The church where Christ on the cross told Francis to build his church was one of my earliest memories. Francis took that order to mean he should repair the building in which he had that encounter with Jesus. But the Lord meant a great deal more than that. Eventually, Francis realized that only a complete break with his past would open him to the greater task of modeling holiness for the entire Church.

Also instructive for me was the remains of St. Clare of Assisi. For many years her body, dressed in her religious garb, was shown to pilgrims. The sister presenting this scene would say in very Italian English, if that was the language requested: “This is the body of St. Clare; she is perfectly preserved.” More important than that was the fact that many, including Clare, were willing to follow Francis and allow God to make a radical change in their lives.

The large church below the town on the flat plain houses the chapel where Francis died. He who had talked about “brother this” and “sister that” held death itself in great esteem, as the doorway to life with the Lord. For me, meditating at that small building, the smallness of life in comparison to eternal life made a great deal of sense.

Finally, the basilica at the north end of the town, the place where Francis’ remains are to be found and honored, is quite remarkable for all the frescos. They record a life well lived. Each of us has a story. Like that of Francis, there are times that call for our conversion and there are times when we find great blessings and indeed there are times when God sends a cross and asks us to share the very cross of His beloved Son.

It is amazing that such a relatively small town, focused on a hill above the plain, should have such a spiritual pull and push about it. One cannot be at Assisi and not be challenged to follow Jesus Christ more fully, to seek God’s help to change one’s life and to be all that God has created us to be.

If you get a chance, go visit our parish dedicated to St. Francis in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Perhaps such a pilgrimage may call forth from us some new working of the Holy Spirit for our salvation and that of our greater community.