Tomorrow, Sunday, October 4, the Church remembers St. Francis of Assisi. Most of us picture him the same way: a brown habit, a bird on his shoulder, a statue in someone’s garden. That picture is not wrong, but it is small. Francis chose poverty, preached to the flowers and called the sun his brother.

This weekend is a good excuse to do one simple thing with your child: go outside together, on foot, for about an hour, and pray the way he did.

What Francis actually prayed

Francis wrote a song of praise now called the Canticle of the Creatures. Pope Francis took the first words of it, Laudato si’, “Praise be to you,” as the title of his 2015 letter on care for creation, and quotes it in paragraph 87:

“Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom you give us light… Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.”

The same letter says Francis, “whenever he would gaze at the sun, the moon or the smallest of animals, … burst into song” (no. 11), and that he asked for part of the friary garden to be left wild so people who saw the flowers “could raise their minds to God” (no. 12). It also says something parents will recognize: “In the family we first learn how to show love and respect for life” and “to say ‘thank you’ as an expression of genuine gratitude” (no. 213).

In other words, the Canticle is a prayer you say with your eyes open. That makes it easy to pray with a child who will not sit still.

Why the outside part matters

National guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ask children ages 6 to 17 to get 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity every day. In Texas, most children do not get there. The UTHealth Houston Dell Center’s Texas SPAN survey (2021–2023) found that only 23% of Texas school-age children were active 60 or more minutes on all seven days of the past week. On average, Texas kids met the guideline about 4.3 days a week.

Being outdoors seems to help. A 2015 systematic review of 28 studies of children ages 3 to 12 found that more time outside went with more physical activity, less sitting and better heart-lung fitness. The authors were careful to say this shows a link, not proof of cause, because there were no randomized trials. One randomized trial did look at a different benefit: in 12 schools in Guangzhou, China, adding one 40-minute outdoor class to each school day lowered the share of first graders who became nearsighted over three years, from 39.5% to 30.4%. That was a single study in a different country, but it is a reminder that time outside does more than burn energy.

A one-hour St. Francis walk

You do not need a park, a car or anything you have to buy. A sidewalk, a school track open to the public, the seawall or the bay front, or the block around your church will do.

• Start with one line. Before you leave, read the Brother Sun line above together. That is the whole opening prayer.
• Play “brother and sister.” As you walk, take turns naming what you see the way Francis did: Brother Wind, Sister Bird, Brother Pelican, Sister Palm Tree. Younger children love this. Older ones will roll their eyes and then join in.
• Let it be real exercise. Walk fast enough to talk but not sing. Race to the next stop sign. Count stairs. Moderate activity means breathing harder than normal, not a forced march.
• Stop once for Sister Water. Bring a bottle for everyone and drink at the halfway point. Francis called water “useful and humble and precious.” So is a water break.
• End with thank you. Each person names one thing they saw that they are grateful for. Write them down when you get home if you like.

Keep it safe in South Texas sun

Early October here can still feel like summer. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests limiting sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when UV rays are strongest, so an early-morning or after-4 walk is easiest. It recommends a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher put on 15 to 30 minutes before going out and reapplied every two hours, plus a hat and sunglasses. If the heat index is high, the National Weather Service notes that full sun can make it feel up to 15 degrees hotter, so choose shade and shorten the walk. If your child has asthma, check the air quality index first and bring the inhaler.

Where Ignite Fit fits

You do not have to be Catholic to take a walk and say thank you, and you do not have to pray at all to belong at Ignite His Glory. Our sessions open and close in prayer; families are invited, never required. What we offer every family is the same: ten weeks of real movement, cooking and encouragement, with parents welcome at every session.

Season One of Ignite Fit is for ages 8 to 17 in Nueces County, it is free to families, and dates will be announced soon. Until then, an hour outside this weekend is a good place to start. For more on moving with kids, see our post on the after-school hour.