Dear friends,
Six years ago, Suzanne and I took a little pilgrimage to Assisi, where we followed in the path of St. Francis. It’s a great walk, and if you ever get the chance to go to Italy, I highly recommend visiting Assisi, especially the gardens overlooking the city where Francis would go to pray.
We trudged our way up the hill (St. Francis was in shape!), through a large parking lot for the tour buses, and found the entrance. Just inside the gates, in a small garden where Francis would sometimes pray, is a stone inscribed with this:
"All my life thou hast been at the helm though very secretly.”
It was a good reminder that St. Francis’ life was anything but easy. His father was extremely hard (most would call it abusive), occasionally even imprisoning St. Francis for his disobedience. And, yet, St. Francis grounded his life in prayer, lived with generous love and trusted that God was at the helm, though often very secretly.
My prayer as we make our way through this pandemic is that we can cling to similar hope, that even when the pandemic takes its twists and turns, or life hands us difficult defeats, we can trust that God is at the helm, though often very secretly. It’s what the Apostle Paul was trying to communicate in this week’s scripture readings, a passage that ranks among my favorite.
I hope you’ll join us this week, either in person or online. It promises to be a rich Sunday.
Warmly,
