A House Where God's Mercy Lives

Homily for the Solemnity of the Portiuncula - Our Lady of the Angels

For the Franciscan family, this day is not simply a memorial—it is a homecoming. We return spiritually to the Portiuncula, the little church of Our Lady of the Angels, where Francis heard the Gospel, discovered his vocation, and gathered his first brothers. It was also the place where he died as he lay naked on the ground. For this convent chapel is a place where the Franciscan story continues to unfold; our chapel bears the name of this feast which raises it to the level of a solemnity for us.

In Luke’s Gospel, the angel Gabriel announces a mystery that reshapes the world: God chooses Mary so that He may dwell among us. This is the heart of the Portiuncula. Francis placed his fraternity under Mary’s protection because he knew she is the one who always makes room for Christ—first in her body, then in her life, and now in the Church.

The Portiuncula became a place where sinners find mercy, where the poor find welcome, and where the brothers and sisters find fraternity. Mary’s “yes” became the model for Francis’s “yes,” and both continue to shape the Church today.

In the first reading, we heard Sirach’s prayer—“Lord, Father and God of my life, do not abandon me to my foolish thoughts,” a deeply Franciscan prayer. It is the prayer of those who know they cannot shape their own hearts. He needs God to purify our desires, redirect our impulses, and strengthen our will.

This is exactly what happened at the Portiuncula. Francis entered that little chapel as a man searching for direction, and he left as a man whose heart had been reshaped by grace. Sirach’s plea becomes our own: Lord, form in us the heart that can say ‘yes’ like Mary and live the Gospel like Francis.

Paul tells us that through Christ we are no longer slaves but sons and daughters, able to cry out, “Abba, Father.” This is the spiritual atmosphere of Our Lady of the Angels. The Portiuncula was not a place of fear—it was a place of freedom. Francis wanted everyone who entered that chapel to know they were beloved children of God. Mary’s motherhood and Francis’s fraternity both point to this truth: We belong to God, not as servants trembling before a master, but as children held by a Father who delights in us.

As we celebrate this solemnity in our chapel, we stand in continuity with the first brothers who gathered around Francis in that humble church. The invitation today is simple and profound:    let Mary teach you how to welcome Christ with courage and joy. Let Francis remind you that holiness begins small—like the Portiuncula—and grows through humility and mercy. Let the Father draw you deeper into the freedom of being His beloved child.

The Portiuncula was tiny, but grace made it immense. Our chapel bears the same name, and so it bears the same promise: Where Mary is honored, Christ is welcomed. Where Christ is welcomed, mercy flows. Where mercy flows, the Gospel becomes life.

Mary, Our Lady of the Angels, teach us to say “yes” with your courage, to welcome Christ with your tenderness, and to serve the Church with your joy. St. Francis, pray that our hearts may be small enough for humility and wide enough for love. May this chapel, like the Portiuncula, be a place where God’s mercy is always at home. Amen.