Jesus in his Gospel speaks of a Fire that he came to bring to the earth, a watershed of following and not following.
Francis, the Fire that the Lord intended, knew it well: the Holy Spirit.
Master and Minister of the Order of Minors, the Spirit of God guided the Poor Man in his every step.
If we go and consult the Sources we realise this.
"And so, by the disposition of the divine goodness and by the merits and virtue of the Saint, it mercifully and admirably happened that the friend of Christ tried with all his strength to die for Him and could not possibly succeed [...].
On the one hand, he did not lack the merit of the desired martyrdom and, on the other hand, he was spared to be later bestowed with an extraordinary privilege.
That divine Fire that burned in his heart, meanwhile, became more ardent and perfect, so that it would later reverberate more brightly in his flesh.
O truly blessed man, who is not torn by the iron of the tyrant, yet is not deprived of the Glory of resembling the immolated Lamb!" (FF 1175).
For "the Spirit of the Lord, who had anointed and sent him, assisted his servant Francis wherever he went [...].
His word was like burning fire, penetrating the depths of the heart and filling the minds with admiration" (FF 1210).
Furthermore, the Fioretti (vulgarised in the last quarter of the 14th century by an unknown Tuscan) tell us of Clare of Assisi's desire to dine once with Francis.
The latter, who had always kept away from the matter, was persuaded by his friars to leave such rigidity in this regard and to accommodate her.
So Clare came to St Mary of the Angels and here Francis had the table set, on the ground, with a brother of the Saint and a sister who accompanied Clare.
"And at the first supper Saint Francis began to speak of God so sweetly, so highly, so marvellously, that as the abundance of divine grace descended upon them, they were all enraptured in God.
And while they were thus enraptured with their eyes and hands raised up to heaven, the men from Sciesi and Bettona and those from the surrounding area saw that Saint Mary of the Angels and the whole place and forest [...] were burning brightly, and it seemed as if there was a great fire occupying the church, the place and the forest together" (FF1844).
So much so that the inhabitants of the surroundings ran, worried, to put out the fire that they saw.
But on the spot they found only Francis and Clare and their companions enraptured in God, realising that this had been divine and not material fire, an attestation of the Spirit of God inflaming those holy souls.
Already, benefiting from that Holy Spirit gained from Christ's baptism!
"I have come to cast a fire upon the earth, and how I wish it had already blazed!" (Lk 12:49).
Thursday, 29th wk. in O.T. (Lk 12:49-53)
