In this Gospel of Luke, Jesus spends the night in prayer, choosing, then, the Twelve - and healing the sick who flocked to Him.
Francis of Assisi, after his conversion, was no longer a man who prayed, but a creature made prayer.
By night and by day he always dialogued with God, entrusting the most important choices to his relationship with the Father. The Sources bear witness to his continuous praying:
"The devout man of God, according to his habit, spent the night praying to God, in a hovel situated in the garden of the canons, far away, with his body, from his children" (FF 1070).
In the footsteps of Christ he sought intimacy with the Father:
"And in complete annihilation of self, he dwelt for a long time as if hidden in the wounds of the Saviour.
That is why he sought solitary places in order to be able to throw his soul completely into God; however, when there was a need, he did not hesitate for a moment to take action to benefit souls and the lives of his brethren.
His safe haven was prayer, not a few minutes, or empty, or pretentious, but deeply devout, humble and prolonged as much as possible.
If he started it in the evening, he could hardly tear himself away from it in the morning.
He was always intent on prayer, when he walked and when he sat, when he ate and when he drank.
At night he went, alone, to the deserted and lost churches to pray; thus, by the grace of the Lord, he was able to triumph over many fears and spiritual anxieties" (FF 445).
"He went out to the mountain to pray and spent the night in prayer to God" (Lk 6:12).
Tuesday of the 23rd wk. in O.T. (Lk 6,12-19)
