Jesus answers John's disciples about fasting. Now the Bridegroom is with them and they will not fast; when he is taken from them they will fast.

Logic that breaks down the legalistic mentality.

In the Sources we have various passages that highlight the Poor Man of Assisi's way of acting on this subject.

The Minim forbade excesses.

Francis knew well how to discern between the importance of fasting and exaggeration in practising it.

In his life, never did form take the place of substance. The Franciscan Sources illustrate:

"Francis reproached his brothers who were too hard on themselves and who were exhausted by vigils, fasts, prayers and corporal penances [...].

The man of God forbade such excesses, admonishing those brothers lovingly and calling them to common sense, healing their wounds with the medicine of wise instructions [...].

He spoke with them, identifying himself with their situation, not as a judge then, but as an understanding father with his children and as a compassionate doctor with his own sick.

He knew how to be sick with the sick, afflicted with the afflicted" (FF 1470).

All this while being "a new man, [who] with new virtues renewed the way of perfection that had disappeared from the world" (FF 3162).

As a mature and profoundly human person, he knew how to help his brothers, evaluating the different situations he had before him.

In the Legend of the Three Companions: "However, when it was appropriate, he chastised those who committed offences" (FF 1470).

Francis had received, by Grace, the immeasurable gift of true discernment.

The Little One did not betray substance for form: he kept both in a sensible human and spiritual balance.

«But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast» (Mt 9:15)

Saturday of the 13th wk. in O.T.  (Mt 9:14-17)

Jesus makes us contemplate Matthew's strong and particular call, displacing everyone, precisely because it begins with sinners and not with the perfect according to the mentality of the time.

«For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners» (Mt 9:13).

Francis and Clare saw in the stimuli of their vocation and the brothers and sisters who followed them a fundamental attractive appointment. An opportunity for existence in Grace, which had looked upon them and redeemed them.

Through the Call, God was realising a secret gift in them, far beyond the expectations of a small life.

Regarding Francis, we read in the Sources:

"As he was passing near the church of San Damiano, he was inspired to enter it. He went there, and began to pray fervently before the image of the Crucifix, who spoke to him with moving goodness

«Francis, do you not see that my house is falling down? Go then and restore it».

Trembling and astonished, the young man replied:

"I will do it gladly, Lord".

However, he had misunderstood; he thought it was about that church which, because of its antiquity, threatened imminent ruin.

At those words of Christ he became immensely happy and radiant; he felt in his soul that it was really the Crucified One who had given him the message.

As he came out of the church, he found a priest sitting nearby, and putting his hand in his purse, he offered him money saying:

"Sir, I beg you to buy oil to make a lamp burn before that Crucifix. When I have finished this money, I will bring you more, according to need' " (FF 1411).

During his life, the Poverello continued to consider minority as a specific vocation of the friar.

Thus, observing the behaviour of the religious, he sometimes seemed preoccupied....

At times he "saw that some were ardently desirous of the offices of the Order, of which they made themselves unworthy, apart from anything else, by the mere ambition to govern. And he said that these 'were not Friars Minor, but had forgotten their vocation and had fallen from glory'" (FF 729).

Clare, regarding the vocation of the sisters residing at San Damiano, also expressed herself in her Testament as follows:

"The Lord himself has placed us as a model, as an example and mirror not only for other men, but also for our sisters, those whom the Lord himself has called to follow our vocation, so that they too may shine as a mirror and example for all those who live in the world" (FF 2829).

Friday of the 13th wk. in O.T.  (Mt 9,9-13)

On the first day of the week, Jesus came to the disciples while they were gathered behind closed doors.

He entrusted them with the mission of proclaiming the Good News, 'breathing' on them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

Thomas, who was absent, found it hard to believe and was rebuked by Jesus for demanding to see and touch, without accepting the testimony of the other disciples.

Yet Thomas sought a first-hand experience of the Risen One.

The Poor Man of Assisi and his brothers grew in faith through their active encounter with the Lord in the poverty they lived, in the solitude and prayer they experienced in their daily lives.

Faith in Jesus, who died on the cross as a criminal to assure us of eternal life, overflowed in the bare existence of Francis and his brothers.

It was certainly a divine gift, but also the fruit of a non-formal relationship that developed along the path they had taken.

It is worth remembering what the Sources attest:

"[Francis] taught them to praise God in all creatures; to honour priests with special veneration; to believe firmly and confess openly the truth of the faith [...]

They observed in everything the teachings of their holy father, and as soon as they saw a church or a cross from afar, they turned towards it, prostrated themselves humbly on the ground and prayed in the manner they had been taught" (FF 1069).

Chiara herself, in her Letter to Ermentrude of Bruges, regarding the life of Fede, suggests:

"Remain, therefore, my dearest, faithful until death to Him to whom you have bound yourself forever. And you will certainly be crowned by Him with the crown of life.

The time of toil here below is short, but the reward is eternal.

Do not be dazzled by the splendours of the world that pass like a shadow.

Do not be surprised by the empty images of this deceitful world; close your ears to the whispers of hell and strongly resist its temptations.

Bear adversity willingly, and do not let pride swell your heart in prosperous times; the former call you back to your faith, the latter demand it (FF 2914).

The experience of God in their lives had been so strong, incisive and merciful that they could speak as no one had ever done before.

‘Thomas answered him and said, «The Lord of mine and the God of mine!»’ (Jn 20:28)

3 July, St Thomas the Apostle  (Jn 20:24-29)

The passage from Matthew presents Jesus grappling with demons who fear being cast out.

The unclean spirits unite against the true servants of God. Francis knew something about this.

The Sources recount what happened to him once when he was staying in Rome with Cardinal Leo of Santa Croce, who had wanted him to stay with him for a while.

"Proud demons flee before the exalted virtue of the humble, except in some cases where divine mercy allows the humble to be slapped, precisely to keep them humble, as the Apostle Paul writes of himself and as Francis experienced first-hand [...]".

The saint, having accepted the invitation out of veneration and love for the cardinal, experienced a veritable assault by demons on his first night after prayer. They beat him long and cruelly, leaving him half dead.

When they had gone, he called his companion and told him what had happened.

"Brother, demons have no power except within the limits set by Providence.

Therefore, I believe that they attacked me so fiercely because my stay in the curia of the magnates does not make a good impression.

My brothers who live in poor places, hearing that I am with the cardinals, will perhaps suspect that I am entangled in worldly things, being surrounded by honours and comforts.

I therefore judge that it is better for those who are set as an example to stay away from curias and spend their lives humbly among the humble, in humble places.

In this way, living in the same conditions as those who live in poverty, he will be a comfort to them.

So they went in the morning and, with humble excuses, took their leave of the cardinal (FF 1115).

In the face of Grace, evil calls for reinforcements; but what defeats it, says Francis, is humility.

Therefore, even the «very furious» spirits (v. 28) can do nothing before the humility of the Son of God and his servants.

As it is written in the Sources [Sacrum Commercium]:

"For he (satan) is very proud, and his pride and arrogance are even greater than his strength.

He is filled with great fury against you and will turn all the weapons of his cunning against you, seeking to spatter you with the poison of his malice, because after he has ended the war by defeating and throwing down the others, he cannot bear to see you standing above him" (FF 2026).

Count on us that, after being saved, we will proclaim the mercy God has shown us. This devastates the deceiver!

Francis did this, attesting to the poverty of the Son of God, which, transferred to the folds of daily life, drags impure spirits down from the cliff into the sea of their contradictions, destroying them.

The holy life of Francis and his brotherhood in the early days made them heralds of Mercy, singers of the Almighty.

"The demons begged him, saying, «If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs»" (Mt 8:31)

Wednesday 13th wk. in Ordinary Time  (Mt 8:28-34)

In today's Gospel Jesus asks his own, in the storm at sea, for a supplement of faith.

«Why are you afraid, [men] of little faith?» (Mt 8:26).

Even to Francis, in certain situations of life, Jesus asked for a greater faith, free from fear, because on his boat besieged by the waves of temptation was He: Christ, the Great Helmsman.

In the Sources, in the Second Life of Celano, we find a lesson in this regard:

"At a certain moment of his life, the Father suffered a most violent temptation of spirit, certainly for the sake of his crown.

For this he was distressed and full of suffering, he mortified and macerated his body, he prayed and wept in the most painful manner. This struggle lasted several years.

One day, while praying in St Mary of the Portiuncula, he heard a voice in spirit:

"Francis, if you have faith as much as a mustard seed, you will tell the mountain to move and it will move".

"Lord," replied the saint, "what is the mountain, which I wish to move?".

And the voice again:

"The mountain is your temptation".

"O Lord," replied the Saint in tears, "let it happen to me, as thou hast said.

Immediately all temptation disappeared and he felt free and completely serene in the depths of his heart" (FF 702).

Entrusting himself to Jesus, the Poverello did not become shipwrecked in the storms of life, and with Grace he was able to overcome every serious obstacle.

Clare herself, faced with pressing dangers, found the way out in the Faith and urged her sisters to do the same.

This is attested in her Letter to Ermentrude of Bruges in which she says, among other things:

"Support adversity willingly, and pride not swell your heart in prosperous things; these call you to your faith, those require it'.

Tuesday of the 13th wk. in O.T.  (Mt 8,23-27)

In today's Gospel passage Jesus proposes to those who want to follow him a real poverty of living and ready detachment from the demands of kinship.

Francis of Assisi fell in love with Our Lady Poverty from the very beginning and never separated himself from her, teaching his brothers to do likewise.

The Franciscan Sources offer countless passages on this subject.

We propose a few.

"While in this vale of tears, the blessed father despised the poor riches common to the sons of men and aspired wholeheartedly to poverty, desiring higher glory.

And since he observed that poverty, while it had been intimate to the Son of God, was almost rejected by all the world, he longed to marry her with eternal love.

Therefore, in love with her beauty, in order to adhere more strongly to his bride and be two in one spirit, he not only left father and mother, but detached himself from everything.

From then on he held her in chaste embraces and not for a moment did he accept that he was not her husband.

He repeated to his children that this is the way to perfection, this is the pledge and guarantee of eternal riches.

No one was so greedy for gold, as he was for poverty, nor was anyone more concerned about guarding a treasure, than he was the gospel gem.

In this he was particularly offended, if in the brothers - either at home or outside - he saw anything contrary to poverty.

And indeed, from the beginning of his religious life until his death, he had as his wealth a single cassock, girdle and breeches: he had nothing else.

His poor appearance clearly indicated where he accumulated his wealth.

For this reason, happy, confident, agile in his race, he enjoyed having exchanged for a good worth a hundred times the riches destined to perish" (FF 641).

Convinced that the precarious condition brought one closer to that of Christ in a special way, he blessed almsgiving and considered it characteristic of becoming lesser according to the Gospel.

In the Major Legend:

"Sometimes, exhorting the brothers to seek alms, he used arguments of this kind:

"Go, for in these very last times the Friars Minor have been given on loan to the world, to enable the elect to perform in them the works by which they deserve the praise of the Supreme Judge and that most sweet assurance:

'Whenever you have done it to one of these lesser brothers of mine, you have done it to me'".

"Therefore," he concluded, "it is good to go begging under the title of 'lesser brothers', a title that the Master of truth has indicated in the Gospel with such precision, as the reason for eternal reward for the just" (FF 1128).

And in the Rule of St Clare:

"And so that we might never depart from the most holy poverty which we embraced, nor those which would come after us, shortly before his death he again wrote his last will for us in these words:

"I, little brother Francis, wish to follow the life and poverty of our Most High Lord Jesus Christ and his most holy Mother, and to persevere in it to the end.

And I beseech you, my Lord, and advise you that you live always in this most holy life and poverty.

And be very careful never to depart from it in any way by the teaching or advice of anyone" (FF 2790).

«The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head» (Mt 8:20)

Monday of the 13th wk. in O.T.  (Mt 8,18-22)

Francis of Assisi had great respect for the Church, which he considered mother, holy, catholic, apostolic, Roman:

"At the beginning of my new life, when I separated from the world and my earthly father, the Lord placed his Word on the lips of the bishop of Assisi, that he might counsel me wisely in the service of Christ and give me comfort.

For this reason and for the other eminent qualities that I recognise [...] I want to love [...] and consider as my lords not only the bishops, but also the humble priests" (FF 1562).

Furthermore, the Sources attest how Francis went with eleven companions to the Pope's Curia to inform him of his new and original plan of life and to obtain confirmation of the Rule he had composed.

We read: "Seeing that the Lord was increasing his brothers [...] he addressed the eleven of the group:

"Brothers, I see that the merciful Lord wants to increase our community.

Let us therefore go to our mother, the holy Roman Church, and communicate to the supreme pontiff what the Lord has begun to do through us, in order to continue our mission, according to his will and dispositions' " (FF1455).

He was thus presented to the supreme pontiff who begged Francis to ask God if that kind of life really corresponded to his will.

In obedience to his request, the Poverello, after long prayer, confirmed the holy intention as coming from God, convincing the Pope with a parable received by divine inspiration.

He embraced the saint and approved the Rule.

"Having received the blessing from Innocent III, they went to visit the tombs of the Apostles [...] Then the man of God set out from Rome with his brothers, heading for the evangelisation of the world" (FF 1460-1462).

On the other hand Francis, praying in front of the Crucifix of the church of San Damiano "which was threatening ruin, old as it was [...] he heard with the ears of his body a voice descending towards him and saying three times:

«Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is all in ruins!» "(FF 1038).

This referring not only and not so much to the walls as "to that Church which Christ purchased with his Blood, as the Holy Spirit would have him understand and as he himself later revealed to the brothers".

(FF 1038).

Saints Peter and Paul Ap. (Mt 16:13-19)

Francis, the jester of God, after Grace had made him a new creature, preferred to the natural family the one given him by the Father of mercies. 

Indeed, without hesitation, before the bishop of Assisi and all the onlookers, he stripped himself naked as a sign of abandonment, adding:

"Hitherto I have called you my father on earth; from now on I can say with all confidence: Our Father, who art in heaven, for in Him I have placed all my treasure and placed all my trust and hope" (FF 1043).

As if to say: «Did you not know that I must care for the things of my Father?» (Lk 2:49).

An eloquent response to the old world that let languish in its solace, preferring to taste the sweetness breathed at home in Nazareth.

Francis is in tune with the Holy Family: both in the personal and community dimensions developed around him.

In fact, he was nourished by poverty and simplicity, growing in age, Wisdom and Grace, before God and his beloved brothers.

He was submissive to every brother and sowed everywhere that extraordinary infused Wisdom, which comes to him from above, pure and yielding.

Mary accompanies him everywhere.

He clung to her at every important event, so much so that he called her the Advocate of the Order, she who had made our brother the Lord of Majesty.

And no less was Clare a part of the unique, silent Family of God, so fully that she received as a gift [by then ill and no longer able to go to church] to participate meaningfully in the Christmas Liturgy.

The Father of Mercies and the entire Nazarethian Family were with her. 

The Sources inform us:

"At that hour of Christmas (1252), when the world rejoices with the angels for the newborn Child, all the Women set out for Matins to the place of prayer, leaving the Mother alone burdened with her infirmity. 

And as she began to think of the little Jesus and was very sorry that she could not participate in the singing of his praises, she sighed and said to him:

"Lord God, here I am left alone for You!"

And suddenly the wonderful concert that was going on in the church of St Francis began to ring in her ears.

She heard the brothers psalm in jubilation, followed the harmonies of the singers, even perceived the sound of instruments.

The place was nowhere near enough to humanly perceive those sounds: either that solemn celebration was made divinely audible to her, or her hearing was strengthened beyond all human possibility.

Indeed, which surpasses this prodigy of hearing, she was worthy to see even the Lord's crib.

When, in the morning, the daughters came to her, the blessed Clare said:

"Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not leave me alone, when you abandoned me!

I have indeed heard, by the Grace of Christ, all those ceremonies that were celebrated this night in the church of St Francis" (FF 3212).

In the communities of Francis and Clare of Assisi, the spirit of the Family of Nazareth fermented, expert in suffering but also a place of genuine virtue. Clare, as 'another Mary', meditated in her heart on all the Mysteries of the Son of God.

Immaculate Heart of Mary (Lk 2:41-51)

In the liturgy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are presented with a passage from Luke in which the true Shepherd goes in search of the lost sheep, leaving the ninety-nine already safe.

Sheep can get lost in a thousand ways and in different contexts.

The life of Francis, the Poor Man, is full of unique episodes that attest to the breadth of a new heart, marked by Love, attesting to his being a merciful shepherd of souls.

At the beginning of their community life, the friars lived in Rivotorto, 3 km from the Porziuncola.

Here is what happened there one evening:

"One night, while the other sheep were sleeping, one of them began to cry out, 'I am dying, brothers, I am dying of hunger!'.

The wise shepherd got up immediately and hurried to bring the sick sheep the help it needed.

He ordered the table to be prepared, even if with simple food [...]

He himself began to eat first and invited the other friars to do the same, so that the poor creature would not be ashamed.

Taking the food with the fear of the Lord, so that the act of charity might be complete, the Father gave his sons a long discourse on the virtue of discretion.

He prescribed that they should always offer God a sacrifice seasoned with prudence, admonishing them wisely to take into account their own strength in divine service [...]

Then he added:

"My dear ones, know that what I have done in eating was not done out of greed, but out of dutiful attention and because fraternal charity required it of me.

Let charity be your example, not food, for food satisfies the appetite, but charity satisfies the spirit" (FF 608).

And again:

"One day, while walking near Siena, he came upon a large flock of sheep grazing.

As was his custom, he greeted them kindly, and they stopped grazing and ran to him, raising their heads and staring at him with their eyes raised.

They welcomed him so warmly that the friars and shepherds were amazed to see the lambs and even the rams jumping around him in such a wonderful way" (FF 1147- Leggenda maggiore).

Charity has a special scent, and all sheep recognise its fragrance.

«Which man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?» (Lk 15:4)

Friday of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - year C  (Lk 15:3-7)

In the passage proposed by the Liturgy of the day, Jesus calls us to concretely do his will, to be like a dwelling founded on his Rock, resisting rain and wind.

Brother Francis loved doing God's will deeply, so much so that it was his true consolation.

He was happy when he saw even among his brothers full adherence to the divine will, or at least repentance, where some act was a little reluctant.

The Sources, clear informants of authentic experience, document this and offer material for careful reflection.

"And they, receiving with great joy and gladness the precept of holy obedience, prostrated themselves before the blessed father, who, embracing them with tenderness and devotion, said to each one:

"Put your trust in the Lord and He will take care of you".

This phrase he repeated every time he sent some brothers to perform obedience" (FF 367).

The Poor Man of Assisi, even in the face of a great accumulation of evils and trials, testified to his incomparable adherence to the divine will, like another Job.

We read with emotion:

"But no matter how agonising his sorrows were, he did not call them sufferings, but sisters.

[...] And though exhausted by long and severe infirmity, he threw himself on the ground, beating his bones weakened in the crude fall.

Then he kissed the earth, saying:

"I thank thee, Lord God, for all these pains of mine, and I beseech thee, O my Lord, to give me a hundred times more, if it pleases thee so.

I will be most content, if Thou dost afflict me and spare me no sorrow, for to fulfil Thy will is for me exceeding consolation'" (FF 1239).

And when the time came for his departure:

"Lying on the earth, after having laid down his sackcloth, he lifted his face to heaven, according to his habit, totally intent on that heavenly glory, while with his left hand he covered the wound on his right side, that it might not be seen.

And he said to the brothers: "I have done my part; may Christ teach you yours" (FF 1239).

Francis, the Little One of Assisi, drew good from his new heart. He had built his spiritual edifice on the Rock of Christ.

In fact, the Sources bring us an episode that testifies to this:

"After some months had passed, Francis was staying at the church of the Portiuncula, and was near the cell that rises after the house, along the street, when that friar returned to speak to him about the psalter.

Francis said to him: "Go, and do as your minister tells you.

At these words, he began to return the way he had come.

But the Saint, who remained on the road, began to reflect on what he had said, and suddenly cried out after him:

"Wait for me, brother, wait for me!".

He went up to him and said:

"Come back with me, brother, and show me the place where I told you to do, concerning the psalter, what the minister will tell you."

When they arrived at that place, Francis bowed down before the friar and getting down on his knees said:

"My fault, brother, my fault! Whoever wants to be a minor must have only the cassock, the rope and the breeches, as the Rule says, and in addition the shoes, for those who are constrained by obvious necessity or illness".

To all the brothers who came to consult him on the subject, he gave the same answer.

And he used to say: 'AS MUCH AS A MAN KNOWS, AS MUCH AS HE DOES; AND AS MUCH AS A RELIGIOUS MAN IS A GOOD PREDICATOR, AS MUCH AS HE HIMSELF ACTS.

«Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord!" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven» (Mt 7:21)

Thursday of the 12th wk. in O.T.  (Mt 7,21-29)