Paraphrasing a passage from the Spiritual Testament of Clare of Assisi and looking at Mary magnifying the Lord, we could say:

"The Daughter of Zion made herself our way, and this by word and example our blessed father Francis, true lover and imitator of her, showed and taught us" (FF 2824).

For it is now clear that the Poverello saw in Mary the life that becomes an unceasing Canticle to Him who had chosen her in the redemptive mission to be fulfilled with her Son.

Francis recognises in her the Imprint of God, and like Mary he magnifies the Lord and exults in God his Saviour "because he has looked upon the humility of his servant".

Thus Francis, in his Canticle of the Creatures, restores to God the praise due Him for the benefits received from Him, recognising His nullity.

He also invites us to do the same in the "Exhortation to the Praise of God" (Praise of God in the place of the Hermit).

It is interesting to know that these praises were found as the antipendium of the altar in the chapel of St Francis in the place of the Hermit, in the small chapel.

These praises were noted by the companions of the Poverello himself and written on the said panel on the left wall, near the altar, and it is said that Francis wrote them here in his own hand:

"All you who fear the Lord, praise him./ Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you..../ Let every living person give praise to the Lord.../ Praise the Lord because he is good/ Praise the Lord O creatures all.../ Blessed be the holy Trinity/ and the indivisible Unity..." (FF 265/a).

And in the famous Canticle, like Mary, she raises her Praise to the Creator and Lord and Saviour:

«Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,/

Yours are the praises, the glory, the honour and all blessing.

To You alone, Most High, they befit...» (FF 263)

«My soul magnifies the Lord/ and my spirit exults in God my Saviour,/ because he has looked upon the humility of his servant» (Lk 1:46-48)

Feria proper, 22 December (Lk 1:46-55)

The birth of Jesus announced to Joseph in the Gospel of St Matthew highlights not only Isaiah's prophecy but also Joseph's obedience to God's plan.

As the operetta contained in the Sources tells us: «Sacrum Commercium», Francis, a just and God-fearing man, marries Lady Poverty, with a mutual exchange of gifts and promises, with a commitment of love and fidelity summed up in one word: «Covenant».

We read:

"So enamoured of your beauty, the Son of the Most High Father united himself closely to you alone in the world and knew you to be most faithful in all things.

Even before He came to earth from the splendour of His homeland, you prepared a worthy dwelling for Him, a throne on which to sit and a bedchamber where to rest, that is, the very poor Virgin, from whom He was born to shine upon this world.

You hastened to meet him as soon as he was born, so that he might find in you, and not in softness, a place that was pleasing to him.

He was laid, says the evangelist, in a manger, because there was no room for him in the inn.

In the same way, without ever separating yourself from him, you always accompanied him, so much so that throughout his life, when he appeared on earth and lived among men, while the foxes had their dens and the birds of the sky had their nests, he had nowhere to lay his head.

And later, when he, who had once opened the mouths of the prophets, opened his mouth to teach, he first wanted to praise you, he first exalted you with the words: blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (FF 1977).

Chiara d'Assisi echoes this in one of her letters to her spiritual daughter, writing:

" If, therefore, such a great Lord, descending into the womb of the Virgin, wanted to appear in the world as a despicable, needy and poor man, so that men - who were very poor and destitute, hungry for the excessive scarcity of heavenly nourishment - might become rich in Him with the possession of the heavenly realms, rejoice and be very glad, filled with enormous joy and spiritual gladness (FF 2865).

Fourth Sunday in Advent (A)  (Mt 1:18-24)

Today's Gospel turns its gaze on Mary of Nazareth and gives us the principal expression of the Annunciation:

«Fear not, Mary, for you have found grace with God» (Lk 1:30).

Francis made himself a jester of God, but as he loved her, we might add: 'jester of the Blessed Virgin'. He saw in the divine favour poured out by God upon Mary the gift par excellence of the Giver of all good.

Clare herself, in her Spiritual Testament, addressed to her daughters, says:

"By means of these virtues, and not by our own merits, but by the sole mercy and Grace of the Giver, the Father of mercies himself, may they always pour out the perfume of their good name on those who are far off, as on those who are near" (FF 2846).

Thus highlighting how the enemy of Grace is detraction, which Mary never knew.

Grace was the travelling companion of Francis and Clare of Assisi.

We find wonderful expressions in this regard in the second letter addressed by Clare to Agnes of Prague. In various passages, they well recall the beauty of Mary of Nazareth:

"I give thanks to the Author of grace, from whom, as we believe, comes every supreme good and every perfect gift, because he has adorned you with so many recognitions of virtue and has illustrated you with the insignia of such high perfection that, having made you a diligent imitator of the Father, in whom is all perfection, you deserve to become perfect in your turn, so that his eyes find in you no sign of imperfection" (FF 2872).

Clare, 'àltera Maria', unwillingly conveys to Agnes in these few lines what she lives by Grace, offering the testimony of the Marian perfume of a handmaiden wide open to the Gift.

And Francis, on the other hand, on his path of conversion had so well understood the beneficial effects of Grace, that he put into action the same gratuitousness he received towards his brothers, especially towards those who showed the greatest need.

The Sources, in fact, narrate of a friar who in his heart pondered whether he could consider himself worthy of the Grace of heaven to those whom the Saint treated with familiarity.

Whereupon Francis, enlightened by the Spirit, addressed this friar saying:

"Let no thought disturb you, O son, for I hold you the dearest of all those who are particularly dear to me, and I gladly make you a gift of my familiarity and love".

The friar was amazed and, having become even more devout since then, not only did he grow in love towards the Saint, but by the work and Grace of the Holy Spirit he was enriched with ever greater gifts (FF 1196).

Feria proper of December 20  (Lk 1:26-38)