In October of 2005, just two months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the southern U.S. coast, a small contingent from my parish set off to visit a church community in Pass Christian, Mississippi, that had been devastated by the storm. I had the honor of accompanying the group to St. Paul’s in Pass Christian and was shocked by what we encountered upon our arrival. We knew that the area had been destroyed by the massive tidal surge, leaving close to 90 percent of all buildings flattened, and that the pastor of the church, Fr. Dennis Carver, hoped to rebuild. We understood also that this same parish had rebuilt once before, after Hurricane Camille in 1969. Little prepared us for what we actually saw while there, however.

Our pastor, Fr. Tim Kelleher, brought a small gift from our parish, the Cross of San Damiano. Here’s its backstory: some 800 years ago, Saint Francis of Assisi was praying in the church of San Damiano when he heard a voice telling him: “Go, rebuild my church which is falling down.” Francis believed that God was instructing him to physically reconstruct the church which was in a state of disrepair and so he began the project immediately. Over time, however, he came to understand that the words “rebuild my church” meant that he was being called to assist in the building up of the worldwide church, the Church founded by Christ himself. He set his attention to prayer, poverty, and peacemaking.

I recall well walking around the viciously damaged church in Pass Christian, which had lost most of its wall structures, though was still standing. Fr. Carver decided to hold a Mass there and our group was invited to participate. On the Sunday morning of the gathering, we were all surprised by how many people came back, in the face of such tragedy, to worship together. Most of the people there had lost their own homes and were facing great hardship because of the storm. Yet there, together, we prayed, we sang, we embraced, and we expressed gratitude for the chance to be there in that moment. I learned later that several people who were present that day had left the Church, had “fallen away”, and who for whatever reason, no longer called St. Paul’s their spiritual home. Yet after the storm, they returned for this Mass.

I have been thinking about that occasion, celebrated amidst ruins, and of the powerful presence and grace of our Creator God… right there in the rubble. I have been thinking about the San Damiano call that Francis received, about his first interpretation and then his later understanding. And I have been wondering whether here, in this moment, you and I are being called similarly to “rebuild my church”?

I would love to, at this point, provide clearcut instructions on how best to do so, should you feel ready to heed that calling. It would be nice to be able to offer a blueprint on how we move forward from here. Some out there are doing just that, but instead I would like to suggest that we follow Saint Francis’ path, that we proceed but be open to reinterpretation and to listening, with humility. Francis believed he knew what the voice in the church was instructing him to do, so he loaded up his to do list, developed action steps, and got right down to work. Eventually, he accepted that the way forward was to pursue prayer, poverty, and peacemaking instead.

We are bombarded by differences of opinion, conflict, and certainty within our world… but blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Are you and I being called to be instruments of peace, specifically because our world seems so filled with differences of opinion, conflict, and certainty? 

Is this how we can rebuild the Church?

Is this how they will identify us as disciples of Christ?

Let’s put the to do lists, action steps, and work aside for a moment. Let’s pursue prayer, poverty, and peacemaking. Let’s do this together. Because, after all is said and done, this is what it means to be Church.