The Healing Journey

October 3, 2026

Eight hundred years ago, on October 3, St. Francis of Assisi embraced Sister Death. The founder of the Franciscan order lived a life caring for the marginalized and the poor, always embracing peace even during his tumultuous era.

As we commemorate the anniversary of the Transitus of St. Francis from death to eternal life, let’s remember Pope Leo XIV’s plea that St. Francis’ message of peace will find “a profound echo in the Church and society today.” A Jubilee Year of St. Francis is being celebrated from January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

To hear Sarah McLachlan sing, “Instrument of Thy Peace,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agPnMxp5Occ

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