We yearn for God’s direction. We want to hear His voice. We know His will is the path to the peace, joy, and happiness we hunger for. But how do we discover His will? And even more difficult: how do we align our will with His? 

John of Capistrano spent his life in search of God’s will. He did his best to discover God’s will and to align his own will with it. And that journey wasn’t a straight path—it was an adventure.

John was born in Italy, the son of a former German knight. He studied law at the University of Perugia and practiced as a lawyer in the courts of Naples. But then in one moment, everything changed. His city was attacked and John was imprisoned. 

Has a crazy turn of events ever happened in your life and left you wondering what God is doing? 

We can’t know for sure what John experienced in prison, but we know he used that time to realign his life with God’s will. When he was released, he left behind his life as a lawyer to become a Franciscan and began preaching throughout Europe and Russia. Years later, John had to realign with God’s will again. The pope asked him to lead 70,000 Christians in a battle against the Turks, who were trying to invade Vienna and Rome. John said yes and came out victorious. 

In ways big and small, John realigned his life with the will of God. He sacrificed for it. He went to battle for it. How do you need to realign your life with the will of God?

This is the constant battle we have in the spiritual journey. We want to do what we want to do, to assert our will. The Gospel is a constant invitation to surrender to God's plans, will, and desires. We revolt against that, sometimes in big ways, sometimes in small ways. But each day is a call back to realign ourselves with the will of God. 

What is God's will for you today? What is your will for you today? Where is the conflict? Where are they clashing? And will you make that surrender? Maybe it's a small surrender, maybe a great surrender, but it's a constant invitation to surrender.



Feast Day: October 23

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Severin Boethius

Patron Saint of: Military Chaplains and Jurists

Also Known As: The Soldier Saint

Canonized: June 4, 1724

Canonized By: Pope Benedict XIII