Before the disciples arguing about who was the greatest among them, Jesus educates them by placing a child before their eyes. This is the measure of their greatness.

So: acceptance and littleness are the credentials for the Kingdom.

Small in stature, but truly endowed with that littleness that makes one a child at heart.

Francis was always concerned not to scandalise the little ones that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel.

The authority of the Sources informs us:

"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" (FF 1139).

Francis himself described himself as "I, small and simple, inexperienced in speaking, have received the grace of prayer more than that of preaching [...].

In prayer we speak to God, we listen to him, and we remain in the midst of the angels" (FF 1204).

Again: "Nothing else did he possess, the Poor Man of Christ, but two pennies that he could bestow with liberal charity: his body and soul" (FF 1167).

And to his brothers he taught and recommended littleness in every happy or sad affair:

"Scarcity itself was for them abundance and superabundance, while, according to the advice of the Wise One, they took pleasure not in greatness, but in the smallest things" (FF 1075).

Oh what great love he had for the Angels!

The Franciscan Sources tell us that "to the angelic spirits, who burn with a marvellous fire, which inflames the souls of the elect and makes them penetrate into God, he was united by an unbreakable bond of love [...].

For blessed Michael the Archangel, since he has the task of presenting souls to God, he nurtured special devotion and love, dictated by his fervent zeal for the salvation of souls" (FF 1166).

"Beware of despising a single one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven ceaselessly see the face of the Father in heaven" (Mt 18:10)

Holy Guardian Angels, 2 October 2024

Luke presents Jesus proceeding firmly and courageously towards Jerusalem.

For this reason a village of Samaritans did not want to receive him.

The disciples intend to react to the inhospitality shown, but Jesus takes them back, understanding the mission he was fulfilling.

The open window of the Sources tells us interesting things about this.

In his writings, Francis taught his brothers to persevere with patience when they were not accepted, going elsewhere, for love of Christ who suffered the same things.

The Sources - specifically the Regola non bollata (1221) - says:

"And let all the brothers, wherever they are, remember that they have given themselves and abandoned their bodies to our Lord Jesus Christ.

And for his love they must expose themselves to enemies both visible and invisible, for the Lord says:

'He who loses his soul for my sake will save it for eternal life'" (FF 45).

And again in Admonitions:

"Let us look closely, brothers and sisters, at the good shepherd who, in order to save his sheep, endured the passion of the cross.

The Lord's sheep followed him in tribulation and persecution, in ignominy and hunger, in infirmity and temptation and other such things; and they received from the Lord eternal life in return" (FF 155).

On the other hand, Francis, to Brother Leo himself, will teach that when we are not received, remaining in patience, we are in perfect joy:

"And I always stand at the door and say, 'For God's sake receive me for this night.'

And he replies: 'I will not. Go to the place of the Cruciferous and ask there."

"Well, if I have been patient and have not been disturbed, I say to you that here is true joy and here is true virtue and salvation of the soul" ( FF 278).

Jesus, in fact, goes further, where he encounters rejection, rebuking his own who find it hard to accept non-acceptance.

Francis follows it as Providence.

"He hardened his face to depart towards Jerusalem. And he sent angels before his face" (Lk 9:51b-52).

Tuesday 26th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,51-56)

Before the disciples arguing about who was the greatest among them, Jesus educates them by placing before their eyes a child. This is the measure of their greatness.

So: acceptance and littleness are the credentials for the Kingdom set out in this Gospel passage. Let us look at these themes in the Sources.

Of a refined mind, who described himself as simple and idiotic, Francis understood very well the logic of the Gospel: let the one who wants to be great be the smallest, in the same way as a child, considered in times past to be of no value; minimal.

He endeavoured to make his brothers understand all this, more with deeds than words.

Nevertheless, in his "Letter to the Rulers of the Peoples" he writes:

"To all the podestas and consuls, magistrates and rulers of every part of the world [...] to whom this letter will reach, Brother Francis, your servant in the Lord God, small and contemptible, wishes you all health and peace" (FF 210).

Furthermore, we read in the Sources:

"The servant of God, Francis, small in stature, humble of spirit and a minor by profession, while living here on earth, chose for himself and his brothers a small portion of the world: otherwise, without using anything of this world, he would not have been able to serve Christ.

And they were certainly inspired by God who, in ancient times, called Porziuncola the place that fell to the lot of those who wanted absolutely nothing on this earth.

There stood in this place a church dedicated to the Virgin Mother, who, by her particular humility, deserved, after her Son, to be Sovereign of all Saints.

It was here that the Order of the Minors began, and their noble building rose up spacious and harmonious, as if resting on a solid foundation.

The Saint loved this place more than any other and commanded his friars to venerate it with special devotion.

He wanted it always to be kept as a mirror of the Order in humility and the highest poverty, reserving its ownership to others and keeping its use for himself and his own only" (FF 604).

And to his beloved brothers he repeated:

"We have promised great things, greater things are promised to us; let us observe those and aspire to them.

Pleasure is brief, punishment eternal; suffering small, glory infinite" (FF 778).

"The smallest among you is great [...] he who is not against you is for you" (Lk 9:48b.50b).

Monday of the 26th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,46-50)

The Poor Man of Assisi knew from experience the magnanimity of God, solicitous towards his children even for a glass of water offered in his Name to those who belong to Christ. And with great faith he lived this truth.

An eloquent episode is recounted in the Sources:

"Francis, a man of God, naked of the things of the world [...] committed himself to serving God in every possible way.

Returning to the church of San Damiano, all happy and fervent, he put on a hermit's habit and comforted the priest of that church with the same words of encouragement addressed to him by the bishop.

Then, returning to the city, he began to walk through the squares and streets singing praises to the Lord with an inebriated soul.

As he finished his praises, he worked to obtain the stones needed to restore the church.

He would say: 'Whoever gives me one stone, will have one reward; whoever gives me two stones, two rewards; whoever gives me three, as many rewards'.

With ardent enthusiasm he made this and similar appeals full of naivety, for this chosen one of God had a candid and childlike soul, he did not have recourse to the learned language of human wisdom, but was simple and straightforward in everything" (FF 1420). 

He also feared being a scandal to the people, to his brothers, dishonouring God. In fact we read again:

"He often repeated to his companions:

"In this lies my sorrow, my affliction: the directives that with intense prayer and reflection I obtain from the Mercy of God for the present and future usefulness of the fraternity, and which God assures me are in conformity with his will, here are some brothers who frustrate it, basing themselves on arrogance and on the enlightenment of their knowledge, saying: these directives are to be kept and observed, and these others are not".

But the Saint, as has already been said, was so afraid of scandal that he allowed many things to be done, and adapted himself to the will of the brothers, however much this may have been repugnant to his convictions" (FF 1632).

"He was disturbed by the thought that, as often happens among the elect, there would be some who were proud in their carnal mentality, ready to quarrel and easy to scandal" (FF 609).

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

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

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).

He added:

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

26th Sunday in O.T.  B  (Mk 9,38-43.45.47-48)

The Gospel of Luke speaks today of the second announcement of the Passion of Jesus.

He sought to prepare the disciples for the consummation of his Paschal Mystery, but they struggled to understand, they did not grasp the meaning of what the Lord was expressing.

Just as Jesus is faced with the disciples' incomprehension before the mystery of his death, so Francis has before him, at the end of his life, the bewilderment of his brothers.

In the Sources:

"He summoned all the brothers present in the house, and seeking to soothe the grief they showed at his death, he exhorted them with fatherly affection to the love of God [...].

"Farewell," he said, "all you my sons, live in the fear of the Lord and keep yourselves in it always!

And since the hour of trial and tribulation draws near, blessed are those who persevere in what they have undertaken!

For I hasten to God and commend you all to his grace'.

And he also blessed all the brothers, wherever they were in the world, and those who would come after them until the end of the ages" (FF 806).

"While the brothers shed bitter tears and lamented in despair [...] He also wanted the books of the Gospels and asked that they read to him the Gospel according to John [...]" (FF 808).

And again:

"He then turned to the doctor:

"Courage, Brother Doctor, tell me that death is imminent: for me it will be the door of life!".

And to the friars:

"When you see me reduced to the extreme, expose me naked on the earth as you saw me the day before yesterday, and after I am dead, let me lie like this for the time necessary to comfortably cover a mile".

At last his hour came, and all the mysteries of Christ having been fulfilled in him, he departed happily to God" (FF 810).

"Put these words in your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men" (Lk 9:44).

Saturday of the 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,43b-45)

Before the people who mistake him for the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets,

Jesus asks his own:

"But who do you say that I am?" (Lk 9:20).

And then he reminds his disciples that the Son of Man will have to suffer much.

Francis of Assisi often spoke to his brothers of the sufferings endured by Christ, of his Passion, for which he wept much.

He testified to his faith in Jesus, the Son of God, with great fervour.

Indeed, "he taught them [...] to confess frankly the truth of the faith, as the Holy Roman Church holds and teaches it.

They observed the teachings of their holy father in all things and, as soon as they saw some church from afar, or some cross, they turned towards it, prostrating themselves humbly on the ground and praying according to the form indicated to them" (FF 1069).

The Sources teach us in this regard:

"He meditated continually on the Lord's words and never lost sight of his works.

But above all, the humility of the Incarnation and the charity of the Passion were so deeply imprinted in his memory that he could hardly think of anything else' (FF 467).

And in his writings:

"To him who suffered so much for us, who has bestowed and will bestow so much good on us in the future [...] He who alone is good, alone most high, alone omnipotent, admirable [...] worthy of praise and blessed for ever and ever. Amen" (FF 202).

Again: "The compassion of the Crucified One became fixed in his holy soul and [...] the venerable stigmata of the Passion, although not yet in the flesh, became deeply impressed in his heart [...] and he can no longer hold back his tears and weeps even aloud the passion of Christ, which is always before his eyes.

He fills the streets with groans, refusing to be consoled by the memory of Christ's wounds.

He met, one day, a close friend of his, and having manifested to him the cause of his grief, immediately he too burst into bitter tears" (FF 594).

The thought that Jesus in us had yet to suffer much tormented him, making him aware of this Mystery day and night.

Friday of the 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,18-22)

The few verses of chapter nine of Luke, taken up in today's liturgy, shed light on Herod's dilemma concerning Jesus:

"John, I have had him beheaded; now who is he of whom I hear such things?" (Lk 9:9).

And he wanted to see him!

In the Franciscan Sources we find passages that reveal how

people did not stop questioning the Poverello.

After his conversion, Francis of Assisi was clothed by God with singular charisms that he held in the humility of hiddenness.

But the wonders the Lord performed through the Poverello spoke for him.

His simple life in the footsteps of Christ aroused amazement and bewilderment. People did not cease to wonder about his person and what he accomplished.

The Sources enlighten:

"Even the sick who ate the bread touched by the man of God quickly obtained healing by divine intervention" (FF 1220).

"Since the herald of Christ was famous for these and many other prodigies, people paid attention to his words, as if an Angel of the Lord were speaking.

Indeed, the prerogative of the lofty virtues, the spirit of prophecy, the thaumaturgical power, the mission to preach coming from Heaven, the obedience of creatures deprived of reason, the sudden conversions of hearts brought about by hearing his word, the knowledge infused by the Holy Spirit and superior to human doctrine, the authorisation to preach granted by the Supreme Pontiff by divine revelation, as well as the Rule, which defines the form of preaching, confirmed by the Vicar of Christ himself and, finally, the signs of the Supreme King impressed like a seal in his body, are like ten testimonies for the whole world and confirm without a shadow of doubt that Francis, the herald of Christ, is worthy of veneration for the mission he received, authentic in the doctrine he taught, admirable for his holiness and that, therefore, he preached the Gospel of Christ as a true envoy of God" (FF 1221).

Even today, all this raises questions: "Who, then, is he?".

The Sources add: "that Wisdom which is nobler than all motion and penetrates everywhere by its purity, communicates itself to holy souls and forms God's friends and prophets" (FF 1202).

Thursday of the 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,7-9)

The Liturgy proposes to us the sending of the Twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

After repairing the Church of St Mary of the Angels, hearing a Gospel passage proclaiming the Good News, Francis leaves everything and accepts Christ's mandate.

In the Franciscan Sources we find on this subject:

"One day when the Gospel passage was being read in this church concerning the mandate given to the Apostles to preach, the Saint, who was present and had only guessed the general meaning, after Mass, asked the priest to explain the passage to him.

The priest commented on it to him point by point, and Francis, hearing that the disciples of Christ must possess neither gold, nor silver, nor money, nor saddlebags, nor bread, nor staff for the road, nor have shoes, nor two tunics, but only preach the Kingdom of God and penance [Lk 9:1-6], immediately, exulting in the Holy Spirit, exclaimed:

"This I want, this I ask, this I long to do with all my heart!".

The holy father then hastens, all full of joy, to carry out the salutary admonition; he bears no delay in faithfully putting into practice what he has heard: he loosens his shoes from his feet, abandons his staff, makes do with a single tunic, and replaces his belt with a cord.

From that instant, he makes for himself a robe that reproduces the image of the cross, to keep away the devil's seductions; he makes it very rough, to crucify the flesh and all its vices and sins, and so poor and coarse that the world cannot envy him" (FF 356).

"In certain regions they were welcomed, but without allowing them to build dwellings. Elsewhere, they were driven out, for fear that they were heretics" (FF 1475).

"And he sent them out preaching the kingdom of God and to heal [the sick]" (Lk 9:2).

Wednesday, 25th wk. in O.T. (Lk 9,1-6)