HeARTworks: St. Francis of Assisi

Showing posts with label St. Francis of Assisi. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

WOYWW: Each of Us is a Church Builder!

Here's some activity on my desk from last night.

I am changing the background of a clock I got for free

from a drugstore.

The clock is on the left, the painting I am starting

is in the middle.

The heart shaped can on the bottom right

holds the screws and clock hands.

On the top right is a brochure my brother Robert

designed for some lifestyle homes in Tagaytay,

a nice cool place in the mountains.

I cleared all that away, by piling them on top

of books and stuff (!!!)

and started my painting for today.

After drawing her, I traced her with carbon paper

on to a prepared background.

"He has given us NEW LIFE

to raise again the house of our God

and restore the ruins..." Ezra 9:9

Ezra, the prophet is speaking here,

about how the temple of Jerusalem was ruined

and the people sent captive to Babylon

by Nebuchadnezzar.

BUT God used King Cyrus to bring back

the people and to REBUILD the temple!

It is a time of grace, of NEW LIFE, of starting over!

God spoke to St. Francis of Assisi
from the cross of San Damiano to
"Go and repair my house which is falling into ruins".
Francis started to repair the little dilapidated chapel,
after selling his father's silk and buying stones.
Later, Francis realized that God
meant not the physical church,
but the spiritual church,
which was in worse shape then
than it is now!

Do we realize that each of us is
called to be a church builder
just as St. Francis was called?

What are the gifts we have that can help
build the church?
We can be lectors, fix the flowers,
help in the livelihood and medical
programs of our church.
We can also love the people Jesus loves-
the poor, the prisoners, the sick,
the hurting, and be Christ to them.
Yes, EACH OF US IS A CHURCH BUILDER!