Saturday, November 11, 2006

Who is Stephen Francis?

When I came back to the Church, I had never been confirmed. As a young teen I had been very inspired by the story of St Stephen, stoned to death for his faith in the book of Acts, and intended to take his name. 35 years later, when I returned to the Church one rainy morning, I learned that I had come back on both Rosh Hashanah (Jewish feast of new year and therefore new beginnings) AND the Catholic feast of St Francis of Assisi, a saint with a checkered past who left his wealth and comfort to give his all for Christ. When I was finally confirmed, I took the name STEPHEN FRANCIS, tying together my Catholic faith from the early years until now, and even those in between. It was truly a NEW BEGINNING for me.

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