The Gospel of Luke speaks today of the second announcement of the Passion of Jesus.

He sought to prepare the disciples for the consummation of his Paschal Mystery, but they struggled to understand, they did not grasp the meaning of what the Lord was expressing.

Just as Jesus is faced with the disciples' incomprehension before the mystery of his death, so Francis has before him, at the end of his life, the bewilderment of his brothers.

In the Sources:

"He summoned all the brothers present in the house, and seeking to soothe the grief they showed at his death, he exhorted them with fatherly affection to the love of God [...].

"Farewell," he said, "all you my sons, live in the fear of the Lord and keep yourselves in it always!

And since the hour of trial and tribulation draws near, blessed are those who persevere in what they have undertaken!

For I hasten to God and commend you all to his grace'.

And he also blessed all the brothers, wherever they were in the world, and those who would come after them until the end of the ages" (FF 806).

"While the brothers shed bitter tears and lamented in despair [...] He also wanted the books of the Gospels and asked that they read to him the Gospel according to John [...]" (FF 808).

And again:

"He then turned to the doctor:

"Courage, Brother Doctor, tell me that death is imminent: for me it will be the door of life!".

And to the friars:

"When you see me reduced to the extreme, expose me naked on the earth as you saw me the day before yesterday, and after I am dead, let me lie like this for the time necessary to comfortably cover a mile".

At last his hour came, and all the mysteries of Christ having been fulfilled in him, he departed happily to God" (FF 810).

"Put these words in your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men" (Lk 9:44).

Saturday of the 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,43b-45)

Before the people who mistake him for the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets,

Jesus asks his own:

"But who do you say that I am?" (Lk 9:20).

And then he reminds his disciples that the Son of Man will have to suffer much.

Francis of Assisi often spoke to his brothers of the sufferings endured by Christ, of his Passion, for which he wept much.

He testified to his faith in Jesus, the Son of God, with great fervour.

Indeed, "he taught them [...] to confess frankly the truth of the faith, as the Holy Roman Church holds and teaches it.

They observed the teachings of their holy father in all things and, as soon as they saw some church from afar, or some cross, they turned towards it, prostrating themselves humbly on the ground and praying according to the form indicated to them" (FF 1069).

The Sources teach us in this regard:

"He meditated continually on the Lord's words and never lost sight of his works.

But above all, the humility of the Incarnation and the charity of the Passion were so deeply imprinted in his memory that he could hardly think of anything else' (FF 467).

And in his writings:

"To him who suffered so much for us, who has bestowed and will bestow so much good on us in the future [...] He who alone is good, alone most high, alone omnipotent, admirable [...] worthy of praise and blessed for ever and ever. Amen" (FF 202).

Again: "The compassion of the Crucified One became fixed in his holy soul and [...] the venerable stigmata of the Passion, although not yet in the flesh, became deeply impressed in his heart [...] and he can no longer hold back his tears and weeps even aloud the passion of Christ, which is always before his eyes.

He fills the streets with groans, refusing to be consoled by the memory of Christ's wounds.

He met, one day, a close friend of his, and having manifested to him the cause of his grief, immediately he too burst into bitter tears" (FF 594).

The thought that Jesus in us had yet to suffer much tormented him, making him aware of this Mystery day and night.

Friday of the 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,18-22)

The few verses of chapter nine of Luke, taken up in today's liturgy, shed light on Herod's dilemma concerning Jesus:

"John, I have had him beheaded; now who is he of whom I hear such things?" (Lk 9:9).

And he wanted to see him!

In the Franciscan Sources we find passages that reveal how

people did not stop questioning the Poverello.

After his conversion, Francis of Assisi was clothed by God with singular charisms that he held in the humility of hiddenness.

But the wonders the Lord performed through the Poverello spoke for him.

His simple life in the footsteps of Christ aroused amazement and bewilderment. People did not cease to wonder about his person and what he accomplished.

The Sources enlighten:

"Even the sick who ate the bread touched by the man of God quickly obtained healing by divine intervention" (FF 1220).

"Since the herald of Christ was famous for these and many other prodigies, people paid attention to his words, as if an Angel of the Lord were speaking.

Indeed, the prerogative of the lofty virtues, the spirit of prophecy, the thaumaturgical power, the mission to preach coming from Heaven, the obedience of creatures deprived of reason, the sudden conversions of hearts brought about by hearing his word, the knowledge infused by the Holy Spirit and superior to human doctrine, the authorisation to preach granted by the Supreme Pontiff by divine revelation, as well as the Rule, which defines the form of preaching, confirmed by the Vicar of Christ himself and, finally, the signs of the Supreme King impressed like a seal in his body, are like ten testimonies for the whole world and confirm without a shadow of doubt that Francis, the herald of Christ, is worthy of veneration for the mission he received, authentic in the doctrine he taught, admirable for his holiness and that, therefore, he preached the Gospel of Christ as a true envoy of God" (FF 1221).

Even today, all this raises questions: "Who, then, is he?".

The Sources add: "that Wisdom which is nobler than all motion and penetrates everywhere by its purity, communicates itself to holy souls and forms God's friends and prophets" (FF 1202).

Thursday of the 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,7-9)

The Liturgy proposes to us the sending of the Twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

After repairing the Church of St Mary of the Angels, hearing a Gospel passage proclaiming the Good News, Francis leaves everything and accepts Christ's mandate.

In the Franciscan Sources we find on this subject:

"One day when the Gospel passage was being read in this church concerning the mandate given to the Apostles to preach, the Saint, who was present and had only guessed the general meaning, after Mass, asked the priest to explain the passage to him.

The priest commented on it to him point by point, and Francis, hearing that the disciples of Christ must possess neither gold, nor silver, nor money, nor saddlebags, nor bread, nor staff for the road, nor have shoes, nor two tunics, but only preach the Kingdom of God and penance [Lk 9:1-6], immediately, exulting in the Holy Spirit, exclaimed:

"This I want, this I ask, this I long to do with all my heart!".

The holy father then hastens, all full of joy, to carry out the salutary admonition; he bears no delay in faithfully putting into practice what he has heard: he loosens his shoes from his feet, abandons his staff, makes do with a single tunic, and replaces his belt with a cord.

From that instant, he makes for himself a robe that reproduces the image of the cross, to keep away the devil's seductions; he makes it very rough, to crucify the flesh and all its vices and sins, and so poor and coarse that the world cannot envy him" (FF 356).

"In certain regions they were welcomed, but without allowing them to build dwellings. Elsewhere, they were driven out, for fear that they were heretics" (FF 1475).

"And he sent them out preaching the kingdom of God and to heal [the sick]" (Lk 9:2).

Wednesday, 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,1-6)

Jesus calls to reflect on who his mother and brothers are: "these who hear the Word of God and do it" (Lk 8:21).

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

In fact, when he came across the Letters on the ground, he would pick them up and give them due consideration.

This is attested by the Sources, 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 everything he heard to a commendable memory, he sought with all diligence to follow it to the letter" (FF 357).

Tuesday of the 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 8,19-21)

The passage from Luke proposed today emphasises the clarity of the lamp, which is not to be dimmed but exalted in order to spread.

Jesus also insists on the need for proper dispositions to hear the Word.

We also discover the reverberation of all this in the Franciscan Sources.

The Poor Man of Assisi, the light of the Order of Minors, had understood by grace that on how we listen to the Word of God depends the fruits.

That is why we read in his writings:

"And since he who is of God LISTENS TO THE WORDS OF GOD, therefore we, who in a very special way are deputed to the divine offices, must not only listen to and practise what God says, but also, in order to root in us the loftiness of our Creator and our submission to him, guard the sacred vessels and liturgical books, which contain the holy words" (Letter to all Clerics, FF 224).

He knew that listening affects the brilliance of witness, so much so that, in the Vita Seconda of Celano, it is noted:

"The Friars Minor have been sent by the Lord in this last time to offer examples of light to those who are shrouded in the darkness of sins" (FF 739).

Likewise Clare, prophesied from her mother's womb to be a light for the world, is looked upon as a special gift of God for humanity in the Letter of Introduction to the Legend:

"Therefore merciful God raised up the venerable virgin Clare, and in her he made a very bright lamp to shine for women" (FF 3151), this one not to be placed under the bushel, but on the lampstand to give light to us all.

She loved and sought to listen attentively to the Word. Indeed:

"She provides her daughters, through devoted preachers, with the nourishment of the Word of God, of which she reserves a large portion for herself. Such joy [...] pervades her in listening to holy preaching" (FF 3230).

"When, in fact, she returned in the joy of holy prayer, she brought back from the fire of the altar of the Lord burning words, such as inflamed the hearts of the sisters.

They noted with admiration that a certain sweetness radiated from her face and that her face seemed brighter than usual.

Certainly, in his gentleness, God had given the poor girl convocation and, after having flooded her soul in prayer with his TRUE LIGHT, he manifested it outside perceptibly" (FF 3199).

Bright Clare by virtue shines in the Church as a lamp on the candelabra, illuminating the darkness of this world.

"Now no one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but places it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light" (Lk 8:16).

Monday of the 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 8:16-18)

Francis was truly the Minim and considered himself a nothing before God and men, shunning honours.

In the Sources we find how he considered himself: "And I, little brother Francis, your servant, for what little I can, confirm to you within and without this most holy blessing [...]" (FF 131).

Being last among all was the foundation of the friar minor and the community.

In this regard, he once said:

"The Order and the life of the friars minor resembles a small flock, which the Son of God, in this last hour, has asked of his heavenly Father, saying: Father, I would like you to raise up and give to me in this last hour a new humble people, different in its humility and poverty from all the others who have gone before it, and happy to possess only me alone".

And the Father answered his beloved Son: 'Son, what you have asked, is done. ( FF 1617).

In fact, the servant of God is described by Francis, in the Legend of Perugia, thus:

"The servant of God is like a painting, a creature made in the image of God, in which it is God who is honoured in his benefits. The servant of God, therefore, similar to a painted table, must not refer anything to himself: honour and glory must be rendered to God alone" (FF 1660).

"Francis wanted to be humble in the midst of his brothers. In order to preserve a greater humility, a few years after his conversion [...] he resigned the office of prelate, saying in the presence of all the brothers present:

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

He was truly, throughout his life, infinitely small and a servant of all, following in the footsteps of Jesus.

The friars themselves, in the Rule, are asked to live as strangers and pilgrims in this world, and in the early days "he wanted them to live in lazarettos serving lepers" (FF 1658).

On the feast of St Matthew the Apostle, the liturgy proposes the Gospel passage of the same name, narrating his conversion and following.

Jesus responds to the malignity of the leaders by saying:

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Mt 9:12).

Underlining their distance from Mercy; slaves to their own legalisms.

When the divine Light made him realise that the Lord was calling him to follow in His footsteps, Francis left everything behind immediately and devoted himself to how to better live the Gospel.

Jesus had made it clear to him that Mercy must always prevail in events.

In the Sources we read:

"Oil and wine, rod and staff, zeal and indulgence [...] everything has its time.

All this is required by the God of vengeance and the Father of mercies: but he prefers mercy to sacrifice' (FF 763).

One day while he was praying he heard himself say:

"Francis, if you want to know my will, you must despise and hate everything that you worldly love and desire to possess.

When you have begun to do this, what was previously attractive to you will seem unbearable and bitter" (FF 1407).

Hence his love for lepers:

"After a few days, he took a lot of money with him and went to the lepers' hospice; he gathered them together and distributed alms to each one, kissing their hands.

On his return, the contact that had previously been repugnant to him, that is, seeing and touching lepers, was truly transformed into sweetness" (FF 1408).

Already, the divine Master feasts on the sick and does not abhor them, because it is they who need the physician and by them Francis was healed in soul.

S. Matthew Ap. Ev. (Mt 9:9-13)

Chapter eight of Luke, at the beginning, speaks of the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom by Jesus and the Twelve, and of the following of women who, healed, follow the Lord, putting all they possess at their service.

Opening the Franciscan window we see that, after having known the Lord's will by divine inspiration, Francis, the Minim, devotes himself body and soul to fulfil the mission entrusted to him by God.

His task: to announce the Kingdom, to make the Good News known to people in poverty, renouncing everything that was not indispensable.

The Sources are extraordinarily rich in this regard.

"One day, while listening to Mass, he heard the instructions given by Christ when he sent his disciples to preach [...] He understood these instructions better afterwards, having the passage explained to him by the priest.

Then, beaming with joy, he exclaimed:

"This is precisely what I long to accomplish with all my strength!".

And fixing those directives in his memory, he undertook to carry them out happily [...].

He got rid of everything he owned that was double [...] He made himself a poor, coarse tunic and, instead of a leather belt, he tightened his hips with a rope.

Inspired by God, he began to proclaim the perfection of the Gospel, preaching penance to all, with simplicity.

His words were not frivolous [...] but full of the virtue of the Holy Spirit they penetrated into the depths of consciences, so as to touch his listeners vividly" (FF 1427).

"The man of God, Francis, animated by the Spirit of the prophets and following their language, as if echoing his forerunner, announced peace and preached salvation" (FF 1428).

"An increasing number of people were attracted by the frankness and truthfulness of Francis' teaching and life.

Two years after his conversion, some men felt encouraged by his example to do penance and join him, renouncing everything, wearing the same habit and leading the same life" (FF 1429).

The first woman to follow Francis was Clare, who left her father's house and followed him to live the Gospel.

"Noble by birth, nobler by grace [...] Clare by name, clearer by life, clearer by virtue" (FF 351).

Following her example, the other sisters also put their spiritual goods at the service of the Gospel.

"There were with him the Twelve and some women who had been healed [...] Susanna and many others, who served them with their possessions" (Lk 8:1b-2a.3b).

Friday 24th wk. in O.T. (Lk 8:1-3)