800 Years of St. Francis · Day 18 of 31 · Sunday, October 18, 2026
Francis did not think of harmony as something he produced. He saw a divine thread already running through all living things and simply chose to live along it. Harmony, for him, was something to join rather than something to achieve.
I once wrote about a woman called Molly, sitting at her kitchen table early one morning after harsh words with her daughter the night before. Her coffee had gone cold. Outside, sparrows stumbled around the feeder looking for seeds, and it struck her that their morning dance didn’t require perfection. Eventually she picked up her phone and typed: “I love you, even when we disagree.” Then she waited.
That, I think, is what Franciscan harmony looks like in an ordinary life. It doesn’t erase the storm or pretend the hurt didn’t happen. It weaves the hurt into a larger pattern and chooses the next note anyway.
We spend a great deal of effort trying to engineer peace, by managing people, avoiding conversations, and controlling outcomes. Francis suggests a simpler way: find the music that is already playing, and join it.
Notice today: Where are you trying to make harmony when you could simply join it?
Harmony doesn’t require perfection. It requires the courage to begin again.
At San Damiano: All are welcome at the Monthly Mass for Staff and Friends of San Damiano, on Wednesday, November 4, 9:30 – 10:30 am. Details
Day 18 of 31 · 800 Years of St. Francis: A Daily October Companion · spiritualbreak.com
Reflection © 2026 Michael J. Cunningham OFS.
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