Sep 21, 2024 Written by 

According to his condition of life, and childlike heart

The Poor Man of Assisi strove throughout his life to bless and foster the unity of spouses in marriage.

To a noblewoman who was worried about her husband's sourness, which was hindering her in the service of Christ, the Saint, after listening to her, said:

"Go in peace and be assured that you will soon have from your man the consolation you desire" (FF 1193).

So it happened: the man changed his life, and after a long time, on the same day they returned to the Lord.

Francis was so concerned about the sanctity of Christian married life that he founded the (then) Franciscan Third Order alongside the two previous orders - Friars Minor and Poor Ladies of St Damian.

All this so that even though they were in the world they were not of the world, bearing witness to the Gospel.

In fact, in the Vita prima of Celano, we read:

"To all he gave a rule of life, and showed the way of salvation to each according to his condition" (FF 385).

The same simplicity of children with which he loved to receive the Word of God, he transferred it between the lines of life. 

It is worth this episode to help us understand the childlike heart he had received from God: 

"At St. Mary of the Portiuncula they brought the man of God a sheep as a gift, which he accepted with gratitude, because he loved the innocence and simplicity that, by its nature, the sheep shows.

The man of God admonished the sheep to praise God and not to annoy the brothers at all. The sheep, in turn, as if feeling the pity of the man of God, put his teachings into practice with great care.

When she heard the friars singing in the choir, she too would enter the church and, without the need of a teacher, would bend her knees, uttering tender bleats before the altar of the Virgin, Mother of the Lamb, as if eager to greet her" (FF 1148). Becoming a child at heart, Francis welcomed in simplicity the Kingdom that was coming to him, testifying in his concrete life the infancy of the Spirit that informed him.

The littleness of Francis, the frame of his evangelical life, is moving.

"He did not blush to ask small things of those smaller than himself; he, a true minor, who had learnt great things from the supreme Master.

He used to seek with singular zeal the way and manner of serving God more perfectly, as it pleased Him best.

This was his supreme philosophy, this his supreme desire as long as he lived: to ask the wise and the simple, the perfect and the imperfect, the young and the old, what was the way in which he could most virtuously reach the summit of perfection" (Sources 1205 - Major Legend).

Francis loved with a child's heart and so he taught his brothers and the poor Ladies of San Damiano, virtuous sisters on the path of faith, among whom Clare shone for her humility and transparency.

This young woman bore witness to light; she was a morning star in becoming a child in the service of God, in the footsteps of Christ, following the example of the blessed Father Francis, a true lover and imitator of Him.

 

 

27th Sunday (B). Mk 10:2-16

30 Last modified on Saturday, 21 September 2024 05:30
Teresa Girolami

Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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The family in the modern world, as much as and perhaps more than any other institution, has been beset by the many profound and rapid changes that have affected society and culture. Many families are living this situation in fidelity to those values that constitute the foundation of the institution of the family. Others have become uncertain and bewildered over their role or even doubtful and almost unaware of the ultimate meaning and truth of conjugal and family life. Finally, there are others who are hindered by various situations of injustice in the realization of their fundamental rights [Familiaris Consortio n.1]
La famiglia nei tempi odierni è stata, come e forse più di altre istituzioni, investita dalle ampie, profonde e rapide trasformazioni della società e della cultura. Molte famiglie vivono questa situazione nella fedeltà a quei valori che costituiscono il fondamento dell'istituto familiare. Altre sono divenute incerte e smarrite di fronte ai loro compiti o, addirittura, dubbiose e quasi ignare del significato ultimo e della verità della vita coniugale e familiare. Altre, infine, sono impedite da svariate situazioni di ingiustizia nella realizzazione dei loro fondamentali diritti [Familiaris Consortio n.1]
"His" in a very literal sense: the One whom only the Son knows as Father, and by whom alone He is mutually known. We are now on the same ground, from which the prologue of the Gospel of John will later arise (Pope John Paul II)
“Suo” in senso quanto mai letterale: Colui che solo il Figlio conosce come Padre, e dal quale soltanto è reciprocamente conosciuto. Ci troviamo ormai sullo stesso terreno, dal quale più tardi sorgerà il prologo del Vangelo di Giovanni (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
We come to bless him because of what he revealed, eight centuries ago, to a "Little", to the Poor Man of Assisi; - things in heaven and on earth, that philosophers "had not even dreamed"; - things hidden to those who are "wise" only humanly, and only humanly "intelligent"; - these "things" the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, revealed to Francis and through Francis (Pope John Paul II)
Veniamo per benedirlo a motivo di ciò che egli ha rivelato, otto secoli fa, a un “Piccolo”, al Poverello d’Assisi; – le cose in cielo e sulla terra, che i filosofi “non avevano nemmeno sognato”; – le cose nascoste a coloro che sono “sapienti” soltanto umanamente, e soltanto umanamente “intelligenti”; – queste “cose” il Padre, il Signore del cielo e della terra, ha rivelato a Francesco e mediante Francesco (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
But what moves me even more strongly to proclaim the urgency of missionary evangelization is the fact that it is the primary service which the Church can render to every individual and to all humanity [Redemptoris Missio n.2]
Ma ciò che ancor più mi spinge a proclamare l'urgenza dell'evangelizzazione missionaria è che essa costituisce il primo servizio che la chiesa può rendere a ciascun uomo e all'intera umanità [Redemptoris Missio n.2]
That 'always seeing the face of the Father' is the highest manifestation of the worship of God. It can be said to constitute that 'heavenly liturgy', performed on behalf of the whole universe [John Paul II]
Quel “vedere sempre la faccia del Padre” è la manifestazione più alta dell’adorazione di Dio. Si può dire che essa costituisce quella “liturgia celeste”, compiuta a nome di tutto l’universo [Giovanni Paolo II]

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