“Rebuild my Church, …

…which, as you can see, is falling into ruin.” Those words that St. Francis heard were hardly my inspiration for a back-porch redo, but I found myself hauling rocks, laying foundation, fitting them together—much as Francis might have done if he were here today. My patio was certainly on its way to ruin, as my wife and I had been noticing for years.

A segment is layed out and readied.

First, I went to Lowe’s and chose the stones. I know St. Francis was kind of anti-commercial, but he worked with what he had. I have Lowe’s. I ordered a pallet of sand bags and 2 pallets of patio pavers. The truck brought them to my home, got them fairly close to my backyard and the work began.

Visualizing what it all would become was impossible for me: it was my first time at it. I did have a plan though, which I set into action. I measured carefully, got out tools, made a section, laid sand into it and started on the stones.

Sand, to leveled, will be a foundation for the stones.

I’ll spare you the details, but it was long, hard work, one stone (paver) at a time. Sometimes I had to pull a stone out, re-level the sand, and reset the stone. I had to problem-solve as I kept discovering more and more little problems that crept up along the way. I worked long hours, finishing at dusk each night. But it was beautiful—it all kind of surprised me as the project unfolded.

“Rebuild my church.” I truly think that’s what we’re about at St. Anthony Messenger. Sometimes—often—it feels as if we are laying one stone at a time. We plan, but still we wonder what’s next, and problem-solve along the way. We set and reset, and learn as we go. Isn’t that true in most all of life? What do you think?

The result at day's end--more tomorrow!

About the Author

John Feister

John Feister is editor in chief of St. Anthony Messenger magazine and other periodicals at Franciscan Media. He has a B.A. in American Studies from University of Dayton, and master's degrees in Humanities and in Theology from Xavier University. He writes and edits for various publications and contributes to American Catholic Radio. He is married with three sons. His new book, Thank You, Sisters: Stories of Women Religious and How They Enrich Our Lives (Franciscan Media) will be published early in 2013.