Manila Archbishop Jose F. Cardinal Advincula D.D., called the faithful of St. Francis of Assisi Parish to make Franciscan spirituality concrete by rebuilding human lives, embracing the wounded
and trusting God with childlike faith during the parish’s celebration of its patron saint on October 4, 2026.
In his homily, Cardinal Advincula connected the life of St. Francis with the realities of Metro Manila, urging the faithful to look beyond the saint’s familiar images of birds and Italian landscapes and live his spirituality amid the city’s poverty, pressures and wounded communities.
“Remember to rebuild human lives,” Cardinal Advincula said, reflecting on St. Francis’ call to repair the Church. He said the mission is not simply about repairing structures but responding to broken lives by restoring the dignity of people who are lonely, exhausted, poor or struggling. The Cardinal also called the parish to become “a home for the wounded,” challenging Christians to recognize Christ in the scars carried by people facing illness, hardship, painful relationships, difficult work and repeated struggles. “Do not be ashamed of your scars. Own them!” he said.
He connected this teaching with St. Paul’s declaration, “For I bear the marks of Jesus on my body,” and the stigmata received by St. Francis, presenting their wounds as signs of identification with Christ rather than sources of shame. Cardinal Advincula then urged the faithful to recover the childlike trust praised by Jesus in the Gospel. In a city marked by intellectual, corporate and pastoral complexity, he said Christians can become preoccupied with analyzing and managing their anxieties instead of entrusting themselves to God. “When you approach the altar today, don’t come as an executive trying to manage your life. Come as a child stepping into the arms of a loving Father,” he said.
The Cardinal illustrated this trust and compassion through a Franciscan account in which St. Francis responded to a friar struggling with the community’s strict fast by eating with him rather than allowing him to carry the shame alone. The story, he said, points to a Church that responds to those who are struggling with accompaniment rather than condemnation. “Are you tired? Sit down next to me. Let’s break bread together. You don’t have to carry this alone,” Cardinal Advincula said, describing the kind of Church the Archdiocese of Manila is called to become.
He concluded by urging the faithful to remember St. Francis through three concrete commitments: rebuilding human lives, embracing one another’s scars and trusting God like children. “Remember Francis. He reminds us of Jesus so well.”
Photo by Maricar Santos / RCAM Media | Photogallery
