“Rebuild My Church”

Last updated on: October 3, 2011 at 7:04 pm by Henry Karlson

“Rebuild My Church” 2011-10-03T19:04:00-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Saints make the universal call to holiness unique by their own particularization of that call in their lives. They grasp an aspect of Christ’s life, putting them into communion with Christ, and in that communion, to the rest of the world. As they strive for personal holiness, their achievements help more than themselves, but everyone. No matter how isolated they might appear in the world, they are not individuals cut off from everyone else, selfishly looking only after their own affairs: they are intercessors of God’s grace to the world, making sure the work of Christ continues in history. Through them, the Church built by Christ but tarnished by human sin can be restored. While all the saints have the restoration of the Church as a part of their mission in the world, some are brought more directly into this work than others, with one of the greatest being that poor man of Assisi, St Francis.

St. Francis heard a call to restore Christ’s Church. He at first misunderstood the call to be merely the restoration of the church of St. Damian, but he would quickly find out his mission in the world extended beyond the rebuilding of one parish; it was for the rebuilding of the whole Church. How he built up St. Damian’s typifies the way he built up the Church. He worked to the full extent of his being to make sure the repair work was done. But he did more than that – he called for others to share in that work, showing that the restoration of the Church cannot be done by one person alone:

Grounded now in the humility of Christ, Francis recalled to mind the obedience enjoined upon him from the cross, to repair the church of San Damiano. As a truly obedient man, he returned to Assisi to obey the divine command at least by begging. Putting aside all embarrassment out of love of the poor Crucified, he begged from those among whom he was accustomed to have plenty, and he loaded stones upon his frail body that was weakened by fasting. With God’s help and the devoted assistance of the citizens, he completed repairs on that church.[1]

Saint Damian’s could only be rebuilt through hard work and labor combined with the resources given to St. Francis by the rich. The Church needs the cooperation of everyone within it, especially those blessed with great riches, if it is to be renewed and given what it needs to reach out and help heal the world. The Church is called to follow the example of Christ, to heal the sick and save souls: the two go together. Without resources, without Christians coming together in love for each other and the world, the sick will look elsewhere for healing and the sinner will ignore the call to holiness. St. Francis shows us that we must reach people with love, that we must love them in their personal situation, wherever they are at, for this alone leads to give us the trust needed for them to hear the message of the Gospel.

If we want the Church to be seen in its glory, we must become humble men and women of faith, following the path of St. Francis. We too must be willing to crucify ourselves in humble obedience to the Lord. While St. Francis was to uniquely represent this taking on the cross through his stigmata, we are all called to take the sign of the cross upon ourselves and to die to the self so that we can live in glory. What St. Francis wrote in his earlier rule about humility applies not just to Franciscans, but to all of us:

Therefore, let all he brothers, beware of pride and vainglory. Let us guard ourselves from the wisdom of this world and the prudence of the flesh. Because the spirit of the flesh very much strives to have the words but cares little for the activity; it does not seek a religion and holiness in an interior spirit, but wants and desires to have a religion and holiness outwardly apparent to people. They are the ones of whom the Lord says: Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.[2]

We should live for Christ, even if it gives us no apparent response from the world. This can be quite hard; indeed, those striving for a holy way of life without support might experience the very desolation of death, the horrors of hell, in their life – but they are still called forward through all the doubt and confusion to live for Christ, and if they come through all of the suffering with faith, their work will certainly be with Christ for the redemption of the world. Though weakened in flesh, filled with sorrow because of the hardships given to them, if they persevere, they will come through their trials and tribulations with great glory. All trials lead to the strengthening of the one who holds strong to the Lord, no matter what kind of trial they faced. St Francis, as St. Bonaventure affirms, believed it was likely he was able to hold fast to Christ in part because of the opposition he faced:

As [Francis] tells, there was a woman who had a devil who spoke within her and declared that Francis was doing much harm to them, and that there were gathered against him a good five thousand [devils], planning his downfall. And the friar who heard it told it to blessed Francis: and he got up and said that perhaps he had become strong [because of it].[3]

Those who stand with Christ, loving the world and those in it, and not back down when the going gets tough will have proved themselves to be among Christ’s dearest friends. The greatness they attain will be seen in their eternal glory if not on the earth. But God, nonetheless, wants us to recognize the holy, to see the beauty of the saints, and so leads us to recognize many of his great saints in the world so as to be led by their example. Those who are not known to be saints might be greater saints than many of those whom God has made known, but those God has made known have qualities which attract attention and devotion, the kind necessary for them to lead by example. God calls forth saints in the world so they can help save the world. Those who are called to be leaders in the world are given a charism which attracts attention. Those who are not so charismatic still share in the universal work of Christ, and they still represent, in the world, the incarnation of holiness which is needed for the world’s salvation. And in doing so, they become truly themselves, even if it appears they must first deny all that they are:

In sainthood, man stops being man by making in himself a place for God: but thereby he comes truly man. The path of sainthood is the crucifixion of the natural man, the removal from oneself of the natural man, self-renunciation, as well as, at the same time, the salvation, restoration, preservation of individuality. Only a saint has true individuality, integrated by integral wisdom, and therefore he is a focus through which stream rays of grace. Sainthood is the rationally unfathomable mystery of the union of the Divine and the human, a mystery which in the God-Man was accomplished once for always in an absolute form, but which therefore can be accomplished in a man-God too by the sanctifying power of grace, by human deification. Every sacrament – and especially Holy Communion – yields such human deification, but in sainthood this union of the Divine and the human receives a stable and lasting character, so that man’s nature is changed: ‘if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature’ (2 Cor. 5:17).[4]

While holiness continues to incarnate God’s grace in the world, many, if not most of the holy will be obscure. One must be able to accept humble obscurity to be a saint of God, but this does not mean one will end up obscure. It is for God to decide. In St. Francis of Assisi, that poor man, God deigned to highlight the greatness of humility, and so he who was so poor in the world became one of the greatest in heaven. And that greatness God let shine throughout all the world so that we can share in his glory by following his example. Today, right now, we are called to rebuild Christ’s Church. Will we heed the call?

[1] (Saint) Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, “The Major Legend of Saint Francis” in Francis of Assisi: The Founder. Ed. Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., J.A. Wayne Hellmann, O.F.M. Conv., and William J. Short, O.F.M. (New York: New City Press, 2000), 540.

[2] St. Francis of Assisi, “The Earlier Rule,” in Francis of Assisi: The Saint. Ed. Regis J. Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., J.A. Wayne Hellmann, O.F.M. Conv., and William J. Short, O.F.M. (New York: New City Press, 1999), 75.

[3] St. Bonaventure, Collations on the Six Days. Trans. José de Vinck (Paterson, N.J.: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1970), 278.

[4] Sergius Buglakov, “On Holy Relics” in Relics and Miracles. Trans. Boris Jakim (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2011), 19-20.

Previous Post

October 3, 2011

A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XXXIV.

Next Post

October 5, 2011 The Wickedness of Herman Cain

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2019 A Consistent Ethic of Life Aaron Weldon Abortion absurdity Abuse Scandal Academics Adoption Advent Africa agreement/disagreement with Church teaching Alexander Schmemann Alexham Alterity America Amnesty International Anarchism angels Anglicanism Animals Annual Statistics Anthony Anxietas Apocalyptic Apophatic Appalachia Aquinas Art Atheism Atonement Augustine Authority Baptism Beauty Bible biblical criticism biblical scholarship Bioethics Bishops Black Catholics Black Theology Blackadder Blogs Books Breastfeeding Brett Salkeld Buddhism Bush administration Byzantine Catholic Calvinism Canada Canon Law Capital Punishment Capitalism Caryll Houselander Catholic Blog Awards Catholic Blogging Catholic League Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Worker Movement Catholicity CFL Charity Children Chris West Christ and Culture Christian Democracy Christian Unity Christmas Christology Church Church Doctrine Church History Climate Change Cohabitation Colbert Collegiality Communion Communism Comparative Theology Competition Conferences conscience conscience rights Consequentialism Consistent Life Ethics Consumerism Contraception Contrition Conversion Converts Coptic COVID-19 Creation Critical Thinking Cross Cuba Culture Culture of Death Culture of Life Darfur David Cruz-Uribe David Wheeler-Reed Death Death Penalty Democracy Demons Desert Fathers Devil Dialogue dignity Disability Disarmament discernment Discipleship discrimination Dissent Distributism Division Doctrine Domestic Church Dorothy Day Double Effect Doubt Down syndrome Driving Early Church Easter Eastern Churches Ecclesiology Economics Economy Ecumenism Education El Salvador Election Election 2020 Ellul Embryonic Stem Cell Research Empire Energy Enlighenment Environmentalism Ephraim Radner Episcopal Church epistemology Equality Eschatology Ethics Eucharist Europe Euthanasia Evangelization Evil Evolution Excommunication F.X. Durrwell Facism Facts Fair Trade Faith Family Fashion Feddie Feminism Feminist theology Fertility Fetal Rights Fiction Film Finances First Things flags Folk Religion Food Foreign Affairs Forgiveness Frank Sheed Free Speech Freedom gay & lesbian persons Genocide George W. Bush George Weigel Gerald L. Campbell Girard/Mimetic Theory Global Warming Globalization Gnosticism Good Friday Grace Gratitude Greed Grey Cup 2009 Guadalupe Guest Post Guest Posts Gun Control Gustave Martelet Habitat for Humanity Hans Urs von Balthasar Harry Potter Hate Speech Health Health Care Healthcare Heather King Hebrew Bible Henri de Lubac Henry Karlson Herbert McCabe Heresy HHS Mandate Controversy History Holidays Holiness Holy Spirit Homiletics Homily Homosexuality Hope Hospitality How Far Can We Go? How Far Can We Go? Human Person Human Rights Humanae Vitae Humility Humor Hunger Hunting Identity Idolatry Ignacio Ellacuría Imagination Immigration In Memoriam Income Inequality Inculturation Indigenous People Individualism Inklings Intellect Interdependence Internet Interpretation Interviews Introduction Iraq War Islam Israel Jain James Alison James Martin Jazz Jesus Christ Jews Joe Biden Joe Hargrave Johann Baptist Metz John Allen John Henry Newman John Paul II John the Baptist John XXIII Jonathan Josef Pieper Joseph (the husband of Mary) Joseph Bernardin Joseph Ratzinger Josh Brumfield Journals Joy Judgment Just War Justice Kari Lundgren Karl Rahner Katerina Ivanovna Kenya Keynes Kingdom of God Kyle R. Cupp Labor Language Latin America Law Leanne Ogasawara Legion of Christ Leisure Lent Liberalism Liberation Theology Libertarianism Libya Lies Life life & dignity & responsibility of the human person Literature Little Way Liturgical music Liturgical Year Liturgy Living Simply Living Wage Local Church Lombard Lord of the Rings Louis Dupre Love M.Z. Magic Magisterium Mark DeFrancisis Mark Gordon Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Jr. Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masculinity Matt Talbot Matthew Fish Matthew Levering McCain Media Memorial Day Mennonites Mental Illness mercy Michael Iafrate Middle East militarism Miroslav Volf Mitt Romney Modesty Moral Theology Morality Mormonism Morning's Minion Mother Teresa Music Muslims Natalie Nate Wildermuth Nationalism Native Americans Nature Nazis Neuhaus New Evangelization New York City News NFP nihilism Nonviolence Not Abortion Nova's Ordo Nuclear weapons Nuns Obama Occult Old Age Opus Dei Ordination ordination of women original sin Orthodoxy Oscar Romero Other Voices Pacifism Palestine Palin Papacy Papal Peace Messages Papal Social Encyclicals Particular Affections Partisanship Patriotism Paul Paul Ryan Paul VI Peace Pentimento persecution Personalism Phantastes Philosophy PKD Planned Parenthood Pluralism Poetry Policraticus Politcal Apathy Politics Poll Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope Leo XIV Population Postcolonialsim Poverty Power Prayer Preaching Predictions Predictions for 2012 President Barack Obama priestly formation & discernment Pro-Life Progress Prophetic Witness Proportionalism Public Diplomacy Public Policy Question Quotes Rachel Maddow Racism Radical Catholic Mom Radical Catholicism Raymund Schwager Real Catholic TV Real Presence Reconciliation Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange Religion religious freedom Responsibility Ressourcement Resurrection Rick Garnett Ridiculous Crap You Never Thought You'd See Robert Barron Roe v. Wade Roman Curia Rome Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation History Sam Harris Sam Rocha Same-sex Marriage Saskatchewan Roughriders Satire School of the Americas Science Scripture Seamless Garment Second Vatican Council Seeing Sex sexual violence Sexuality Sia Sin social justice Social Security Socialism Society of Jesus Sofia Loves Wisdom Solidarity Sophia soteriology Soutenus Spirituality Sports St. Dismas St. Joseph Stanley Hauerwas Statistics Stimulus Suffering Sunday Reflections Supernatural Supreme Court Symbolism Syria Taxing Technology Terrorism The State The Tea Party The Trump Administration Theological Anthropology Theology Theotokos Thomas Merton Throwaway Culture Tim Muldoon Tim Riley Tim Tebow Time Titian Tolkien Torture Toys Trade Traditionalism Transgender Transportation Transubstantiation Trinity Truth TV U.S. Affairs Uncategorized Unions unity among people who disagree US Catholicism USCCB Usury Utilitarianism Utopia Valentine's Day Vatican Vatican II Veterans Vicarious Suffering Video Violence Virgin Mary Vocations Voluntary Associations Voluntary Poverty Voting Vox Nova vox nova blog war War and Peace War Strategy Wealth Weirdness Welfare state Women Women Priests Work Woundedness Youth

Select a Month June 2026 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 July 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 November 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many chapters are in the book of Revelation?

Select your answer to see how you score.

12 22 30 24