St. Francis is known for his ministry to the poor and underprivileged, his care for nature and animals, and founding the Franciscan order. His feast day is celebrated Oct. 4 and while most Catholics may know the basics of his life, some within the Diocese of Gary have truly studied his teachings and were inspired to commit to following his example to become closer to God.
Kathy Dominguez, a Secular Franciscan, remembers a plaque her father had with St. Francis' Prayer for Peace on it. She also recalls saying that prayer many times as a child because she lived in a very turbulent home. She said her family was not Catholic and rarely went to any Christian church.
“St. Francis seemed so approachable and humble, kind and genuine,” she said. “I felt hope praying that prayer and knowing that St. Francis drew me to the Catholic Church as I got older.”
Dominguez felt in many churches there was a lot of “talk” and not a lot of “do.” She was drawn to the outreach ministries in the Catholic Church, such as St. Vincent de Paul and the various Peace and Social Justice initiatives that are a part of St. Thomas More in Munster over the years. Knowing the Prayer for Peace, she was drawn to the parishioners who were Secular Franciscans.
“They all are involved in various ministries helping the poor and I wanted to be more focused on doing that, so I went through formation and became a Secular Franciscan.” she said.
Dominguez pointed out that St. Francis lived during a time when there were many heresies. He firmly believed, she said, in following the structure of the Church and respected the Pope and Vatican. Even though St. Francis was not a priest, he was a humble Brother who loved and served the poor and sick.
“He firmly believed in living the Gospel life,” Dominguez said. “Our actions speak as loud as our words and St. Francis believed he should live as Jesus taught – loving your neighbor.”
Dominguez added she tries to follow the example of St. Francis by living simply, helping who she can when she can, serving the poor and praying for strength to live the Gospel life.
Father Aaron Richardson, OFM, who assists the parishes in Gary, said he always had a basic awareness of St. Francis, from the garden statue in his grandparent's backyard, to growing up singing “The Prayer of St. Francis” at Mass.
When he was discerning religious life, he was really drawn to the spirit of the Franciscans that he knew, and one friar recommended a biography by Donald Spoto, “Reluctant Saint.”
Father Richardson found himself at a time and place in his late 20s asking himself what he wanted to do with his life. He had a few good circles of friends, all of whom were connected to the Church in some way, and he was spending most of his spare time attending prayer groups and engaging in lay ministry.
“I realized I wanted prayer and ministry to be a full-time gig,” he said. “I also knew that community was important to me, so I was drawn to the fraternity of the Franciscans who prayed together and served the poor together.”
The friar's vocation director arranged for him to spend a few weekends at different ministries, and each time he felt right at home. “It was a good fit for me, so I knew that this was a life that I needed to continue to discern,” he said
One of the most important moments in Francis' life that Father Richardson read about was the encounter with a leper. In his day, lepers were the outcasts of society, forced to live outside the safety of the city walls. Francis was also repulsed by lepers until one day he encountered one on the road and, in a graced moment, he embraced the leper. As he continued on his way, Francis turned to look back at him until he had disappeared. Francis understood from that moment that the leper he embraced was Christ.
“We can all ask ourselves, ‘who are the 'lepers' in my life, the people that God is inviting me to embrace?’ said Father Richardson. “We can strive to discover Jesus alive in others.”
Father Ed Shea, OFM, who also serves the Gary parishes, shared that like others, among his earliest introductions to St. Francis were the Peace Prayer of St. Francis along with birdbaths depicting the saint.
“Only later did I find out that St. Francis didn’t write the Peace Prayer, and in my preaching I have spent a good deal of time rescuing Francis from the birdbath!” said Father Shea. “The problem with the ‘birdbath’ is that it domesticates Francis too much; he becomes a cute, cuddly little guy whom everyone can love. True, but there’s so much more to him than that.
“Francis was a passionate lover of all of creation and everything and everyone in creation – every tree, every bush, every rock, every rat, every cat, every man and woman and everything in between,” he said.
It was that very passion which drew Father Shea to Francis. As he learned more and more about him – his middle-class upbringing, his playful spirit, his love of music – he found in Francis a kindred spirit, and that kinship continues until this day.
“To be honest I was not very well versed in the many varieties of priesthood and religious life when I started getting serious about responding to God’s call in my life,” he said. “I made my decision based on the relationships that happened in my life as I kept meeting more and more people who taught me the charism of St. Francis by the way they lived their lives.”
The Franciscan way of life, Father Shea explained, is all about relationships, about authenticity, about really “seeing” people and connecting with them. He alluded to a story about a time when Francis invited a fellow friar to go with him to preach. They walked into the town and started greeting people and talking to them. As they were leaving the other brother turned to Francis and said, “Brother Francis, I thought you said we were going there to preach.” And Francis said, “We just did!”
“My prayer for everyone is the prayer that St. Francis shared with the world: ‘Pax et Bonum’ which translates into ‘Peace and Everything Good,’” said Father Shea. “Spend your life offering that prayer by the way you live, and the world will be a much better place.”