Today's Gospel emphasises the authoritativeness of Jesus in responding to the arrogant pretension of the Pharisees who asked with what authority he did the works he performed, astounding them.

In Francis, this eloquent trait stemmed from his genuine holiness, rooted in humility, which silenced all insubordination among the brothers and the common people.

The humility of the Minim in the Assisian community made every hidden or overt pretension silent.

In the Sources there are interesting passages on this subject:

"Since his conversion, Francis, with the help of the Lord, founded himself and his house, that is, the Order, as a wise architect, on solid rock, that is, on the highest humility and poverty of the Son of God, and called it the Order of Friars Minor.

Above the utmost humility. For this reason, in the early days, when the brothers began to multiply, he wanted them to live in lazarettos to serve the lepers [...]" (FF 1658).

And again: "In order to preserve a greater humility, a few years after his conversion, in a Chapter celebrated at the Portiuncula, he resigned his position as prelate, saying in the presence of all the brothers present:

«From now on I am dead for you. But here is Brother Peter Cattanio, whom I and all of you will obey»" (FF 1661).

He once said to the General Minister:

«I want you to entrust the care you have of me to one of my companions. I will obey him as I obey you: for by the good example and virtue of obedience I want you to remain with me always, in life and in death».

And in the Rule of St Clare (1253):

«And just as at the beginning of his conversion, together with his sisters, he promised obedience to blessed Francis, so he promises to maintain it inviolably to his successors» (Bull of Pope Innocent IV, 2752).

Behold with what authority Francis, in the footsteps of his Master, did these things!

«By what authority do you do these things? O who gave you this authority to do these things?»  (Mk 11:28)

Saturday of the 8th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 11:27-33)

Through the parable of the barren fig tree, Jesus calls us to conversion, to be trees that bear fruit: «He went [to see] if he could find anything on it, and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves» (Mk 11:13).

Francis, humble of heart and simple, offers us a thought-provoking episode in this regard.

“He used to say that preachers are to be pitied, for they often sell their ministry for a penny’s worth of vainglory.

And he would sometimes try to cure their conceit with this remedy:

«Why do you boast of the conversion of men, when it is my simple brothers who have converted them through their prayers?»

And indeed, he commented thus on the passage that says: «even the barren woman has borne many children»:

«The barren woman is my poor friar, who has no task of begetting children in the Church. But at the judgement he will have brought many to light, for on that day the judge will ascribe to his glory those whom he now converts through his personal prayers»” (FF 749).

And again:

«There are many friars who […] whilst preaching the Gospel to individuals and to the people, on seeing or hearing that some have been edified or converted to penance, become puffed up and swell with pride over results achieved through the labour of others.

In truth, those whom they delude themselves into thinking they have edified or converted to penance through their words, it is the Lord who edifies and converts them through the prayers of the holy friars, even if the latter are unaware of it: this is God’s will, that they should not realise it, lest they become proud.

‘These friars are my knights of the Round Table, who hide themselves in secluded and uninhabited places, to devote themselves with greater fervour to prayer and meditation, weeping over their own sins and those of others» (FF 1624).

The humble and daily conversion of the Minor and his friars has, over time, revolutionised every form of arrogant thinking, thanks to the Word of Christ.

Friday, 8th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 11:11-25)

Jesus heals on the Jericho road a blind man who believes in Him and who, because of the salvation he has received, begins to follow Him glorifying God.

Blindness is a theme revisited by Francis on several occasions.

The Minim knew what blindness of body and soul was, having experienced it spiritually and physically.

The Name of Jesus on the lips of the Poor Man had often generated healings, restoring sight.

In the Sources we find:

"In the convent of the Friars Minor in Naples there was a friar named Robert who had been blind for many years.

At one point a fleshy growth formed over his eyes, preventing him from moving and lifting his eyelids.

One day, many foreign friars gathered in the friary, on their way to different parts of the world.

Well then, our blessed father Francis, a mirror of holy obedience, as if to encourage them on their journey with the novelty of a miracle, wanted to heal that friar, in their presence, in the following way.

'This friar Robert was deathly ill, so much so that by this time his soul had been recommended to him; when behold, the blessed Father appeared to him, in company with three friars, models of all holiness: saint Anthony, friar Augustine, and friar James of Assisi, who now, after death, accompanied him thoughtfully, just as they had followed him perfectly during life.

Taking a knife, St Francis cut away his superfluous flesh, restoring his sight and snatching him from the jaws of death; then he said to him:

«O son Robert, the grace I have given you is a sign for the brothers who set out for distant peoples: it is a sign that I will precede and guide them on their journey. Let them depart with joy and fulfil with a ready heart the obedience received!» (FF 1299).

The Canticle written by St Francis [Canticle of Brother Sun] is a hymn to life and light at the moment when he had lost his sight and been healed in his heart.

Francis, after his conversion, saw again and became a light for all, a beacon in the night of time.

Christ restored sight through him.

«And Jesus said to him: Go, your faith has saved you»  (Mk 10:52)

Thursday of the 8th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 10,46-52)

Francis and his brethren wanted to conform themselves to Christ the Servant and in everything they strove to follow in his footsteps.

The Sources recite: "They occupied the day in prayer and working with their hands [...] they loved each other with a deep affection, and served and provided for each other, as a mother would do with her only tenderly loved child" (FF 1446).

But also Clare of Assisi, little plant of the Seraphic Father, in the Monastery of St Damian gave extraordinary testimony of humble service to all the sisters, especially the sick.

We read: «The abbess is firmly obliged [...] to inform herself with solicitude about what their infirmity requires, both in terms of advice and in terms of food and other necessities, and to provide for them with charity and mercy [...] since all are obliged to provide for and serve their sick sisters, as they themselves would like to be served if they were to suffer any infirmity» (FF 2797).

All the Sources, then, abound repeatedly with the expression [referring both to Francis and Clare] that emphasises being at the service of Christ and the brothers.

We often encounter the expression: «Clare servant of Christ and of the poor Sisters» or also: «the servant of God Francis [...]» testifying to their being submissive for the sake of the Kingdom.

Wednesday, 8th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 10:32-45)

The Minim of Assisi, in order to follow Jesus and live his Gospel, renounced everything (literally) after his conversion to be free to follow in his Lord's footsteps.

He understood that earthly goods are a stumbling block to the evangelical freedom of 'becoming one' with the Master.

Hence we read in the Sources:

"On the advice of the bishop of the town, a very pious man, who did not think it right to use ill-gotten money for sacred purposes, the man of God returned to his father the sum, which he wanted to spend on the restoration of the church. And in front of many who had gathered and were listening:

«From now on - he exclaimed - I will be able to say freely: Our Father, who art in heaven, not Father Peter of Bernardone. Behold, I will not only return him the money, but I will also return him all my garments. Thus, I will go naked to meet the Lord».

O noble soul of a man, to whom Christ alone suffices!" (FF 597).

When the first companions began to arrive, who wanted to live like him, Francis "taught, having learned it by revelation, that the first step in holy religion consists in fulfilling that word of the Gospel: if you want to be perfect, go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor.

So he admitted to the Order only those who had renounced property and kept absolutely nothing for themselves.

So he did, in homage to the word of the Gospel, but also to avoid the scandal of private purses' (FF 1121).

«Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel, who does not receive a hundredfold now, in this time, in houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, together with persecutions, and in the age to come, the life of the Eternal One» (Mk 10:29-30)

In the light of the Gospel, at the time:

"Several men of culture and famous men of letters, both of the laity and the clergy, renouncing the allurements of pleasures, sin and worldly greed, entered the Order in their turn, committing themselves to follow, each according to the particular grace received from God, the poverty and the example of Christ and His servant Francis" (FF 1487- legend of the three companions).

In the section of the Sources: "Chronicles and other testimonies" we find out about the brothers:

"They then strove so diligently to renew in themselves the religion, poverty and humility of the early Church, drawing with thirst and ardour of spirit from the pure waters that flow from the spring of the Gospel [...] renouncing all possessions, denying themselves and, taking up their cross, naked they follow the naked Christ.

Like Joseph, they lay down their cloak*; like the Samaritan woman, their amphora, and they run free and light, before the Face of the Lord, never looking back. 'Forgetting past things, they always lean forward [...]' (FF 2218).

Holy love is content with the fruit of prayer and it is its characteristic to disregard earthly gifts, thinking only of serving the Word in the brothers, with freedom of spirit.

*Jacobus of Vitry captured, in particular, the apostolic commitment of the Friars Minor.

Tuesday 8th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 10:28-31)

The passage in today's liturgy highlights the figure of Mary at the foot of the cross, as Mother of all believers - and the blood and water that flowed from the side of Christ, struck by the lance [which nourishes a broad symbolism].

Francis and Clare always had a great fondness for Mary, considered their mother, and of all souls.

There is a prayer of Francis that begins like this:

«Hail, Lady, Holy Queen, /Holy Mother of God, Mary, /Who art a virgin made Church» (FF 259 - Salutation to the Blessed Virgin Mary).

When Clare left the worldly life to follow Jesus in the footsteps of Francis, she was received at St Mary of the Portiuncula, a place dedicated precisely to Mary, the Mother of Christ.

In the Legend we read:

"Abandoning [...] house, city and relatives, he hastened to St Mary of the Portiuncula, where the brothers, who were keeping vigil in prayer at the little altar of God, welcomed the virgin Clare with lighted torches" (FF 3170).

"Nor would it have been right that, in the evening of time, the Order of flourishing virginity should germinate elsewhere, if not there, in the temple of her who, first of all and of all the most worthy, alone was mother and virgin.

This is that famous place where the new host of the poor, led by Francis, began: so that it appears clearly that it was the Mother of mercy who gave birth in her dwelling place to the one and the other Order" (FF 3171).

But Francis and Clare of Assisi always had before their eyes the Passion of Jesus, and that gesture made by a soldier, as the Son of God hung from the cross, of striking his side with a lance; and the price paid with his blood to redeem souls.

In the Major Legend we note a passage that gives the measure of what is said:

"Piety elevated him to God by means of devotion, transformed him into Christ by means of compassion, made him turn towards his neighbour by means of condescension and, reconciling him to all creatures, brought him back to the state of primitive innocence.

For she felt great attraction towards creatures, but in a special way towards souls, redeemed by the blood of Christ Jesus; and, when she saw them polluted by the ugliness of sin, she pitied them with such tender pity, that every day she bore them, like a mother, in Christ" (FF 1134).

In his Letter to the whole Order, Francis writes:

«I beseech all of you, brethren [...] that you lend as far as you are able, all reverence and all honour to the most holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all things that are in heaven and on earth have been pacified and reconciled to Almighty God» (FF 217).

The Mother and her Son Jesus occupied the entire life of the two Poor Men, guiding them in every work.

«Woman, behold your son» (Jn 19:26)

«But one of the soldiers struck his side with his spear, and immediately there came out blood and water» (Jn 19:34)

[Monday after Pentecost: B.V. Mary Mother of the Church (Jn 19:25-34)]

The Gospel for the Solemnity of Pentecost highlights, through Jesus, the sending of the Holy Spirit: “Having said this, he breathed on them and said to them, «Receive Holy Spirit»” (Jn 20:22).

Francis of Assisi lived and served under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, whom he regarded as the Minister General of the Order.

He was, in fact, frequently visited by Him, who guided him inwardly.

In Celano’s Second Life, we are given a very interesting passage:

“It would be wrong to omit mention of the spiritual edifice, far nobler than the material one, which the Father, after the restoration of the church*, raised up in that place under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to build up the heavenly city.

And one cannot believe that Christ spoke to him from the wood of the Cross in such a marvellous way as to instil fear and sorrow in those who hear of it, merely to repair a crumbling structure destined to perish.

But, as the Holy Spirit had once foretold, an Order of holy virgins was to arise there, destined to be transferred in due course, as a chosen assembly of living stones, to restore the heavenly house.

Truly, after the virgins of Christ began to gather in that place, coming from various parts of the world, and there professed the highest perfection, observing the utmost poverty, in the splendour of every virtue, the Father gradually withdrew his physical presence from them. Yet he intensified his care for them, loving them even more in the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, when the Father, from the numerous proofs of the highest perfection they had given, saw that they were ready to endure for Christ every earthly hardship and every sacrifice […] he firmly promised them and the others […] that he would give his help and counsel, and that of his friars, in perpetuity.

As long as he lived, he always scrupulously kept these promises and, as he neared death, he earnestly commanded that they should always be continued: for, he said, ‘one and the same Spirit has brought the friars and those poor women out of this evil world’ (FF 793).

A continuous Pentecost, an outpouring of the Spirit that went beyond the walls and spread everywhere, always rained down upon the Order, especially throughout the lives of Francis and Clare.

In the ‘Form of Life’ written by Francis for the Damianite sisters (preserved in Clare’s Rule itself) we read:

«Since, by divine inspiration, you have made yourselves daughters and handmaids of the Most High King, the heavenly Father, and have betrothed yourselves to the Holy Spirit, choosing to live according to the perfection of the Holy Gospel, I wish and promise, on my own behalf and on behalf of my brothers, to have special care and concern for you, as for them» (FF 139).

Francis and Clare and their communities lived by contemplating and welcoming the Breath of the Spirit, their Master and Friend.

* This refers to the church of Saint Damian.

Pentecost Sunday A  (Jn 20:19–23)

Following is a theme strongly felt by Francis - in the first person, for his brothers, and not only.

In fact he founded no less than three Orders, because of his extraordinary desire to follow and have others follow in Christ's footsteps; religious or lay, so much so that, inflamed, he repeated:

«I want to send you all to Paradise».

The Sources, a travel tool in the Franciscan journey, give interesting passages on this subject.

"Some began to feel invited to do penance by his example and to join him, in dress and in life, leaving everything behind.

The first of them was the «venerable Bernard», who, having been made partaker of the divine vocation, deserved to be the first-born son of the blessed father, first in time and holiness.

Bernard, having witnessed for himself the holiness of Christ's servant, decided to follow his example, abandoning the world completely. Therefore he turned to him, to know how to realise this intention" (FF 1053).

Crowds followed Jesus, but many souls also followed the poor disciple of Assisi.

In fact, in the Fioretti, an episode is narrated in which Brother Masseo, wanting to prove the saint's humility, asked Francis why the whole world should go after him. The Poor Man began thus:

"[...] Saint Francis replies:

«Which is what you mean?»

Brother Masseo said:

«I say, why is the whole world directed to you, and every person seems to desire to see you and hear you and obey you? Thou art not a handsome man of the body, thou art not of great learning, thou art not noble; whence then to thee should all the world come after thee?».

Hearing this holy Francis, all joyful in spirit, raising his face to heaven, for a long time he remained with his mind lifted up in God; and then returning to himself, he knelt down and gave praise and grace to God; and then with great fervour of spirit he turned to Brother Masseo and said:

«Do you want to know why all the world comes after me? [...] those most holy eyes have seen no one among sinners more vile, nor more insufficient, nor greater sinner than I [...] and therefore to do that marvellous operation, which he intends to do, he has not found a more vile creature on earth; and therefore he has chosen me to confound the nobility and greatness and the strength and beauty and wisdom of the world, so that it may be known that all virtue and all good is from him» (FF 1838).

And in Clare's Spiritual Testament we read:

«Among the other benefits, which we have received and daily receive from our Giver, the Father of mercies, for which we are greatly bound to render to Him glorious living graces, great is that of our vocation. And the greater and more perfect it is, the more we are obliged to him» (FF 2823).

All the rest, in the life of Clare as in that of Francis, is nothing but the response of the Spirit, who guides both on the same path, in the footsteps of Christ, marvelling.

Saturday of the 7th wk in Easter  (Jn 21:20-25)