think about who is your favorite Saint.
Who is your favorite Saint?
We all have favorite Saints.
You might have two, you might have three.

So as I ask myself that question,
Saint Ignatius of Loyola comes to mind.
I love his spirituality.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, by the way in which
She gave such a beautiful example to the poor.
I would say Saint Thérèse in the gentle,
Simple way in which she dedicated
Her entire life to God.
I would say Mother Frances Cabrini.

Do you know that Mother Cabrini used to pray
In this Chapel right here, right now?
We have a beautiful statue of her
To commemorate her visits to come and to pray here.

But one of my favorites is Saint Francis of Assisi.
For whatever reason, his spirituality,
His person has captured my imagination and my heart
And challenges me how to live an even better life.

Integrity of life is so terribly important.
I’m taking kind of the reverse side of what
You just heard in the Gospel.

And I want to present it in a positive way.
And I believe when Jesus was preaching this Gospel,
He was really talking about integrity of life.

We’re all called to live a life of integrity.
And what integrity means for me
Is when everything lines up—what you think, what you say,
What you do—when it’s all in alignment,
Then you have integrity of heart and spirit,
When it all lines up together.

And I think that’s what Jesus is saying
And inviting us to live—lives of integrity.

So Saint Francis of Assisi, again, one of my very favorites,
He has this great saying.
It’s actually one of my favorite sayings.
I’m going to say it twice.
He would often say to his followers:
“Preach the Gospel. Use words if you must.”
“Preach the Gospel. Use words if you must.”

Obviously, his point is that people will hear
The Gospel by watching what you do
Far more than by what you say.

Integrity is an alignment of words and actions
That we’re all called to do and to live
As disciples of the Lord, or in other words,
As the very children of God, His daughters and His sons.

The highest compliment I think that you can give
To a person is to say that their life is lived
With a sense of deep integrity because it all lines up.
It’s all transparent.
People see who you are, the values by which you live,
And in many ways the faith that you believe.

Preach the Gospel, all of us, the best we can.
Use words if we must.