Oct 1, 2025 Written by 

The Father will give Holy Spirit, not flies

Chapter eleven of Luke continues by highlighting how confident and persevering prayer not only obtains what is asked for, but even more: the great gift of the Holy Spirit.

In the Sources, Francis is a magnificent example.

Poor in worldly goods but rich in the Spirit of God, the Poverello considered the Lord as the Great Almsgiver who gives generously to those who trust in Him.

In the Sources we find a telling episode:

"The servant of God, who had become very ill, was brought back to Assisi from Nocera by an escort of ambassadors sent by the devout people of Assisi.

The escorts, together with the servant of God, arrived at a poor village called Satriano.

As the hour and hunger made them feel the need for food, they went to look for it in the village. But, finding nothing to buy, they returned empty-handed.

Then the Saint said to these men:

"If you have found nothing, it is because you have more faith in your flies than in God (by the term 'flies' he meant money).

But go back to the houses you passed by and humbly ask for alms, offering God's love as payment.

And do not think that this is a shameful and humiliating gesture: that is a mistaken idea, because the Great Almsgiver, after sin, has made all goods available to the worthy and the unworthy, with most generous goodness."

The knights put aside their embarrassment, went spontaneously to ask for alms and managed to buy with the love of God what they had not obtained with money.

In fact, those poor inhabitants, moved and inspired by God, generously offered not only their possessions, but also themselves.

And so it came to pass that Francis' poverty made up for the poverty that money had been unable to alleviate" (FF 1130).

On the other hand, the Servant of the Lord had always believed throughout his life that God offers much more than we think, giving us the Holy Spirit - the sum of all good things.

In fact, in the Regola bollata (1223), Francis states that we must "desire above all else [...] to have the Spirit of the Lord and his holy working" (FF 104), which rests on those who live the Gospel faithfully.

The Poor Man of Christ, in fact, considered Him the Minister of the Order.

And he said:

"With God [...] there is no preference of persons, and the Holy Spirit, the general minister of the Order, rests equally on the poor and the simple" (FF 779).

 

«How much more will the Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him» (Lk 11:13b)

 

 

Thursday of the 27th wk. in Ordinary Time  (Lk 11:5-13)

65 Last modified on Wednesday, 01 October 2025 05:11
Teresa Girolami

Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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Those living beside us, who may be scorned and sidelined because they are foreigners, can instead teach us how to walk on the path that the Lord wishes (Pope Francis)
Chi vive accanto a noi, forse disprezzato ed emarginato perché straniero, può insegnarci invece come camminare sulla via che il Signore vuole (Papa Francesco)
Many saints experienced the night of faith and God’s silence — when we knock and God does not respond — and these saints were persevering (Pope Francis)
Tanti santi e sante hanno sperimentato la notte della fede e il silenzio di Dio – quando noi bussiamo e Dio non risponde – e questi santi sono stati perseveranti (Papa Francesco)
In some passages of Scripture it seems to be first and foremost Jesus’ prayer, his intimacy with the Father, that governs everything (Pope Francis)
In qualche pagina della Scrittura sembra essere anzitutto la preghiera di Gesù, la sua intimità con il Padre, a governare tutto (Papa Francesco)
It is necessary to know how to be silent, to create spaces of solitude or, better still, of meeting reserved for intimacy with the Lord. It is necessary to know how to contemplate. Today's man feels a great need not to limit himself to pure material concerns, and instead to supplement his technical culture with superior and detoxifying inputs from the world of the spirit [John Paul II]
Occorre saper fare silenzio, creare spazi di solitudine o, meglio, di incontro riservato ad un’intimità col Signore. Occorre saper contemplare. L’uomo d’oggi sente molto il bisogno di non limitarsi alle pure preoccupazioni materiali, e di integrare invece la propria cultura tecnica con superiori e disintossicanti apporti provenienti dal mondo dello spirito [Giovanni Paolo II]
This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, even affecting my feelings (Pope Benedict)
Questo può realizzarsi solo a partire dall'intimo incontro con Dio, un incontro che è diventato comunione di volontà arrivando fino a toccare il sentimento (Papa Benedetto)
We come to bless him because of what he revealed, eight centuries ago, to a "Little", to the Poor Man of Assisi; - things in heaven and on earth, that philosophers "had not even dreamed"; - things hidden to those who are "wise" only humanly, and only humanly "intelligent"; - these "things" the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, revealed to Francis and through Francis (Pope John Paul II)
Veniamo per benedirlo a motivo di ciò che egli ha rivelato, otto secoli fa, a un “Piccolo”, al Poverello d’Assisi; – le cose in cielo e sulla terra, che i filosofi “non avevano nemmeno sognato”; – le cose nascoste a coloro che sono “sapienti” soltanto umanamente, e soltanto umanamente “intelligenti”; – queste “cose” il Padre, il Signore del cielo e della terra, ha rivelato a Francesco e mediante Francesco (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
We are faced with the «drama of the resistance to become saved persons» (Pope Francis)
Siamo davanti al «dramma della resistenza a essere salvati» (Papa Francesco)
That 'always seeing the face of the Father' is the highest manifestation of the worship of God. It can be said to constitute that 'heavenly liturgy', performed on behalf of the whole universe [John Paul II]
Quel “vedere sempre la faccia del Padre” è la manifestazione più alta dell’adorazione di Dio. Si può dire che essa costituisce quella “liturgia celeste”, compiuta a nome di tutto l’universo [Giovanni Paolo II]

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