Jesus focuses attention on recognizing the signs of the times, calling for discernment.

Francis, a man of God, was able to understand the signs he encountered on his journey of faith.

For example, when he renounced his paternal inheritance in the presence of the bishop and, stripping himself completely, returned to his earthly father even the clothes he had been wearing, he was later offered a peasant's poor cloak.

Francis' acumen is evident. The Sources narrate:

"He gratefully receiving it, of his own hand drew over it the sign of the cross, with a brick that came into his hand and formed with it a robe suitable for covering a crucified and half-naked man.

Thus, then, the servant of the Most High King was left naked so that he might follow the naked crucified Lord, the object of his love; thus he was fitted with a cross, so that he might entrust his soul to the wood of salvation, saving himself by the cross from the shipwreck of the world" (FF 1043).

And Francis himself became a sign for all humanity, which God wanted to use to lead many souls back to Him.

Indeed, "It remains [...] demonstrated that he was sent among us with the spirit and power of Elijah" (FF 1021).

And "he is symbolized in the figure of the angel who ascends from the East and bears within himself the seal of the living God" (FF 1022).

As a new man, at the beginning of the Letter to the Custodes he thus begins:

"To all the custodians of the Friars Minor to whom this letter will reach, Brother Francis, your servant and little one in the Lord God, wishes health with new signs of heaven and earth, signs that are great and extraordinary with the Lord and are instead held in no account by many religious and other men [...]" (FF 240).

But Francis is the creature marked with the Tau as God's witness:

"Enjoying the company of the Father, Brother Pacifico began to experience sweetnesses, which he had not yet experienced.

In fact, he was able another time to see what remained hidden from others: shortly after, he discerned on Francis' forehead a great sign of Thau*, which adorned with multicolored circlets, presented the beauty of the peacock" (FF 694).

We are called, thinking of the Poor Man of Assisi, to reflect on the sign of the times that the Saint represents.

* Tau is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. He who bears such a sign on his forehead has already submitted his actions to the power of the cross.

The letter Tau is also found as Francis' signature at the bottom of his letter to Brother Leo.

«Theatricals! The appearance of earth and heaven you know how to discern, but this time how do you not know how to discern?» (Lk 12:56)

Friday, 29th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 12:54-59)

Jesus in his Gospel speaks of a Fire that he came to bring to the earth, a watershed of following and not following. 

Francis, the Fire that the Lord intended, knew it well: the Holy Spirit.

Master and Minister of the Order of Minors, the Spirit of God guided the Poor Man in his every step. 

If we go and consult the Sources we realise this.

"And so, by the disposition of the divine goodness and by the merits and virtue of the Saint, it mercifully and admirably happened that the friend of Christ tried with all his strength to die for Him and could not possibly succeed [...].

On the one hand, he did not lack the merit of the desired martyrdom and, on the other hand, he was spared to be later bestowed with an extraordinary privilege.

That divine Fire that burned in his heart, meanwhile, became more ardent and perfect, so that it would later reverberate more brightly in his flesh.

O truly blessed man, who is not torn by the iron of the tyrant, yet is not deprived of the Glory of resembling the immolated Lamb!" (FF 1175). 

For "the Spirit of the Lord, who had anointed and sent him, assisted his servant Francis wherever he went [...].

His word was like burning fire, penetrating the depths of the heart and filling the minds with admiration" (FF 1210).

Furthermore, the Fioretti (vulgarised in the last quarter of the 14th century by an unknown Tuscan) tell us of Clare of Assisi's desire to dine once with Francis.

The latter, who had always kept away from the matter, was persuaded by his friars to leave such rigidity in this regard and to accommodate her.

So Clare came to St Mary of the Angels and here Francis had the table set, on the ground, with a brother of the Saint and a sister who accompanied Clare.

"And at the first supper Saint Francis began to speak of God so sweetly, so highly, so marvellously, that as the abundance of divine grace descended upon them, they were all enraptured in God.

And while they were thus enraptured with their eyes and hands raised up to heaven, the men from Sciesi and Bettona and those from the surrounding area saw that Saint Mary of the Angels and the whole place and forest [...] were burning brightly, and it seemed as if there was a great fire occupying the church, the place and the forest together" (FF1844).

So much so that the inhabitants of the surroundings ran, worried, to put out the fire that they saw.

But on the spot they found only Francis and Clare and their companions enraptured in God, realising that this had been divine and not material fire, an attestation of the Spirit of God inflaming those holy souls.

Already, benefiting from that Holy Spirit gained from Christ's baptism!

«I have come to cast a fire upon the earth, and how I wish it had already blazed!» (Lk 12:49)

Thursday, 29th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 12:49-53)

Jesus in the Gospel offers the identikit of the faithful servant, who in the absence and while awaiting the return of the master, serves his subordinates, in the sign of God's will. 

And this is what we find in Francis and Clare of Assisi: they faithfully served the Lord in the brothers and sisters entrusted to them, with diligence and compassion.

The Franciscan Sources, Teachers of lived life, document this for us.

In the Admonitions written by the Minim we find an eloquent pedagogy:

"Blessed is the servant who is found as humble among his subjects as when he was among his masters.

Blessed is the servant who always keeps himself under the rod of correction.

Faithful and prudent servant is he who does not delay in punishing himself for all his sins, inwardly through contrition and outwardly through confession and works of reparation" (FF 173).

"And blessed is that servant, who is not placed on high of his own accord and always desires to put himself under the feet of others" (FF 169).

A friar once asked Francis to pray for him because he was afflicted by a temptation.

The Saint replied thus:

"Believe me, son [...] for this very reason I consider you even more a servant of God, and know that the more you are tempted, the more you are dear to me".

He added:

"I tell you truly that no one should consider himself a servant of God until he has passed through trials and tribulations.

The temptation overcome is, in a sense, the ring with which the Lord marries the soul of his servant.

Many flatter themselves about the merits accumulated over long years, and rejoice that they have never sustained trials.

But we know that the Lord has taken their weakness of spirit into account because even before the clash, terror alone would have crushed them.

For difficult combats are reserved only for those with exemplary courage' (FF 704).

And Clare, in her Rule states:

"The abbess then, use towards them [the sisters] such familiarity that they may speak to her and deal with her as mistresses use with their servants, since this is how it must be, that the abbess be the servant of all the sisters" (FF 2808).

And again in the Legend:

"She herself washed the seats of the infirm, she cleansed them herself, with that noble spirit of hers, without shunning filthiness or loathing stench" (FF 3181).

«You also be ready, for in the hour you do not believe the Son of Man is coming» (Lk 12:40)

Wednesday 29th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 12,39-48)

The readiness, the vigilance that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel is very much present in the lives of Francis and Clare.

The Sources speak of this fundamental attitude in the life of the believer, regarding the Poverello.

The Perugian legend recounts that the Little One of God, having ascended to the hermitage of La Verna, stayed there for a Lent in honour of God, the Blessed Virgin and St Michael.

"Having entered the cell where he intended to stay [...] on the first night he asked the Lord to show him some sign by which he could know if it was the divine will that he should remain on Verna.

In fact, Francis, when he stopped somewhere for a period of prayer or went around the world to preach, was always anxious to know God's will, in order to please Him more [...].

Although he enjoyed many joys in that little cell, at night the demons inflicted many molestations on him, as he himself told his companion.

He once confided to him:

«If the brethren knew how many afflictions the demons inflict on me, every one of them would be moved with pity and great compassion towards me»" (FF 1649).

Clare 'the Christian' stood out for her vigilance in the spiritual life, as the same papal document Clara Claris praeclara recalls:

"Assiduous also in her vigils and intent on prayer, in this above all she spent the greater part of the day and night" (FF 3300).

In the lives of Francis and Clare of Assisi "being ready" had created the prerequisites that make it possible for a person to respond to God's prevenient love for them.

He had tempered them well, allowing Grace to act in them

in every event.

Tuesday 29th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 12,35-38)

Today's Gospel from Luke emphasises the greed of a rich man who thinks of enlarging his storehouses because of abundant harvests, neglecting his soul and his relationship with God, who finds him unprepared before a sudden death.

Instead of enriching himself with God, he foolishly thinks of accumulating for himself.

Francis of Assisi, on the other hand, donated all he possessed to the poor and set out to give back to God the little he had in exchange for the much he would receive.

He 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 his 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 brighter in him than in us" (FF 1126).

And Bernard, a citizen of Assisi, who later became his companion in the following of Christ, was advised 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 repeat the gesture, and the passage occurs: «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 performed 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 be 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 Damian's 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 suitable, let the word of the holy Gospel be told her: that she should go and sell all her possessions and endeavour to distribute them to the poor. If she cannot do this, her good will suffices" (FF 2757).

And in his first letter to Blessed Agnes of Prague (his spiritual daughter) he writes:

"O blessed poverty! For 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 everything else" (FF 2864).

«So [happens to] those who accumulate treasures for themselves and do not enrich for God» (Lk 12:21)

Monday 29th wk. in O.T.  (Lk 12,13-21)

Chapter eighteen of Luke recounts the parable of the judge and the importunate widow, emphasising the value of personal prayer that is engaging, confident and constant.

Those who know a little about the Poor Man of St. Mary of the Porziuncola know that continuous prayer was like oxygen for his lungs.

Various passages from the Sources describe how much Francis loved it and sought out places where he could give free rein to his big heart.

"He often conversed aloud with his Lord: he gave account to the Judge, he implored the Father, he spoke to his Friend, he joked amiably with his Spouse.

And in reality, in order to offer God all the fibres of his heart in a manifold holocaust, he considered in various ways the One who is supremely One [...]

He directed his whole mind and affection to that one thing he asked of God: he was not so much a man who prayed as he was himself transformed into a living prayer" (FF 682).

Celano informs us in the First Life:

"His safe haven was prayer, not of a few minutes, or empty, or pretentious, but deeply devout, humble and prolonged as much as possible. If he began it in the evening, he could hardly tear himself away from it in the morning. He was always intent on prayer, when he walked and when he sat, when he ate and when he drank. At night he would go alone to abandoned and remote churches to pray; thus, with the grace of the Lord, he managed to triumph over many fears and spiritual anxieties" (FF 445).

Confirming his ardent faith in God, he expresses himself thus in the Leggenda Maggiore:

«I, small and simple, inexperienced in speaking, have received the grace of prayer more than that of preaching.

In prayer, moreover, one either acquires or accumulates graces; in preaching, on the other hand, one distributes the gifts received from heaven [...] In prayer we speak to God, we listen to him, and we remain among the Angels» (FF 1204).

His faith grew day by day, because it was imbued with divine relationship, certain of being heard by grace and not by merit, thus becoming a giant herald and witness of the Word.

«But will God not do justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?» (Lk 18:7)

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C  (Lk 18:1-8)

Jesus urges the mission to which the disciples are called: in poverty, as lambs among wolves; preaching the Kingdom of God.

Francis knew how to address a special greeting of Peace to the people he met, by divine revelation.

And, like Jesus, he sent his brothers out two by two to announce the Good News of the Kingdom. 

The Sources specifically state.

"In each of his sermons, before communicating the Word of God to the people, he wished for peace, saying:

«May the Lord give you Peace!».

This Peace he always proclaimed with great devotion to men and women, to all those he met or who came to him.

In this way he obtained, by the grace of the Lord, to induce the enemies of Peace and of their own salvation, to become themselves children of Peace and desirous of eternal salvation" (FF 359).

And again, Francis took on the "mission of the apostles" in its entirety.

In fact, "the pious father gathered all his sons around him and spoke at length with them about the Kingdom of God, about the contempt of the world [...] and revealed his intention to send them to the four parts of the world" (FF 1058)

«Go», said the sweet Father to his children, «proclaim peace to men; preach penance for the remission of sins.

Be patient in tribulations, watchful in prayer, valiant in labours, modest in speech, grave in conduct, and grateful in benefactions.

And in recompense for all this, the eternal kingdom is prepared for you».

He then said to each one in particular:

«Entrust your fate to the Lord, and He will feed you».

He divided them two by two, in the form of a cross, sending them out into the world.

After assigning the other three parts to the other six, he himself went with a companion to a part of the world, knowing that he had been chosen as an example for others and that he had first to do and then to teach" (FF 1059).

And he often «redeemed the lambs that were led to the slaughter, in memory of that most meek Lamb, who was willing to be led to death to redeem sinners» (FF 1145).

«Go! Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves» (Lk 10:3)

St Luke, the Evangelist  (Lk 10:1-9)

In chapter twelve of Luke's Gospel, Jesus warns against hypocrisy, whose father is the one whom St Teresa of Avila called 'a liar, a hypocrite, a dark one'.

We must fear him, says the Lord, who is capable of casting us into Gehenna.

When Francis of Assisi, by grace, manages to convert and tame the wolf of Gubbio, he then reminds the inhabitants of that place of something crucial:

'The flame of hell, which will last eternally for the damned, is more dangerous than the rage of the wolf, which can only kill the body. How much more should we fear the mouth of hell, when such a multitude is kept in fear and trembling by the mouth of a small animal. Return, therefore, dearest ones, to God and do worthy penance for your sins, and God will deliver you from the wolf in the present and from the fires of hell in the future" (Fioretti. FF 1852).

Likewise, the humble Francis kept all forms of hypocrisy away from his life.

The Sources tell us a significant episode.

"One winter, the Saint had his poor body covered with only one tunic, reinforced with very coarse patches.

The guardian*, who was also his companion, bought a fox skin and brought it to him, saying: Father, you suffer from spleen and stomach problems: I beg your charity in the Lord to allow this skin to be sewn inside your tunic. If you do not want the whole thing, at least accept a part of it to cover your stomach.

Francis replied:

"If you want me to wear this fur under my tunic, let me wear another one of the same size on the outside. Sewn on the outside, it will be a sign of the skin hidden underneath."

The friar listened, but he was not of the same opinion [...] In the end, the guardian gave in and had one piece of fur sewn onto the other, so that Francis would not appear different on the outside than he was on the inside.

What an example of consistency, identical in life and words! The same inside and out, as a subject and as a superior!

You desired no glory, either external or private, because you glorified only the Lord" (FF 714).

* The guardian was brother Angelo da Rieti.

Friday, 28th wk. in Ordinary Time  (Lk 12:1-7)