St. Francis’ Search, the Cross, and LGBTQ+ People

Today’s reflection is from Sister Donna McGarland, OSF, a regular Bondings 2.0 contributor.  She is one of the authors in Love Tenderly: Sacred Stories of Lesbian and Queer Religious published by New Ways Ministry.  

The liturgical readings for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time can be found by clicking here.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a man who died exactly 800 years ago.  He was a person known all over the world for his humility and humanness. Pope Leo XIV proclaimed this year as a Jubilee Year in honor of St. Francis’ 800th anniversary.  

In his First Life of Saint Francis, Thomas of Celano tells a story about the saint’s  response upon hearing the Gospel passage (Luke 9:3) about how the Lord sent his disciples out to preach:

“The holy Francis, hearing that the disciples of Christ should not possess gold or silver or money; nor carry along the way scrip, or wallet, or bread, or a staff; that they should not have shoes, or two tunics; but that they should preach the kingdom of God and penance, immediately cried out exultingly: ‘This is what I wish, this is what I seek, this is what I long to do with all my heart.’”  

Francis sought to diligently live the Gospel, to preach as Jesus did by example, not by words.  

The other day, I was having a conversation with some friends about Francis and how Franciscans today continue to live his mission and message.  One shared that, at its core, Franciscan Spirituality is all about telling stories. This idea really resonated with me!  We tell stories; we live the stories. Through them, we invite others to encounter and discover a God who loves and embraces all of humanity, who became one of us to manifest the depth of that love.

In the Gospel passage (Matthew 21:33-43) for today’s liturgy (which is also the Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time), Jesus tells a story about the owner of a vineyard.  The Pharisees and Scribes of His day would not have missed this story’s connection to today’s first liturgical reading from Isaiah where “the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished plant.” By making this allusion, Jesus is clearly challenging his immediate audience on multiple levels.  The intention was for the religious leaders,to identify with the tenants in the story, while the servants were meant to be  those who were obedient and faithful to God’s Word.  The leaders were not happy with the message that Jesus implied: Those entrusted to lead the people of God were in fact, rebelling against God in their quest for power.   

What about most of us who are LGBTQ+?  Where do we find ourselves in this story? Are we the servants, trying to be obedient and faithful to God’s Word?  If so, how are we received as we enter the vineyard, the church?  Do we experience rejection and poor treatment as Jesus indicates in the story?   So often, I feel like this is where I am. Jesus, himself, as the son of the landowner, the Son of God, was treated in the same way.  It is not a comforting place to be and yet Jesus invites us frequently to “take up our cross and follow Him.”  

What is the cross I am invited to carry?  Is it to challenge others in the church to accept LGBTQ+ people? I’ve always believed that Jesus’ own cross was the result of his unconditional love for others.  Am I called to challenge others to be more welcoming or simply witness to the unconditional love of God?

As I look at my own life, there were times when I felt like I was carrying a cross because of my own sexual orientation. Over time, I realized that this was a cross of my choosing and not from God.  God has never treated me as anything but a beloved child, created in God’s own image. I don’t believe my orientation is a cross anymore.  I do experience times when I feel unaccepted or judged by others. Perhaps my cross is to both challenge and love them.

There’s another group of characters that the original hearers of the story would have paid attention to.  These are the “other tenants” who will move into the vineyard after the ‘wicked tenants’ are expelled.  They will freely share the harvest with the landowner as expected.  

Jesus praises their insight and says these ‘other tenants’ are “the stone that the builders rejected that has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes” (echoing Psalm 118:22-23).  

I’d like to suggest that we, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and all persons seeking God’s will in their lives, are the ‘other tenants’.  We are all invited to live in the Kingdom of God’s embrace, in right relationship with one another.  We have been gifted with so much to enjoy, celebrate and share. 

When I ponder that promise, my heart rejoices as did that of St. Francis. “This is what I seek!  This is what I long for with all my heart!”  

My prayer for all of you is that you know the fullness of God’s unconditional love in your hearts as well!

—–Donna McGartland, OSF, October 4, 2026

Further reading:

Bondings 2.0: “On Feast of St. Francis: Witnessing Poverty, Patience, and Faith in LGBTQ Community“