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The word "father" stands at the very centre of Francis's life. On one side is his earthly father, who could not understand his son and dragged him angrily before the public court. On the other is the heavenly Father who waits at the door for the prodigal son, sees him far off, runs to him and embraces him (Lk 15:20). This is what Francis discovered: our God is not only a Father who waits — he is a Father who comes looking for us.
On the day he stripped himself before the bishop, Francis lost nothing; he found a Father. His words, "From now on I will say 'Our Father who art in heaven,'" are not the lament of an orphan but the freedom song of a son who has surrendered completely to the Father's love.
"From now on I will say only: Our Father, who art in heaven."
— Francis before the Bishop of Assisi, 1206
The Father's Face — in the Son
For Francis, the Father was revealed in the Incarnation of Jesus. He called Christ "the most high Word of the Father." In the Son of God who left his riches and made our poverty his own, he saw the love of a Father who comes down to us. That is why the Child of the crib, the Christ of the cross and the Eucharist on the altar were so close to his heart. All three speak the same message: God comes down.
In one of his letters he wrote in wonder: "Behold, each day he humbles himself, as when he came from the royal throne into the Virgin's womb; each day he comes to us in humble form; each day he comes down from the bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of the priest." The love of the Father who comes is not a single past event; it is a miracle that happens every day.
"You are good, all good, the highest good."
— from Francis's "Praises of God Most High"
Francis — a Mother to His Brothers
Having experienced the Father's love, Francis learned to give it to others. Remarkably, he wrote that those who lead the brothers should be "like mothers." In his rule for brothers living in hermitages, some were to be "mothers" who cared for the others, and some "sons" who devoted themselves to prayer. Not domination, but care — that is Franciscan leadership.
Once, a brother cried out at night from hunger. Though it was a time of fasting, Francis at once woke all the brothers and had them eat together with him, so that the hungry brother would not feel ashamed. People matter more than rules; this is the heart of the Father who comes.
A Message for Families Today
In many homes today, fathers are present but do not "come." Work pressure, phones and exhaustion leave no time to step into their children's world. Others, working far away in other countries, see their children only on video calls. The Franciscan vision of the "Father who comes" is a word of hope for both.
First, God is our true Father; no earthly father can perfectly reflect his love. That is a comfort to anyone carrying a wounded relationship with a parent. Second, every father is called to be a sign of that heavenly Father — not only waiting, but going out to seek.
Wounded Relationships and
Forgiveness
History suggests that the relationship between Francis and his father Pietro was never fully healed. An early account tells that when his father cursed him, Francis asked a poor old man to walk with him and said, "When my father curses me, you bless me." He met bitterness not with bitterness but with blessing.
Our families too may carry wounds that never quite close. Francis teaches us that we cannot mend every relationship — but we never have to carry hatred in any of them. Forgiveness is not forgetting; it is placing the wound into the Father's hands.
Francis on the "Our Father"
Francis wrote a meditative commentary on the Lord's Prayer. He explains "who art in heaven" like this: "in the angels and in the saints, enlightening them to know, for you, Lord, are light; inflaming them to love, for you, Lord, are love." The Father is not far away; he dwells within his children.
Questions for Reflection
- Do I see God as a "judge who waits" or a "Father who comes looking"?
- For whom must I be the first to "run out" in my life?
- Who in my family needs my blessing today?
This Week's Action
Each night, trace the sign of the cross on your children's foreheads and bless them — and let them bless you too. The blessing Francis wrote out for Brother Leo (Num 6:24-26) is a beautiful way to do it:
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you."
Father, you saw me while I was still far off and ran to embrace me. Give me the grace, at the door of my home, to wait for others — and to go out and find them. Amen.
— A reader's prayer
