Happy Feast of St Francis!! Let St. Francis inspire you…
The invitation:
I, like St. Francis, felt that longing in my heart to grow in faith and serve a community in need. I left my family, friends, and material wealth to fully dive headfirst halfway across the US to join Cap Corps—and like St. Francis, it was worth it to leave it all behind to follow the call. Are you thinking of joining Cap Corps? … be like St. Francis! Accept the call, put in the application, talk to alumni. Ultimately, the Lord opens and closes the doors in our life and give us what we need. Maybe Cap Corps is an open door, go find out!
Not always what we think:
I did not actually sign up for Cap Corps. I signed up for a program that no longer exists… I got on the Zoom call and met with Maragret, my Cap Corps program director. I asked the “hard” questions and then said yes. Margaret made the transition so smooth I almost forgot while writing this that I had to reapply for the new program! Cap Corps took over the house and placement opportunities and the rest was history. Cap Corps was not what I planned, but God had greater plans on a different path that he led me to. St. Francis heard God say “rebuild my church,” and he rebuilt churches in Assisi. St. Francis didn’t realize when he began his journey that God was leading him on a different path, one of rebuilding THE church.
Working for God:
I began this experience by running away from what I had studied in school: Finance. I was looking for a “better” way to serve a community in need. The Lord gently nudged me to my second placement working in the finance office of the Province of St. Augustine. It was during this year that I realized that I can deal with things of the world—money, investments and grants—but do it for the glory of God. I can work in finance not to be seen as getting caught up in the material things of this world but taking that burden away from the friars as much as possible, so they are able to better serve their communities in the way each one is being called. St. Francis shows us how to live for God as we are called to do, and I learned that I can live for God and glorify Him in this world with the gifts he has given me in the work I do.
A journey:
I still have so much to learn about and from St. Francis. I’d like to give you a prayer card that a friar gave to me, that reminds me to serve like St. Francis of Assisi. (This prayer was not actually written by St. Francis but is an example to live based on his life).
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