Today’s readings begin with Simeon, a priest known for renovating the house of God. This relates to St Francis, on his feast day, to whom God said, “Go and repair my house, which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin.” Francis, who lived in the 13th century, began with physical labor, repairing one church at a time, but realized the Lord’s call was to repair the SPIRITUAL life of His Church, and so, he responded by living a life of Christ-inspired poverty.
Another tie to St Francis is in our gospel reading, where Jesus turns to his Father, and says, “Although you have hidden these things from the wise, and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.” St Francis is childlike in his profound openness to God’s will, his extreme rejection of material wealth and rejection of sin common to his place in society.