In today's passage to the crowds thronging in search of signs Jesus replies that only one sign will be given to them: that of the prophet Jonah.

Francis of Assisi was a man of God attentive to signs; but for him the sign of the signs through which God spoke to him was Jesus Crucified and Risen, He who three days and three nights remained in the tomb and rose again to give us true Life.

His profound adherence to the Cross was so evident that even the poor garment he wore was in the shape of a cross.

We read in the Sources:

"This herald of God, worthy to be loved by Christ, imitated by us [...] had from Heaven the mission to call men to weep, to lament [...] and to imprint with the sign of the penitential cross and with a cross-shaped garment, the Tau on the foreheads of those who groan and weep.

But he then confirms in it, with its incontestable truth, the testimony of that seal that made him like the living God, that is, like Christ Crucified.

A seal that was imprinted in his body not by the work of nature or the skill of an artificer, but rather by the marvellous power of the Spirit of the living God" (FF 1022).

That sign which one of his disciples converted by Francis and later became Brother Pacifico "saw with his own bodily eyes: Francis marked in the form of a cross by two swords, placed crosswise, very bright: one stretched from his head to his feet, the other, transversely, from one hand to the other, at the height of his breast.

The Crucifix and the Cross was for him the sign of Jonah who turned his life upside down at San Damiano:

"the image of Christ Crucified from the painting spoke to him, moving his lips" (FF 593).

"From that moment, the Compassion of the Crucified One became fixed in his holy soul and, as can be piously believed, the venerable Stigmata of the Passion, though not yet in the flesh, became deeply impressed in his heart" (FF 594).

«This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, and no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah» (Lk 11:29)

Monday, 28th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 11,29-32)

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus presents the parable of the wedding banquet as a metaphor for the Kingdom of Heaven.

The invited guests show no interest in attending the king’s banquet, so the servants are sent out to gather whoever they find on the streets – but only those wearing wedding garments.

«For many are called, but few are chosen» (Mt 22:14).

Let us now consider how the Poverello lived out all this, according to the accounts in the Sources.

Enamoured of Lady Poverty, Francis of Assisi earnestly invited her to take a meal with the friars [cf. Sacrum Commercium Beati Francisci cum Domina Paupertate]:

“Then they led her to the place where the table had been set. When she arrived, she looked around and, seeing nothing but three or four loaves of barley and bran bread placed on the grass, was filled with great wonder” (FF 2020).

She then “ordered them all to gather together and addressed them with words of life, saying:

«May you be blessed, my sons, by the Lord God who created heaven and earth, for you have welcomed me into your home with such an abundance of charity that, being with you today, it has seemed to me as though I were in the Lord’s paradise […]

This is what I have sought so long; now I behold it […] for on earth I have been united with men who are for me a faithful image of Him who is my spouse in heaven.

May the Lord bless your courage and be pleased with the work of your hands»” (FF 2024).

Called and chosen in the company of Lady Poverty, to follow in the footsteps of the Son of God.

Clare herself, in her Spiritual Testament—a true Franciscan gem—addresses her present and future daughters, inviting them to guard the priceless treasure of their calling. We read in it:

«Among the other blessings we have received and continue to receive daily from our Giver, the Father of Mercies, for which we are deeply obliged to offer Him glorious and living thanksgiving, great is the blessing of our vocation. And the greater and more perfect it is, the more deeply we are bound to Him. Therefore, the Apostle admonishes: ‘Know well your vocation’» (FF 2823).

And again:

«The Son of God has become our Way; and this was shown and taught to us by word and example by our blessed father Francis, a true lover and imitator of Him» (FF 2824).

At this point, Clare recalls when the Saint, under divine inspiration, prophesied concerning them.

“Having climbed onto the wall of that church […] he addressed some poor people who were standing nearby:

«Come and help me with this work at the monastery of St Damian, for soon women will come to live there, and through the fame of the holiness of their lives, glory will be given to our heavenly Father throughout his holy Church».

We may, therefore, admire in this event the great goodness of God towards us: He deigned, in His overflowing mercy and charity, to inspire such words in His Saint concerning our vocation and election» (FF 2827–2828).

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)  (Mt 22:1–14)

In these few verses of today's Gospel is contained the true blessedness, enunciated by Jesus, of those who know how to listen and embody the Word of God in the folds of daily life.

Francis, who considered himself simple and idiotic, passionately loved the Word of God.

In fact, when he came across its letters on the ground, he would pick them up for due consideration.

The Sources attest to this, in the first letter [written by him] to the Keepers:

«Even the writings containing the names and words of the Lord, wherever they are found in inconvenient places, let them be collected and placed in a worthy place» (FF 242).

Clare herself, a little plant of the Seraphic Father, recalls in her Testament how much Francis loved and lived the Word, giving it as an example:

«The Son of God became our way; and this by word and example our blessed Father Francis, true lover and imitator of Him, showed and taught us» (FF 2824).

And to those who asked him if he was pleased that educated people should enter the Order, he replied:

«I have pleasure in it; provided, however, that following the example of Christ, of whom we read not so much that he studied as that he prayed, they do not neglect to dedicate themselves to prayer, and provided they study not so much to know how they should speak, as to put into practice the things they have learned, and, only when they have put them into practice, propose them to others.

I want my brothers to be disciples of the Gospel and to progress in the knowledge of the truth, so that at the same time they may grow in the purity of simplicity» (FF 1188).

"And the principal reason why he revered the ministers of the Word of God was this: that they revive the offspring of their dead brother, that is, they revive Christ, who was crucified for sinners, when they convert them, being their guide with pious solicitude and solicitous piety.

He affirmed that this office of piety is more pleasing than any sacrifice to the Father of mercies, especially if it is fulfilled with zeal dictated by perfect charity, so that one labours in it more by example than by word, more by the tears of prayer than by the loquacity of speeches" (FF 1135).

"For he had never been a deaf hearer of the Gospel, but, entrusting to a commendable memory all that he heard, he sought with all diligence to follow it to the letter" (FF 357).

«Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and [keep] it» (v.28)

Saturday of the 27th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 11,27-28)

Jesus testifies to the onlookers that He casts out demons not by Beelzebul but by the Finger of God, by the work of Him.

As Jesus did, so Francis had temptations and was greatly tried by the devil.

But the Finger of God, the Holy Spirit, won every battle in him, extending the Kingdom of heaven in hearts.

Like Francis, Clare too encountered such trials from which, by the Grace of God, she always emerged unscathed, because she was not divided, but totally united with Christ.

The Sources are eloquent bearers of great existential and spiritual truth. Let us look at what they tell us in this regard.

"In those places he had to fight hand to hand with the devil, who confronted him in order to frighten him not only with interior temptations, but also exteriorly with clashes and ruin.

But Francis, as a very strong soldier of Christ, knowing full well that his Lord could do everything everywhere, did not let himself be frightened at all, but repeated in his heart:

«You cannot, O evil one, unleash the weapons of your malice against me in these places any more than you would do to me if we were in the crowd»" (FF 446).

And a friar, who had long been harassed by the assaults of the devil and wept at the feet of Francis, was delivered by him:

"the Father felt pity for him and understood that he was tormented by malignant instigations:

«I command you, O demons, - he exclaimed - by the virtue of God, not to torment my brother any more from now on, as you have dared so far».

Immediately that gloomy darkness dissipated, the friar rose free and felt no more torment, as if he had always been free of it" (FF 697).

Clare was also attacked several times by the enemy.

"While she was once weeping, in the middle of the night, the angel of darkness appeared to her in the form of a black child, and thus admonished her: Do not weep so much, for you will go blind!

But, she answered him at once:

«She will not be blind who will see God», he turned away in confusion" (FF 3198).

And in the first letter to her spiritual daughter, Agnes of Bohemia, Clare expresses herself thus:

«The man covered with clothes cannot pretend to wrestle with an unclothed man, for he who offers a grasp to his adversary is sooner thrown to the ground» (FF 1867).

The servants of God, in their simplicity, have clear ideas, because they are guided by the Finger of God - and they do not give up the authentic Vocation.

«But if by the Finger of God I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come for you» (Lk 11:20)

Friday, 27th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 11:15-26)

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 ‘Regula bullata’ (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:

«In 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)

After praying, Jesus receives a request from the disciples to teach them how to pray.

Thus he gives them the 'Our Father'.

If we look in the Franciscan Sources we realise how important prayer was for the little Poor Man.

Francis, the Herald of the Great King, was no longer so much a man who prayed as a creature made prayer.

And just as the disciples, when they saw Jesus praying, asked him to teach them to pray, so the friars who had the good fortune to see Francis immersed in prayer, asked him to teach them.

"When, then, the brothers asked him to teach them to pray, he said: When you pray, say:

«Our Father» and «We adore you, O Christ, in all your churches which are in the whole world, and we bless you, because through your holy cross you have redeemed the world» (FF 1068).

"Moreover, he taught them to praise God in all creatures and [...] to confess frankly the truth of the faith" (FF 1069).

And in his writings (specifically, the Paraphrase of the "Our Father"):

«O most holy Our Father: creator, redeemer, consoler and our Saviour. Who art in heaven: in the angels and in the saints, enlightening them to knowledge, because thou, Lord, art light: enkindling them to love, because thou, Lord, art love; making thy dwelling in them and filling them with bliss, because thou, Lord, art the supreme good, eternal, from whom all good comes and without whom no good exists» (FF 266- 267).

He recommended to his brothers not to neglect prayer. Indeed:

«Above all else - he firmly asserted - the religious must desire the grace of prayer» and he urged his brothers in every possible way to practise it zealously, convinced that no one makes progress in the service of God without it.

Walking and sitting, at home and away, working and resting, he was so intent on prayer that he seemed to have devoted every part of himself to it, not only his heart and body but also his activity and time" (FF 1176).

«When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come» (Lk 11:2)

Wednesday of the 27th wk in O.T.  (Lk 11,1-4)

Francis of Assisi, the Knower and the Least of God, always had clear in his conscience the importance and necessity of the contemplative life, tempered by work that keeps idleness at bay and conforms to Christ. He demanded this for himself and for his brothers. He went so far as to say that serving his brothers was worth more than any stay in the hermitages, where he himself loved to go when he could.

We read in his writings: «And I worked with my own hands, and I want to work; and I firmly want all the other brothers to work as befits honesty. Those who do not know, let them learn, not for the greed of receiving the reward of work, but to set an example and keep idleness at bay» (FF 119).

Furthermore: «We are convinced that [...] those who live differently in hermitages have been reproached a great deal. Many, in fact, transform the place of contemplation into idleness and the hermit's way of life, instituted to allow souls perfection, reduces it to a place of pleasure [...] Certainly this reproach is not for everyone. We know that there are saints [...] who follow excellent laws in the hermitage» (FF 765).

Even among the friars there was discussion about whether to live in contemplation or action, in fact in the Major Legend it is written:

"While, firm in their holy purpose, they faced the Spoletana valley, they began to discuss whether they should spend their lives among the people or dwell in solitary places. 

But Francis, the servant of Christ, not trusting in his own experience or that of his own, entrusted himself to prayer, to insistently seek what the disposition of the divine will was on this point.

He was thus enlightened with an answer from Heaven and understood that he had been sent by the Lord for this purpose: to win souls for Christ [...] And so he chose to live for all, rather than for himself alone, spurred on by the example of the One who deigned to die, He alone, for all men" (FF1066).

But love for prayer and listening to the Word always accompanied his actions and those of his brothers.

"The tireless dedication to prayer [...] had brought the man of God to such clarity of spirit that [...] he scrutinised the depths of the Scriptures with a clear and acute intellect. He read the sacred books and kept tenaciously imprinted in his memory what he had once assimilated: for he continually ruminated with affectionate devotion what he had listened to with an attentive mind" (FF1187).

Transformed into prayer, without failing in service:

Francis had a special predilection for the Word of God, and in him, without failing in the services to be rendered to his neighbour, he always gave priority to listening to what the Lord asked or taught, fixing it well in his mind.

He had chosen the good part that no one could take away from him. 

Indeed, the Sources instruct us in this regard:

"He spent all his time in holy recollection in order to imprint Wisdom in his heart; he feared to turn back if he did not always make progress.

And if at times there were urgent visits from seculars or other matters, he would cut them off rather than finish them, to take refuge again in contemplation [...].

He was always looking for a secluded place, where he could unite himself not only with his spirit, but with his individual limbs to his God" (FF 681).

"Often without moving his lips, he would meditate for a long time within himself and, concentrating the external powers within, he would lift himself up with his spirit to heaven. In this way he directed his whole mind and affection to the one thing he asked of God: he was not so much a praying man as he himself was transformed into a living prayer" (FF 682).

He had understood the essence of the Gospel.

When he was infirm and full of pain, to a friar who had learned from Francis to take refuge in the Scriptures and who now invited him to have them read to him for relief, the Saint replied:

«It is good to read the testimonies of Scripture, and it is good to seek in them the Lord our God. But, as for me, I have already taken so much from the Scriptures as to be more than sufficient for my meditation and reflection. I need no more, Son: I know Christ poor and crucified» (FF 692).