The Beauty of Storytelling in Revealing God’s Presence in Humanity: A Franciscan Reflection

“What Francis wanted to recapture and live was what the earliest companions of Christ had experienced: the presence of God coming alive in the human community. He wanted that to be the universal way.”

Ahlgren, Gillian. The Tenderness of God: Reclaiming Our Humanity. Fortress Press, 2017, 57.

One of the great joys I have in working with graduate students and serving as a certified spiritual director is to hear the stories of students and directees. Oftentimes, these stories continue to be told more than once but not always in the same exact way. For me, one’s sharing of their experiences, acquired wisdom, yearnings and struggles gathered along life’s journey, reveals the presence of God.

Like what is stated in the quote above, Francis discovered God to be fully present in our relationships with others and creation. His sending out of his followers two by two or in groups, traveling to various parts of the countryside and then coming back together to community must have led to the sharing of many stories. These narratives may have revealed encounters of all sorts and the joys and hardships that were experienced along the very journey away from community.

Stories can be told not simply in words but through our very actions and movements inspired by our desire to seek God and live the Gospel. They are like living parables in that in each time we tell our own story, something new is revealed drawing us closer to our own humanity and God’s abiding presence in and around us. When offering ourselves in generous invitation and as a safe and sacred space for another to tell their story, we open the door to another recognizing their own dignity and beauty. Finally, when sharing our relational encounters with creation and others with our friends and family, we continue to spread hope, joy and meaning. Everything suddenly is connected – God, humanity, creation, and our very lives.

Our Franciscan tradition teaches us the oneness of God with all that he has created. Stories abound about how Francis considered all people, animals, sun and moon, the elements of wind, water, fire, and earth and even death itself as brothers and sisters. They both individually and corporately all told him a story. They were all revealed as companions along the journey. His very life became a story being told to everyone and everything around him.

The students and directees whom I sit with and listen to their stories help me to see how the Franciscan tradition is alive. It is in the movements of story, going forth, encountering and returning to share the ongoing story. It gives me hope and a greater faith in a rich and generous God.

Joe Lonergan
Director of Student Services and Spiritual Formation
Franciscan School of Theology

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