The passage from Luke proposed by the Liturgy today presents the visit of Mary, Mother of Jesus, to her cousin Elizabeth. Both are awaiting the birth of their son, whom they carry in their wombs. An expectation comforted by a gasp of joy in Elizabeth's womb and the hymn of the Magnificat on Mary's lips.

It is a splendid encounter that testifies to the great works of God in those who believe in Him.

Francis and Clare lived their encounter and that with every creature as a Visitation of Grace to them, rejoicing and being moved by the beauty of the divine work. 

There are passages in the Sources that hint at this.

It is enough to glance at Clare's Letters to her spiritual daughter, Agnes of Bohemia, to realise how, although distant from each other, they rejoiced in the wonders God worked in them, communicating them to each other.

"To the venerable and most holy virgin, Donna Agnes, daughter of the exalted and most illustrious King of Bohemia, Clare, unworthy servant of Jesus Christ and useless handmaiden of the women recluses of the monastery of San Damiano, his subject in all things and servant [...] wish you to attain the glory of eternal happiness" (FF 2859 - Letter prima).

"Mindful of your purpose, like another Rachel, always keep the starting point before your eyes. The results you have achieved, keep them; what you do, do well; do not stop; but on the contrary, with a swift and light step, with a sure footing, that not even the dust may retard your progress, cautiously advance confidently, joyfully and solicitously along the path of beatitude" (FF 2875 - Letter II).

And again:

"I admire you [...] clasping to yourself, through humility, with the strength of faith and the arms of poverty, the incomparable treasure, hidden in the field of the world and of human hearts, with which is bought Him who from nothingness drew all things" (FF 2885 - letter three).

"Place your eyes before the mirror of eternity, place your soul in the splendour of glory, place your heart in Him who is the figure of the divine substance, and be transformed entirely, through contemplation, into the image of His divinity" (FF 2888 - Letter Three).

So Clare, amiably, exhorts Agnes:

"In the same way, then, that the glorious Virgin of virgins bore Christ materially in her womb, you too, following his vestiges, especially his humility and poverty, can always, without any doubt, bear him spiritually in your chaste and virginal body.

And thou shalt contain in thee Him by whom thou and all creatures are contained, and shalt possess that which is most lasting and final good even in comparison with all other transient possessions of this world" (FF 2893 - letter three).

The dance of joy of these two great souls visited by Grace highlights how the Lord, from generation to generation, continues to fulfil His plans of salvation in a wondrous and unstoppable manner.

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit exults in God, my Saviour, because he has turned his gaze to the lowliness of his servant" (Lk 1:46b-48a).

Visitation B.V. Mary, 31 May (Lk 1:39-56)

Jesus heals on the Jericho road a blind man who believes in Him and who, because of the salvation he has received, begins to follow Him glorifying God.

Blindness is a theme revisited by Francis on several occasions.

The Minim knew what blindness of body and soul was, having experienced it spiritually and physically.

The Name of Jesus on the lips of the Poor Man had often generated healings, restoring sight.

In the Sources we find:

"In the convent of the Friars Minor in Naples there was a friar named Robert who had been blind for many years.

At one point a fleshy growth formed over his eyes, preventing him from moving and lifting his eyelids.

One day, many foreign friars gathered in the friary, on their way to different parts of the world.

Well then, our blessed father Francis, a mirror of holy obedience, as if to encourage them on their journey with the novelty of a miracle, wanted to heal that friar, in their presence, in the following way.

'This friar Robert was deathly ill, so much so that by this time his soul had been recommended to him; when behold, the blessed Father appeared to him, in company with three friars, models of all holiness: saint Anthony, friar Augustine, and friar James of Assisi, who now, after death, accompanied him thoughtfully, just as they had followed him perfectly during life.

Taking a knife, St Francis cut away his superfluous flesh, restoring his sight and snatching him from the jaws of death; then he said to him:

"O son Robert, the grace I have given you is a sign for the brothers who set out for distant peoples: it is a sign that I will precede and guide them on their journey. Let them depart with joy and fulfil with a ready heart the obedience received!" (FF 1299).

The Canticle written by St Francis [Canticle of Brother Sun] is a hymn to life and light at the moment when he had lost his sight and been healed in his heart.

Francis, after his conversion, saw again and became a light for all, a beacon in the night of time.

Christ restored sight through him.

"And Jesus said to him: Go, your faith has saved you" (Mk 10:52).

Thursday of the 8th wk. in O.T. (Mk 10,46-52)

Francis and his brothers wanted to conform themselves to Christ the Servant and in everything they strove to follow in his footsteps.

The Sources recite: "They occupied the day in prayer and working with their hands [...] they loved each other with a deep affection, and served and provided for each other, as a mother would do with her only tenderly loved child" (FF 1446).

But also Clare of Assisi, little plant of the Seraphic Father, in the Monastery of St Damian gave extraordinary testimony of humble service to all the sisters, especially the sick.

We read: "The abbess is firmly obliged [...] to inform herself with solicitude about what their infirmity requires, both in terms of advice and in terms of food and other necessities, and to provide for them with charity and mercy [...] since all are obliged to provide for and serve their sick sisters, as they themselves would like to be served if they were to suffer any infirmity" (FF 2797).

All the Sources, then, abound repeatedly with the expression [referring both to Francis and Clare] that emphasises being at the service of Christ and the brothers.

We often encounter the expression: "Clare servant of Christ and of the poor Sisters" or also: "the servant of God Francis [...]" testifying to their being submissive for the sake of the Kingdom.

Wednesday, 8th wk. in O.T. (Mk 10:32-45)

The Minim of Assisi, in order to follow Jesus and live his Gospel, renounced everything (literally) after his conversion to be free to follow in his Lord's footsteps.

He understood that earthly goods are a stumbling block to the evangelical freedom of 'becoming one' with the Master.

Hence we read in the Sources:

"On the advice of the bishop of the town, a very pious man, who did not think it right to use ill-gotten money for sacred purposes, the man of God returned to his father the sum, which he wanted to spend on the restoration of the church. And in front of many who had gathered and were listening:

"From now on," he exclaimed, "I will be able to say freely: Our Father, who art in heaven, not Father Peter of Bernardone. Behold, I will not only return him the money, but I will also return him all my garments. Thus, I will go naked to meet the Lord'.

O noble soul of a man, to whom Christ alone suffices!" (FF 597).

When the first companions began to arrive, who wanted to live like him, Francis "taught, having learned it by revelation, that the first step in holy religion consists in fulfilling that word of the Gospel: if you want to be perfect, go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor.

So he admitted to the Order only those who had renounced property and kept absolutely nothing for themselves.

So he did, in homage to the word of the Gospel, but also to avoid the scandal of private purses' (FF 1121).

"Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel, who does not receive a hundredfold now, in this time, in houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, together with persecutions, and in the age to come, the life of the LORD" (Mk 10:29-30).

In the light of the Gospel, at the time:

"Several men of culture and famous men of letters, both of the laity and the clergy, renouncing the allurements of pleasures, sin and worldly greed, entered the Order in their turn, committing themselves to follow, each according to the particular grace received from God, the poverty and the example of Christ and His servant Francis" (FF 1487- legend of the three companions).

In the section of the Sources: "Chronicles and other testimonies" we find out about the brothers:

"They then strove so diligently to renew in themselves the religion, poverty and humility of the early Church, drawing with thirst and ardour of spirit from the pure waters that flow from the spring of the Gospel [...] renouncing all possessions, denying themselves and, taking up their cross, naked they follow the naked Christ.

Like Joseph, they lay down their cloak*; like the Samaritan woman, their amphora, and they run free and light, before the Face of the Lord, never looking back. 'Forgetting past things, they always lean forward [...]' (FF 2218).

Holy love is content with the fruit of prayer and it is its characteristic to disregard earthly gifts, thinking only of serving the Word in the brothers, with freedom of spirit.

*Jacobus of Vitry captured, in particular, the apostolic commitment of the Friars Minor.

Tuesday 8th wk. in O.T. (Mk 10:28-31)

Francis of Assisi was in love with Our Lady Poverty; he married her and esteemed her because she was chosen by the Son of God, who had nowhere to lay his head.

He was so evangelically attracted to her that he took pity when he met creatures poorer than himself.

The Sources recount:

"It happened to him, during a journey, to meet a poor man. Seeing her nakedness, he was saddened in his heart and said to his companion in a voice of lamentation 

"The misery of this man has brought us great shame; for we, as our only wealth, have chosen poverty: and behold, it shines more brightly in him than in us" (FF 1126).

And he advised Bernard, a citizen of Assisi, who later became his companion in the following of Christ, to leave his possessions, considered a false feud.

But to be sure, 'when morning came, they entered a church and, having prayed devoutly, opened the book of the Gospel, willing to carry out the first advice offered them.

They opened the book, and Christ manifested his advice in these words: 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell all you possess and give to the poor. They repeated the gesture, and the passage came up: "Take nothing for the journey". A third time again, and they read: "Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself".

Without delay Bernard carried out everything and did not omit a single iota. Many others, in a short time, freed themselves from the mordacious cares of the world and, under the guidance of Francis, returned to the infinite good in the true homeland.

But it would take too long to say how each one achieved the prize of the divine call" (FF 601).

Clare herself had requested and obtained from Pope Gregory IX the Privilege of Poverty (17 September 1228) in written form.

This document assured the Poor Sisters of St. Damien the right to live without any property in this world, following in the footsteps of the One who, for our sake, became poor and the Way, the Truth and the Life.

In the same Rule, concerning those who wanted to enter the monastery to follow Christ, Clare says:

"And if she is fit, let the word of the holy Gospel be spoken to her: let her go and sell all her possessions and endeavour to distribute them to the poor. If this cannot be done, good will suffices' (FF 2757).

And in her first letter to Blessed Agnes of Prague, her spiritual daughter, she wrote:

"O blessed poverty! To those who love you and embrace you procure eternal riches!

O holy poverty! To those who possess and desire you God promises the kingdom of heaven, and infallibly offers eternal glory and blessed life.

O pious poverty! Thee the Lord Jesus Christ [...] deigned to embrace in preference to all else" (FF 2864).

"One thing you lack: go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me" (Mk 10:21).

Monday 8th Sept. T.O. (Mk 10:17-27)

On the Solemnity of the Trinity, our thoughts turn to how St Francis and St Clare lived that Mystery of Unity and Sharing.

In Francis of Assisi, as well as in his seraphic seedling Clare, adoration and devotion to the Holy Trinity were always marked and deep.

Not for nothing did they found three Orders in the varied Franciscan journey, giving praise and honour to the Three.

In the Sources we read:

"When the prayer was finished, Francis took the book of the Gospels still closed and, kneeling before the altar, opened it.

And immediately the Lord's advice fell into his lap: if you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and distribute them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven".

Francis, after reading the passage, was very happy about it and gave thanks to God.

But a true worshipper of the Trinity, he wanted the support of three witnesses; so he opened the book a second and a third time.

In the second, he encountered that recommendation: Do not take anything on your journeys [...]

and in the third: Whoever wishes to follow me, let him renounce himself [...].

At each opening of the book, Francis gave thanks to God".

(FF1431).

In honour of the Trinity:

"And whosoever shall observe these things, let him be filled in heaven with the blessing of the Most High Father, and on earth let him be filled with the blessing of his Beloved Son with the most holy Spirit, and with all the powers of heaven and with all the saints.

AND I, LITTLE BROTHER FRANCIS, YOUR SERVANT, FOR WHAT LITTLE I CAN, CONFIRM TO YOU WITHIN AND WITHOUT THIS MOST HOLY BLESSING. AMEN". (FF 131).

Scanning the Sources, we realise that the experiences of the origins were surrounded by the blessing of this unfathomable Mystery.

In the Regola non bollata, and specifically: Admonition to the brothers - thus he exhorts them:

"And let us always make a home and a permanent dwelling place in Him, who is the Lord God Almighty, Father and Son and Holy Spirit [...] And let us adore Him with a pure heart"" (FF 61).

In the same Rule, further on:

"And everywhere, we all, in every place, in every hour and at every time, every day and unceasingly truly and humbly believe and hold in our hearts and love, honour, worship, serve, praise and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks to the Most High and Supreme Eternal God, Trinity and Unity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, Creator of all things and Saviour of all who believe and hope in him and love him; 'who is without beginning and without end, immutable, invisible, ineffable, incomprehensible, unsearchable, blessed, worthy of praise, glorious, above exalted, sublime, sublime, lovable, delightful and all above all things desirable for ever and ever. 'Amen' " (FF 71).

The Trinitarian Mystery is illustrated by the attributes used by the Poverello.

And in the Legend of the Three Companions there is a passage that highlights how Francis, regarding the form of life to be followed by [him and his companions] questioned the Holy Scriptures.

"True worshipper of the Trinity, he wanted the support of three witnesses; therefore he opened the book a second and a third time.

At each opening of the book, Francis gave thanks to God, who approved of the ideal he had long yearned for" (FF 1431).

And Clare herself, at the beginning of her Spiritual Testament, thus begins:

"In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Show you his face and use you mercy" " (FF 2854).

The concluding prayer of the Poverello, in the Letter to the whole Order, reads:

"Almighty, everlasting, just and merciful God, grant us wretches to do, by the power of your love, what we know you want, and to always want what is pleasing to you, so that, inwardly purified, inwardly enlightened and kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit may we follow in the footsteps of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and, with the help of your grace alone, come to you, O Most High, who in perfect Trinity and in simple Unity live and reign glorious, Almighty God for ever and ever. Amen" (FF 233).

Francis carried the Trinitarian Mystery imprinted in his heart - offering it to his brothers in preaching and mission.

The two Poor Ones of Assisi made the Trinity their dwelling place, the inexhaustible Treasure from which they drew Light and Love, Communion and polyhedrality.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).

Francis called himself 'simplex et idiot'. The transparency and simplicity of the little ones was for him the key to the Kingdom of heaven.

As Jesus says in the Gospel, he was convinced that only those who become children in their mentality can understand the dynamics of the Kingdom, which calls for the acceptance of the pure in heart, of those who live the Word without prejudice of any kind and with trust in God.

In the Franciscan Sources, the dimension of littleness and simplicity is transversal and prominent as many passages attest.

"The Saint personally practised with special care and loved in others holy simplicity, daughter of Grace, true sister of wisdom, mother of justice.

Not that he approved of every kind of simplicity, but the one that, content with its God, despises everything else.

And that which puts its glory in the fear of the Lord, and which knows neither how to say nor do evil.

The simplicity that examines itself and condemns no one in its judgement, that does not desire any office for itself, but considers it due and attributes it to the best [...].

It is the simplicity that in all divine laws leaves the tortuousness of words, ornaments and tinsel, as well as ostentations and curiosities to those who wish to lose themselves, and who seek not the rind but the marrow, not the shell but the kernel, not many things but the much, the supreme and stable Good" (FF 775).

This simplicity, sister of true Wisdom, is the characteristic of the little ones, of the least, of children who welcome the Kingdom of God that knocks at the door of their hearts.

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

"He had no blush to ask the small things of those smaller than himself; he, a true minor, who had learned from the Supreme Master the great things.

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

This was his supreme philosophy, this was 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" (FF 1205 - Major Legend).

Francis loved with a child's heart and so he taught his brothers and the poor Dames of San Damiano, virtuous sisters on the journey of faith, among whom Clare stood out 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.

Saturday 7th wk. in O.T. (Mk 10:13-16)

In today's Gospel passage, to the Pharisees who tried to catch him at fault, regarding the repudiation of his own woman, Jesus responds by pointing out the hardness of their hearts.

It was because of this that Moses had to draw up the act of repudiation; but in the creation, in the beginning, there was perfect communion, in true harmony.

Francis, despite having made a choice of total dedication to God - and following his example, Clare too - saw marriage as the place where the Gospel sanctifies, bearing witness to beautiful unity, embodying his own original calling.

In the Sources we find an episode that is emblematic and functional to what has been said.

"A devout noblewoman went to the saint to tell him of her sorrow and ask for a remedy: she had a very bad husband, who made her suffer by hindering her in the service of Christ" (FF 1193).

The woman asked Francis to pray for him, that God would touch his heart.

The saint listened to her and then answered: ''Go in peace and be assured that you will soon have from your man the consolation you desire.

And she added: 'You will tell him from God and mine that now is the time for mercy; then, for justice'" (FF 1193).

The woman went home and reported those words to her husband. The Holy Spirit descended upon him and made him a new, meek man.

He said: "'Lady, let us serve the Lord and save our souls'" (FF 1193).

They led a holy and industrious life, returning to God on the same day.

This couple lived according to the divine will, making the project of origin their own, in its specific calling.

She preferred to abide in love, just as the Lord had intended, in that "But from the beginning of creation..." (Mk 10:6).

Two creatures dwelling in a qualified and qualifying project, a work of art of the Eternal, to which Francis, with his prophetic spirit, paid attention to renew and give vigour to withered limbs, imprinting piety in hardened hearts.

"Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote this rule for you" (Mk 10:5).

Friday, 7th wk. in O.T. (Mk 10,1-12)

"And whoever scandalises one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea" (Mk 9:42).

Thus Jesus pronounces in today's Gospel: woe to those who cause scandals.

Francis and Clare feared them greatly, even though they were people who had salt in themselves.

There are several passages that accurately inform us in specifics.

In the Major Legend:

"[...] those who violated the holy Religion by wicked works incurred its condemnation and its dreadful curse:

"From you, O Lord most holy, and from all the heavenly curia, and from me also, your little one, be cursed those who, by their bad example, disrupt and destroy all that, through the holy brothers of this Order, you have built and do not cease to build".

Often, thinking of the scandal given to the little ones, he felt an immense sadness, to the point of believing that he would have died of grief, if the divine goodness had not sustained him with its comfort" (FF1139).

And in the Second Life of Celano:

"The goodest brothers," he said, "are confounded by the works of the evil brothers, and even though they personally have not sinned, they are judged by the example of the wicked.

For this very reason they pierce me like a sharp sword and run it through my bowels all day long."

It was for this reason above all that he shrank from the company of the brothers, lest he should happen to hear something unpleasant about one or the other that would renew his sorrow" (FF 741).

Clare, then, in the Rule, addressed to the sisters, says:

"Let them not dare to bring back to the monastery the gossip of the world. And of what is said or done inside, they are bound not to report anything outside the monastery that might cause scandal [...]" (FF 2805).

And again:

"I admonish then, and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that the sisters beware of all pride, vainglory, envy, avarice, care and solicitude of this world, of detraction and murmuring, of discord and division" (FF 2809).

And she added:

"On the contrary, let them always be solicitous to preserve reciprocally the unity of mutual charity, which is the bond of perfection" (FF 2810).

"Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another" (Mk 9:50).

Thursday 7th wk. in O.T. (Mk 9,41-50)

Jesus advises his disciples not to consider anyone an enemy, even more so when acting in his Name.

Francis always thought and acted in the name of the Lord. Everything was done starting from Him.

The Sources are shot through with acting 'in the name of the Lord'.

We read:

"When he had chosen the group he intended to take with him, Francis said to those brothers:

"In the name of the Lord, go two by two through the streets, with dignity [...]" (FF 1636).

But he also performed healings in the name of the Lord Jesus wherever he was.

The Sources attest:

"The man of God Francis had accustomed himself to seek not his own interest, but above all what he saw necessary for the salvation of his neighbour" (FF 444).

In fact, passing through the diocese of Narni, at Sangemini he was hosted, with three brothers, by a man of great virtue, whose wife was possessed by a demon.

This pious person turned devoutly to the Saint, begging him to heal her.

Francis consented since it was a matter of the glory of God and the good of many.

Calling his brothers he said to them:

"Let us pray to the Lord, brothers, for this woman, that she may be freed from the yoke of the devil, to the praise of God. Let us be one on each side, lest the evil one deceive us and escape us" (FF 441).

After praying, with the virtue of the Holy Spirit, he approached the ossessa, who was in convulsions and screaming.

The saint said: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, by obedience I command you, O demon, to leave this creature and dare not torment it any more!"

He had scarcely uttered those words, that the devil departed very quickly with great uproar and fury, so much so that the holy father, by the sudden recovery of the woman and the prompt obedience of the enemy, thought he had deluded himself, and hastened away from him with blushes, this working of Divine Providence, to prevent him from falling into pride" (FF 441).

The friend of God cast out demons in the Name of the Lord Jesus!

Francis and his brothers worked in unity with God, with an exemplary life and entrusted to the Spirit of the Lord and his holy operation.

Wednesday, 7th wk. in O.T. (Mk 9:38-40)