Begin anew like Francis

During Lent, we examined our hearts and learned how to trust God more deeply. That journey was never meant to end with Easter. The Resurrection proclaims that God is always at work, always creating something new – and always calling us to begin again.  

Now, the invitation is growing bolder. In a world that cries out for peace and justice, Pope Leo XIV has announced a Jubilee Year of St. Francis – an urgent invitation to put our faith into action following the example of St. Francis of Assisi.   

How can we live more like Francis? As the Jubilee Year continues, the Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be sharing a monthly challenge to look honestly at our lives and ask what it would mean to follow the Gospel more closely in the spirit of St. Francis.  

Our world needs peacemakers, bridge builders, heralds of the Gospel and messengers of Christ’s limitless love. It needs you.  

How is God calling you to Live Like Francis? 

Begin anew like Francis 

The Entrance Antiphon or Introit for the Eucharistic Liturgy for Easter Sunday proclaims:  

Christ speaks these words in praise and wonder of God’s fulfilled promises, marveling at a faithfulness that remains constant and true.  

Near the end of his life, St. Francis held this same conviction close to his heart. His biographer, Thomas of Celano, describes Francis as one who never stopped hoping for holy newness. Even as his strength failed, Francis burned with a great desire to return to the foundations of his ministry – humble, loving service to others.  

At one point, while bedridden, Francis summed up his desire with words that continue to echo across the centuries: 

“Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up until now we have done little or nothing.” 

As Thomas of Celano writes, "He did not consider that he had already attained his goal, but tireless in pursuit of holy newness, he constantly hoped to begin again."1 

Moving from death to life — not the other way around — is a fundamental perspective of a believer; a perspective learned from a God who brings life out of death, light from darkness, hope from despair. Both Francis and the Christ he so desired to imitate came to know and trust this dimension of God.  

Even amid struggle and disappointment, Francis never despaired to the point of giving up on God, on faith or on himself. He trusted that there was always more to receive, more to become, and more life still unfolding.  

As we live the joy of Easter, Francis invites us to share in that same confidence: that we are never finished, and that God is never done with us.  

Reflect