PILGRIMS OF HOPE
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

By Brother Patrick

In the Gospel of Luke, we read: The Lord chose seventy-two disciples and he sent them ahead in pairs to every town and every place where he intended to go. He said to them: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the harvest. Go! I send you like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, and no sandals. Greet no one on the road. But whatever house you enter, say first: ‘Peace be to this house!’ If a person of peace lives there, your peace will rest upon them. If not, it will return to you (Gospel of Luke 10:1-6).”

These seventy-two disciples are the first missionaries. They are the first evangelists. They are the first preachers of the Good News of the Poor Christ. They are given detailed instructions about what to do and what to say. And because they return to Jesus with joy in their hearts, tradition teaches that these disciples faithfully followed the Lord’s guidance.

Twelve centuries later, Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) walked in the footsteps of these seventy-two disciples. When Francis heard the voice of the Lord, he devoted himself to living the Gospel, sharing God’s love, and rebuilding the Church. Francis was not a fundamentalist in the modern sense of the term, but he did strive to imitate the Lord with every thought, word, and deed. Francis took seriously Christ’s call to share a greeting of peace with the people he met along life’s way.

Francis journeyed on foot, almost always barefoot, throughout Italy, Spain, Egypt, and the Holy Land. Everywhere he went, Francis cried out: “May the Lord give you peace!” This greeting of peace is widely repeated and still widely misunderstood. All too often, we think of peace as a sense of calm, a moment of serenity, an absence of war and violence. But for Saint Francis, peace is not a condition. It is a blessing. It is a gift that can be given only by the Lord.

Like grace, which is God’s free gift of love, mercy, and salvation, peace is also God’s gift to the world. It is the fullness of all goodness that was enjoyed and lost by our first parents in paradise. It is the fullness of all blessing that is restored to us by the life, death, and resurrection of the Poor Christ. Peace is like shalom, the great Hebraic salutation. It conveys joy, health, love, friendship, goodness, kindness, mercy, and prosperity.

The Franciscan greeting of peace, then, is not simply a greeting. It is not simply a message of peace. It is a call to action. It is a way of actually living the gospel and creating the beloved community of love, truth, and justice. It is a way of becoming a true instrument of God’s peace and fraternity in our world. It’s about rejecting gossip, division, and tearing things down. It is instead about embracing civil discourse. It’s about building up, building bridges, and embracing each other as brothers and sisters. It’s about striving to bring people together through kind words, good works, and small acts of reconciliation. It’s about reaching out and reaching across the aisle. In short, the greeting of peace is about practicing what we preach.

Now more than ever, being an instrument of God’s peace calls us to patience and perseverance in all that we think, say, and do. Being an instrument of God’s peace obliges us to love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgivable, and to sometimes suffer for God’s sake and for our neighbor’s sake. Being an instrument of God’s peace beckons us to beg for mercy and to begin again when we fall. And we will fall.

If becoming an instrument of God’s peace sounds difficult, then consider something else that Saint Francis said to his followers: “I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.” After all, Francis was a human person. He had human feelings and human passions. He was a saint and a sinner. But Francis persisted in prayer and penance. He transcended his faults and failures. He sought to live in fellowship with people from all cultures, all religions, and all life experiences. He never stopped trying to love God and to love those he met along the way. If Francis could do it, we can do it, too!

During these troubled times, we pray for the courage and perseverance to share the gift and greeting of peace with our friends, families, and neighbors. May we share it at home, at work, and at large. Along with Saint Francis and those first disciples sent to prepare the way of the Lord, may we say from our hearts: “May the Lord give you peace!”

Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us! Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us! Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us! Pope Francis, pray for us!

Art Credit: ‘A Bird Preaches to Saint Francis’ by Kelly Latimore

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brother Patrick Garvey is co-founder and spiritual director of the Assisi Project. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine, Saint John Seminary, and the Catholic University of America. He is a writer, spiritual director, retreat leader, and university lecturer. He also serves as an Associate Minister in the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport in Massachusetts. On October 3, 2023, the Feast of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi, Brother Patrick was consecrated as a diocesan hermit by Bishop Mark O’Connell, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Boston. For more information about the Assisi Project and our ministries with adults of all ages and backgrounds, please contact Brother Patrick at brpatrick@assisiproject.com.

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ABOUT US

Founded in 2007, the Assisi Project is a Fellowship of Franciscans in Spirit with friends and followers throughout the world. We are dedicated to helping Christian believers of all ages more faithfully live the Gospel of Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi. We are also dedicated to promoting a devotion to Pope Francis (1936-2025) as a patron of peace, mercy, and fraternity in our sick and suffering world.

The Assisi Project is a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization. Please support our ministry via Pay Pal (see link below) or mail a tax-deductible donation to the Assisi Project, Post Office Box 3158, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01931-3158. The Assisi Project Podcast is produced by the Assisi Project, Inc. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. May the Lord give you peace!

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