Today's liturgy visits us with Jesus' encounter with the ten lepers. They are all healed, but only one returns to Him to thank Him, mindful of what he had received, and above all to 'give glory to God' [recognising Christ, Lord].

The Poor Man of Assisi, after his conversion, saw in the encounter with the lepers the way to become incarnate Word.

He felt grateful remembrance towards the Lord for the experience he had had among them.

And Jesus, in response, used him to heal the lepers as well. In the Sources we read:

"At San Severino in the province of Ancona, there lived a young man named Atto. He was so covered with ulcers that the doctors judged him to be a true leper. His limbs were all swollen and swollen, due to the swelling of his veins, everything appeared deformed. It was impossible for him to walk, and he had to lie in the bed of his sorrow, to the desperate distress of his parents. His father especially, torn apart by that excessive pain, no longer knew what to do. But at last it came into his mind to recommend and vow him to the blessed Francis, and he made him this proposal:

 'My son, do you want to make a vow to the glorious Francis, who shines through many miracles, that he may deliver you from your evil?' He answered: 'Yes father!'.

The father immediately had a sheet of papyrus brought to him, took the measurements of his son's height and thickness, and then said to him:

'Get up, make a vow to blessed Francis that if you get well, every year and for the rest of your life, you will go as a pilgrim to his tomb, carrying a candle as tall as you'.

The young man obeyed his father's request; he stood up as best he could, and with joined hands, began to invoke the mercy of Blessed Francis.

Having taken the measure of the papyrus, he got up as soon as he had finished his prayer, and was completely cured of his leprosy. He began to walk, giving praise to God and Blessed Francis" (FF 563).

The grateful memory of what has been received bears witness to the fact that it pleases God that his creatures are not forgetful.

«Have not the ten been washed? But where [are] the nine? Were they not found to give glory to God, except this stranger?» (Lk 17:17-18)

Wednesday, 32nd wk. in O.T.  (Lk 17:11-19)

In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples about humility and the greatness of serving: simply doing what we are commanded.

Thanks to the light received from the Spirit, Francis and Clare had learnt to incarnate the Word of God on a daily basis.

The target of their action was Christ to be recognised and served in the brothers or sisters, but also to be helped in those who knocked on the door or met along the way.

The children of the kingdom of heaven do not dominate, but humbly serve their neighbour.

Jesus' disciples do not aspire to prestigious positions, but to conform to the identikit outlined in the Beatitudes.

Hence the active understanding of what the Sources propose.

"They [the brothers] occupied the day in prayer and working with their hands, so as to resolutely avoid idleness, the enemy of the soul [...].

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.

Such was the affection that burned in their hearts, that they were ready to give themselves up to death without hesitation, not only for the love of Christ, but also to save the souls or bodies of their brethren" (FF 1446).

"When you have done all that you have been commanded, say:

"We are servants of no account. We have done what we had to do" (Lk 17:10).

And Clare herself, enclosed within the Damianite walls, offered in simplicity to her sisters the testimony of all-round service.

"From then on she no longer refused any servile duties, to the point that she was the one who poured water over the sisters' hands, stood to assist them while they sat and served them at table while they ate.

She barely gave any orders: but she did them spontaneously, preferring to carry them out herself rather than command her sisters" (FF 3180).

The Minim and the Poor Woman of San Damiano had received as a gift a pure heart, inflamed by Charity, at the service of the Kingdom.

Looking upon Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of the Law, they had acquired His physiognomy as fraternal servants, to redeem the multitudes.

Tuesday, 32nd wk. in O.T. (Lk 17:7-10)