Jesus, in chapter sixteen of John, addressing his own, says to them:

"If you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my Name" (Jn 16:23).

Francis and his community were strongly convinced that prayer educates the soul to encounter God, makes one ask for right things, and enables one to grow in charity.

Asking God for Grace, for help, was for him a source of full joy.

The Sources offer us splendid passages in support of this, starting with the fact that the Poverello recommended prayer to all his brothers, constantly.

"Those brothers to whom the Lord has granted the grace of working, let them work faithfully and devotedly, so that, having banished idleness, the enemy of the soul, they do not extinguish the spirit of holy prayer and devotion, to which all other temporal things must serve" (FF 88-Regola non bollata).

In the same Letter to Brother Anthony, he emphasises that above the study and teaching of theology, the brother must be concerned to cherish the spirit of prayer and devotion, through which alone he can understand that "work" itself is grace.

"To Brother Anthony, my bishop, Brother Francis wishes health.

I am pleased that you teach sacred theology to the brothers, as long as in this occupation, you do not extinguish the spirit of prayer and devotion, as it is written in the Rule' " (FF 251-252).

And again in the Major Legend we find:

"And the man of God, remaining all alone and in peace, filled the woods with groans, sprinkled the earth with tears, beat his breast, and, as if he had found a more intimate sanctuary, conversed with his Lord.

There he would respond to the Judge, there he would plead with the Father, there he would dialogue with the Friend.

There, too, by the brothers who piously observed him, he was heard to appeal with cries and groans to the divine Goodness on behalf of sinners; weeping, even aloud, the passion of the Lord, as if he had it before his eyes [...]" (FF 1180).

Again:

"Prayer was also his defence, when he gave himself to action, since, through insistence in prayer, he shunned, in all his actions, trusting in his own abilities, he put all trust in divine goodness, casting his anxiety on the Lord.

Above all else," he asserted firmly, "the religious must desire the grace of prayer, and he urged his brothers in every possible way to practise it zealously, convinced that no one makes progress in the service of God without it" (FF 1176).

The Assisian Minim knew that whoever asks in the Name of Jesus obtains, and lives in joy and love.

Saturday 6th wk. of Easter (Jn 16:23b-28)

Jesus speaks to His own saying: "Your joy no one can take away from you" (Jn 16:22).

The happiness that comes from Him is lasting, it is authentic because it is founded on non-worldly pillars.

Francis found joy in poverty and fraternity. Even more so in prayer, in the inner relationship with Christ.

It was his joy that came from being the Herald of the Great King, who rested his feet in the footsteps of the Son of God.

In the Sources, the source of the original Franciscan experience, there are passages that corroborate this.

Celano, the diligent biographer, in the Vita prima, informs about the fraternal and joyful life of the brothers:

"As faithful devotees of the most holy poverty, since they possessed nothing, they attached themselves to nothing, and feared nothing to lose.

They were content with a single tunic, sometimes mended inside and out, so poor and unrefined that in that garment they appeared as true crucifiers to the world, and they tightened it at the hips with a rope, and wore rough breeches.

Their holy purpose was to remain in that state, having nothing else. They were therefore always serene, free from all anxieties and thoughts, without anxieties about the future; they did not even worry about securing a hospice for the night, even if they suffered great discomfort on the journey. Often, during the coldest cold, finding no hospitality, they would huddle in an oven, or spend the night in some cave" (FF 388).

In the Legend of the Three Companions, Francis and Brother Aegidius vibrate with joy in the Lord:

"Francis together with Egidio went to the March of Ancona, the other two set out for another region. On their way to the March, they exulted joyfully in the Lord.

Francis, in a loud and clear voice, sang the praises of the Lord in French, blessing and glorifying the goodness of the Most High. So great was their joy, that they seemed to have discovered a magnificent treasure in the evangelical estate of Lady Poverty, for the love of which they had generously and spontaneously got rid of every material possession, considering it as rubbish [...]" (FF 1436).

And Clare rejoices in knowing how Agnes of Prague, her beloved daughter in the Spirit, progresses in the interior life, so much so as to say:

"On hearing the wonderful fame of your holy religious life, which has not only reached me, but has spread magnificently over almost the entire face of the earth, I am filled with joy in the Lord and I rejoice; and not only I can rejoice in this, but all those who serve or wish to serve Jesus Christ" (FF 2860).

The two Poor of Assisi lived their unadorned existence, projected into the Gospel of Jesus; they rested on the Word, which prepared them for endless bliss.

Awaiting the return of Christ, they had prepared their lives by offering them to union with God and their brothers.

With joy they welcomed favourable and (at least in appearance) contrary experiences, knowing that God is faithful to his promises and to the simple ones who follow him.

Friday of the 6th wk. of Easter (Jn 16:20-23a)

In chapter sixteen of John's Gospel, close to his return to the Father, Jesus says to his disciples:

"You will be sad, but your sadness will become joy" (Jn 16:20).

Francis had a brilliant ability, inspired from above, to transform every sadness into joy, in anticipation of blessed hope.

He had taught, for example, Brother Leo, God's sheep, to find perfect joy in being rejected and unrecognised by others.

He found joy in suffering at the mere thought that Jesus had experienced it first and that it was a noble way of uniting with Him.

He felt sadness at the bad testimonies among his own, but he was shaken by God himself before this kind of bitterness, for the Lord reminded him that everything was in his hand.

The various melancholies of the journey were transformed by the Poverello, by the power of the Spirit, into opportunities for grace - thinking of the return of Jesus and the blessed union.

In the Sources, a jewel of original testimonies, we discover the beauty of such dynamics that faith in God and the efficacy of the Word worked out in the Minim.

"One day he saw one of his companions with a sad and melancholic face. Grudgingly enduring it, he told him:

"The servant of God must not show himself to others sad and angry, but always serene.

To your sins, reflect in your room and in the presence of God weep and groan. But when you return among the brothers, leave sadness behind and conform to others".

And, a little later:

"The adversaries of human salvation have much envy of me, and since they cannot upset me directly, they always try to do so through my companions."

He loved then so much the man full of spiritual gladness, that as a general admonition he had these words written in a chapter

"Let the brothers beware that they do not show themselves to be sad on the outside and gloomy like hypocrites, but let them show themselves to be joyful in the Lord, cheerful and suitably gracious" " (FF 712).

And again, in the Second Life of Celano, we find Francis instructing on how to behave in turmoil:

"The servant of God," he explained, "when he is troubled, as it happens, by something, he must get up at once to pray, and persevere before the Supreme Father until He restores to him the joy of his salvation. For if they remain in sadness, that Babylonian evil will grow and, in the end, will generate an indelible rust in the heart, if it is not removed with tears" (FF 709).

Francis, an expert on life in the Spirit, used to say to his own:

"Demons can do no harm to the servant of Christ when they see him holy and joyful. 'If, on the other hand, the soul is melancholic, desolate and weeping, with all ease it is either overcome by sadness or is carried away to frivolous joys' (FF 709).

While waiting to be reunited with his Lord, he wanted to live everything in unity of Spirit with Him, who had given all of Himself for every creature.

Thursday, 6th wk. of Easter (Jn 16:16-20)

Jesus tells his own that the Spirit of Truth sent will lead them into all truth, announcing what he will have heard.

Francis, poor and simple, was a man constantly listening to the whisper of the Spirit.

And it was precisely this constant attitude that made him grasp what others sometimes missed.

The Firstfruits collected in the Sources illustrate how the Spirit of truth instructed and led him every day.

"For though he was most perfect among the perfect, yet, not admitting it, he esteemed himself the most imperfect of all.

For he had tasted and experienced personally how sweet, gentle and good the God of Israel is to the upright in heart, who always seek him with pure simplicity and true purity.

The sweetness and gentleness, which he felt infused from on high into his soul, a very rare gift granted to very few, moved him to forget himself completely, and then, brimming with such joy, he yearned with all his might to ascend to the immortal life of the elect spirits, where, by stepping out of himself, he had already partially elevated himself.

Filled with the Spirit of God, he was ready to face any anguish of spirit, any torment in the body, as long as he was granted what he yearned for: that the merciful will of his heavenly Father might be completely fulfilled in him" (FF 481).

Moreover, Francis, by now very ill and close to death, to Brother Elias who asked how he could express so much joy in the midst of so much pain, in a burst of fervour said:

"Brother, let me rejoice in the Lord and in his Lauds in the midst of my sorrows, for, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, I am so closely united to my Lord that, by his mercy, I can well rejoice in the Most High" (FF 1614).

He had learnt that the Spirit's presence leads to the whole truth and that He offers Himself to those who invoke Him most familiarly, in solitude and in suffering.

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak from Himself, but will tell what He has heard, and will announce to you the things that are to come" (Jn 16:13).

Wednesday of the 6th wk. of Easter (Jn 16:12-15)