Today is the feast of the Impression of the Stigmata upon St. Francis of Assisi.

Memories flood back to me today of being in a small oratory in Toronto receiving the remainder of my minor orders, the deaconate. It was a warm day; the light glistened off Lake Ontario. I sweat so much.

The next day, meeting at the church we’d rented–the same church used in Kim’s Convenience, the Vietnamese Victory Church. I was ordained a priest in Appa’s Church. The Sunday following where I celebrated my first Mass, sweat a lot more, made mistakes, but it was ok!

When I was preaching today, I talked about what it must have been like for Francis, to want to hide the stigmata from his brothers, from those in his community; how they must have hurt. I can only imagine the pain of that blessing.

I talked today about how we, as Christians, are called to see when we receive the mark of Christ. Doing the right thing, carrying our cross, is never easy. Each time we are challenged to call out injustice, we are called to advocate for justice, when we are called into the silence of prayer, or the praise of celebration we are finding the marks of Christ.

We should not be ashamed, or afraid. Be proud, have courage. Know that we are loved by God, that we share siblingship with Our Lord, Jesus Christ.