St. Francis Day falls on the 4th of October so I thought I would repost this sonnet which reflects the way Francis responded to Christ’s call by casting away the rich trappings he had inherited and embracing holy poverty. As always you can hear the sonnet by clicking on the ‘play’ button or the title

My sonnets for the Christian Year are available from Canterbury Press Here and on Kindle here

This sonnet for Francis is taken from my book The Singing Bowl, published by Canterbury Press. It is also available from Amazon UK Here, and USA Here and in Canada it is kept in stock by SignpostMusic

https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/francis.mp3
‘Francis, Rebuild My Church’; a sonnet for the Saint and for the new Pope

‘Francis rebuild my church which, as you seeIs falling into ruin.’ From the crossYour saviour spoke to you and speaks to usAgain through you. Undoing set you free,Loosened the traps of trappings, cast awayThe trammelling of all that costly clothWe wind our saviour in. At break of dayHe set aside his grave-clothes. Your new birthCame like a daybreak too, naked and trueTo poverty and to the gospel call,You woke to Christ and Christ awoke in youAnd set to work through all your love and skillTo make our ruin good, to bless and healTo wake the Christ in us and make us whole.

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