800 Years of St. Francis · Day 25 of 31 · Sunday, October 25, 2026
Francis lived his whole life moving between two places: the cave and the road. He would withdraw for weeks to pray in remote hermitages, then walk back into the towns to preach, serve, and embrace. He never treated the two as rivals. They were the in-breath and out-breath of one life.
He even wrote a short rule for brothers living in hermitages. Of every three or four, two were to be “mothers,” like Martha, caring for practical needs, and two were to be “sons,” like Mary, free to pray. Then they were to change places. Contemplation and action weren’t assigned to different people. Everyone took both turns.
Retreatants leaving San Damiano often ask me on the last morning, “Why can’t every day be like this?” The honest answer is that it can’t. The meetings will still be scheduled. The emails will still arrive. But the question contains its own answer. The retreat isn’t the place. The retreat is the disposition. You can leave the chapel and take it with you, or you can sit in the chapel and never receive it.
Your hermitage might be ten minutes in the car before walking into the house. Your road might be the difficult conversation that waits inside.
Notice today: Where is your hermitage, and where is your road? Are you taking turns?
The retreat is not the place. The retreat is the disposition, and it is available tomorrow morning at nine.
At San Damiano: Find your own hermitage for a day or a few nights. Personal retreats
Day 25 of 31 · 800 Years of St. Francis: A Daily October Companion · spiritualbreak.com
Reflection © 2026 Michael J. Cunningham OFS.
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