«He began to praise God and spoke of the Child to those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem» (Lk 2:38)

Francis of Assisi considered Holy Christmas the feast of feasts. From there, in fact, had started the salvific parable of a merciful Father who wanted to "unroll like sackcloth" his divinity and humanity through the Gift of his Son.

That is why he infinitely praised God and spoke of the Child and the salvation He brought to all men at every opportunity, opportune and not opportune.

The depth of his prophetic spirit, received by Grace, made him capable of going beyond the immediate with refined inner insight.

In the Treasury of Sources we find particularly significant passages:

"The man of God stood before the manger, filled with pity, sprinkled with tears, overflowing with joy.

The holy sacrifice is celebrated above the manger and Francis, Christ's Levite, sings the holy Gospel.

He preaches to the people and speaks of the birth of the poor king and, in naming him, calls him, out of tenderness of love, the 'Child of Bethlehem'.

A virtuous and sincere knight who had left the scholastic militia and had become very attached to the man of God, Mr John of Greccio, claimed to have seen, inside the manger, a beautiful sleeping child, whom the blessed Francis, holding him with both arms, seemed to rouse from sleep.

This vision of the devout knight is rendered credible by the holiness of the witness, but it is also substantiated by the truth it indicates and confirmed by the miracles by which it was accompanied.

For the example of Francis, re-proposed to the world, had the effect of reawakening faith in Christ in numb hearts; and the hay from the manger, preserved by the people, had the power to heal sick beasts and drive away various other diseases.

Thus God glorifies his servant in all things and shows the efficacy of holy prayer with the probing eloquence of miracles" (FF 1186).

And Clare herself, the first plant of the Seraphic Father, in her stupendous Testament, while entrusting all her present and future daughters to the custody of the Lord Cardinal, expresses herself thus:

"For the love of that Lord, who poor at his birth was placed in a crib, poor lived on earth and remained naked on the cross, may he take care to make this little flock of his observe - this which the Most High Father, through the word and example of our blessed father Francis, generated in his holy Church precisely to imitate the poverty and humility of his beloved Son and of his glorious Virgin Mother [...]" (FF 2841).

Francis and Clare of Assisi: two stars of the firmament that illuminate the salvific Mystery of a God made flesh, who came to give Himself to every person and reality that claims salvation.

30 December - sixth day between the Octave of Christmas  (Lk 2:36-40)

Jesus, brought to the temple by Mary and Joseph, is greeted by the watchman Simeon as «a sign of contradiction [...] that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed» (Lk 2:34-35).

Francis, in the time in which he lives and following the example of Christ, incarnates, as herald of the Great King, being a prophet and becoming a sign of contradiction, an indispensable condition for entering the Kingdom of God.

A sign of contradiction because he is the bearer of a new world, which leaves behind the remnants of the old one, far removed from the Love that came down from Heaven.

The Sources offer several examples of this being the germ of a new way of thinking.

We read:

"The man of God, wounded by his father's curses, chose a despised poor man as his father and said to him:

"Come with me, and I will give you part of my alms. When you see my father curse me, I will say to you: Bless me, O father! - And thou shalt make the sign of the cross upon me and bless me in his stead'.

As the poor man blessed him thus, the man of God said to his father:

"Do you not think that the Lord can give me a father who, against your curses, will cover me with blessings?".

Many of those who mocked him, seeing him endure all those tribulations with patience, were struck with awe and admiration" (FF 1423).

«Sign of contradiction [...] that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed» (Lk 2:34-35)

And again, moved by the Spirit, he prophesied concerning St Clare and her sisters:

"There were also other people to help him with the restorations. Francis, radiant with joy, said in a loud voice, in French, to his neighbours and to those who passed by:

"Come, help me in these works! Know that a monastery of ladies will be built here, and by the fame of their holy life, our heavenly Father will be glorified throughout the church'.

He was animated by a prophetic spirit, and foretold what would actually happen.

It was precisely in the sacred place of San Damiano that the glorious and admirable Order of poor women and holy virgins was happily initiated by Francis, about six years after his conversion" (FF 1426).

"Many made fun of him, persuaded that he had given them the run-around; others were pitied to the point of tears, seeing that young man pass so quickly from a life of pleasures and caprices to an existence transfigured by the intoxication of divine love. But he, heedless of ridicule, gave fervent thanks to God" (FF 1421).

Yes, this child who became a bold young man, leaving the merry band, is transformed by Grace into that indisputable sign of contradiction that brings to light the truth that dwells in every heart, in the footsteps of Christ.

And, when the mission was accomplished, before his brothers, having himself placed on the bare ground, he reminded them that he had pledged to do his part and that the Lord would instruct them to do theirs.

29 December - fifth day between the Octave of Christmas  (Lk 2:22-35)

The Gospel of Matthew recounts the flight into Egypt of the Family of Nazareth due to Herod's persecution, who, in order to eliminate Jesus, had all the children in Bethlehem and the surrounding area killed.

This unique family was rejected from the moment it was formed, a model of perseverance in the face of trials.

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

In fact, without hesitation, in front of the bishop of Assisi and all those present, he stripped himself naked as a sign of abandonment, adding:

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

This was an eloquent response to the old world that left him languishing in its pleasures, preferring to enjoy the sweetness he breathed at home in Nazareth.

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

In fact, he nourished himself with 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 that came to him from above, pure and yielding.

Mary accompanied him everywhere.

He clung to her in 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.

But no less so, Clare was part of the unique, silent Family of God - so fully that she received the gift (now ill and no longer able to go to church) of participating sensitively in the Christmas Liturgy.

The Father of Mercy and the entire Nazareth Family were with her.

The Sources inform us:

"At that hour of Christmas (1252), when the world rejoiced with the angels for the newborn Child, all the women went to Matins at the place of prayer, leaving the Mother alone, burdened by her infirmity.

And, having begun to think of the little Jesus and to grieve greatly that she could not participate in the singing of his praises, she sighed and said to him:

'Lord God, here I am, left here alone for you!'.

And suddenly, the wonderful concert taking place in the church of St Francis began to resound in her ears.

She heard the friars singing psalms in jubilation, followed the harmonies of the singers, and even perceived the sound of the instruments.

The place was not close enough to allow human perception of those sounds: either that solemn celebration was made divinely sonorous enough to reach her, or her hearing was strengthened beyond all human possibility.

Indeed, surpassing this miracle of hearing, she was even worthy of seeing the Lord's crib.

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

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

By the grace of Christ, I heard all the ceremonies that were celebrated last 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, experienced in suffering but also a place of genuine virtue, was alive and well. Clare, like another Mary, meditated in her heart on the mysteries of the Son of God, well understanding the apprehensions and dangers of flight. She herself, leaving the old world that pursued her, had known hardship and tribulation.

All these experiences helped her, on her journey as a Poor Woman, to relive the events of the family of Nazareth in depth.

«Now after Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 'Rise, take the Child and his Mother, and go to the land of Israel'» (Mt 2:19-20a)

Holy Family of Nazareth (year A)  (Mt 2:13-15, 19-23)