Matthew speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is depicted in three parables concerning the treasure in the field, the precious pearl and the fishing net.
For Francis, as the Sources themselves reveal, the hidden treasure was poverty – not an end in itself, but for the sake of the Kingdom: conformity to the Poor Christ.
For him, the hidden treasure for which he was willing to sell everything was his encounter with the lepers, a tangible revelation of God, and with whom he wished to spend much time, caring for them and loving them more than himself.
For Francis, the hidden treasure was also prayer and the sufferings shared with Jesus.
The Sources attest:
“These visits to the lepers increased his goodness. Taking a companion of his, whom he had loved dearly, to a remote spot, he told him that he had discovered a great and precious treasure […]
He often took him to a cave near Assisi; he would go in alone, leaving his friend outside, eager to lay hold of the treasure” (FF 1409).
“Then, as a lover of every form of humility, he went to live amongst the lepers, staying with them and serving them all with the utmost care.
He washed their feet, bandaged their sores, removed the scabs from their sores and cleaned them of their pus.
Driven by admirable devotion, he would even kiss their gangrenous sores—he who was soon to become the Good Samaritan of the Gospel” (FF 1045).
Furthermore:
“And truly, the true religion which he embraced is God’s immaculate bride; and the Kingdom of Heaven is the hidden treasure which he sought so ardently” (FF 330) .
His biographer Celano continues, in the First Life:
“He withdraws a little from the turmoil of the world […] and seeks to keep Jesus Christ in the intimacy of his heart. Like a shrewd merchant, he hides the pearl he has found from the gaze of sceptics, and secretly sets about buying it by selling everything else” (FF 328).
«The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man, having found, hid; and in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field» (Mt 13:44)
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A (Mt 13:44–52)
