Seeing the large crowd following him, Jesus emphasises the need to pray for more workers in his harvest to announce the Kingdom and heal the sick, in the sign of gratuity.

In the Sources we find different passages referring to the proclamation of the Kingdom of God and its Gratuity by Francis and his brothers. We read in fact:

"His speeches were not vain, but filled with the power of the Holy Spirit: they penetrated to the depths of the heart and aroused great amazement in his listeners.

In each of his sermons, at the beginning of the discourses, he greeted the people with the greeting of peace, saying: «May the Lord give you peace!»

He had learnt this form of greeting by revelation from the Lord.

Like the prophets, he announced peace, he preached salvation' (FF 1052).

But it is surprising to find episodes that highlight his naked gratuitousness, received and returned.

"Francis, a man of God, naked of the things of the world, consecrated himself to divine worship and, no longer minding his own advantage, committed himself to serving God in every possible way.

On his way back to the church of St Damian, he began to walk through squares and streets, raising praises to the Lord.

As he finished his praises, he worked to obtain the stones needed to restore the church.

He said: «Whoever gives me one stone will have one reward; whoever gives me two stones, two rewards; whoever gives me three, as many rewards!» (FF 1420).

Moreover: "One winter morning, while he was praying covered in miserable garments, his carnal brother, passing by him, remarked ironically addressing a fellow citizen:

Tell Francis to sell you at least a penny of his sweat!".

The man of God, hearing the mocking words, was seized with superhuman joy and replied in French:

«I will sell this sweat, and very dearly, to my Lord» (FF 1424).

Saturday 1st wk. in Advent  (Mt 9,35-38-10,1.6-8)

In today's Gospel, the healing of the two blind men highlights the theme of the inner blindness of the ambitious disciples, correlated with deep faith.

Francis was convinced that this is not witnessed with fine words, but with the eloquence of deeds.

In his Testament - for example - the Servant of God emphasises all this.

In fact, in that precious document we find a succession of expressions that emphasise the 'believing' of a grateful Francis, capable of shrouding in silence even the faults he saw in his community.

We read:

"And the Lord gave me such faith in the churches" (FF 111).

"The Lord gave me [...] such great faith in priests" (FF 112).

Even more faith he had in the Word, the bearer of inner healing.

In fact, on the basis of this, many healings took place in the same community of brothers, afflicted, at times, by various forms of blindness, before which Francis expressed himself thus:

"And all the brothers, who are aware of the sin of him [...] keep the sin of their brother very secret, because it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick" (FF 237).

This was the evangelical logic adopted by the community of Francis, who, invested by the Spirit, healed every brother who transgressed.

"The Saint hated pride, the origin of all evil, and disobedience its worst daughter.

He welcomed, however, those who humbly repented.

Once a monk, who had transgressed the commands of obedience, was presented to him so that he might correct him with the magisterial chastisement.

But the man of God noticed from clear signs that this friar was sincerely repentant and therefore felt inclined to be lenient with him, for the sake of his humility.

However, lest the ease of forgiveness be an incentive for others to fail, he commanded that the friar's hood be removed and thrown into the flames, so that all might observe how much and what vengeance transgression against obedience demands.

And after the hood had remained a good while in the fire, he ordered it to be removed from the flames and given back to the humble and repentant friar.

Marvel: the hood had no sign of burning!

So it came to pass that by this miracle alone God exalted the power of the Saint and the humility of the repentant friar" (FF 1116).

Friday 1st wk. in Advent  (Mt 9,27-31)

The man who often described himself as «simplex et idiota» had in fact understood well what it meant to live the Holy Gospel consistently and without going against his conscience.

Intense prayer and Grace, which never abandoned him, made him a faithful and wise listener, who built his inner home on the solid Rock of Christ.

The Sources, teachers of practical life, enlighten us in this regard:

"His highest aspiration, his dominant desire, his firmest will was to observe the Holy Gospel perfectly and always and to imitate faithfully, with all vigilance, with all commitment, with all the enthusiasm of his soul and heart, the doctrine and examples of our Lord Jesus Christ" (FF 466 - First Life - Celano).

Again:

"Two years before he gave up his spirit to God, after many and varied labours, divine Providence drew him aside and led him to a lofty mountain called Monte della Verna...

Here he began, as was his custom, to fast...

He rose to those heights not as an importunate scrutineer of majesty... but as a faithful and prudent servant, intent on seeking the will of God, to which he ardently desired to conform in everything" (FF 223 - Major Legend).

And he always recommended to his friars:

"Keep his precepts in the depths of your hearts and fulfil his counsels perfectly" (FF 216 - Letter to the whole Order).

Francis, in fact, a true lover and imitator of Christ, knew that «Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven» (Mt 7:21).

Thursday, 1st wk. in Advent  (Mt 7:21,24-27)

Jesus had told His disciples that, bound to Him like the branch to the vine, they would do greater things than those hitherto wrought by His Person.

Francis is one of those disciples through whom God was able to perform wonders.

Indeed, invested by the Spirit, we read in the Sources thus:

"A citizen of Fano named Buonuomo was a paralytic and leper. Taken by his parents to the church of Blessed Francis, he was cured of both diseases.

But a young man from San Severino, named Atto, who had his body all covered with leprosy, was also cured by the merits of the Saint, after having made a vow and visited his tomb" (FF 1312).

The crowd gathered around was healed.

Multiple healings took place through the work of his Servant.

But all this had a secret: Francis' unspeakable faith in the efficacy of the Word that transforms bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. 

Francis rested on such certainties.

The Sources offer us splendid passages where all the beauty of the Poverello's heartfelt love for the Eucharist appears: Bread of Life to be distributed to men.

"Behold, every day he humbles himself, as when from the royal seat he descended into the womb of the Virgin; every day he himself comes to us in humble appearance; every day he descends from the bosom of the Father onto the altar in the hands of the priest. And as to the holy apostles he showed himself in the true flesh, so also now he shows himself to us in the consecrated bread" (FF 144 - Admonitions).

And again:

"We know that there can be no body if it is not first sanctified by the word.

For nothing do we bodily possess and see in this world of the Most High Himself except the body and blood, the names and words by which we were created and redeemed 'from death to life'" (FF 207 - Letter to all clerics).

Yes, Bread of Life that feeds to satiety those who believe in Him who gave Himself entirely to us.

«I have compassion on the crowd, for [it is] three days that they remain with me and have nothing to eat, and I will not dismiss them fasting lest they fail in life» (Mt 15:32)

Wednesday 1st wk. in Advent  (Mt 15:29-37)

«[...] He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and revealed them to babes'» (Lk 10:21).

Jesus is the only one who can truly call the Lord of heaven and earth Father, but into this familiarity he introduces everyone.

Clare, seedling of the blessed Father Francis, with her special character of simplicity and littleness had achieved, by Grace, such a great familiarity with the Lord that she moved in total harmony with Him.

Consulting the Sources, in the Legend we read of the degree of intimate union of the Saint with the divine Bridegroom.

"How much strength and support she received in the furnace of ardent prayer, how sweet the divine goodness was to her in that fruition, is testified to by proven evidence.

For when she returned in the joy of holy prayer, she brought back from the fire of the Lord's altar burning words, such as inflamed the hearts of the sisters.

They noted with admiration that a certain sweetness radiated from her face and that her face seemed brighter than usual" (FF 3199).

In a letter to Ermentrude of Bruges* he recommends:

"Always be attentive and vigilant in prayer. Bring to its consummation the good you have begun, and fulfil the mystery you have embraced in holy poverty and sincere humility' (FF 2916).

Such was Clare, a simple and small creature, capable of rejoicing in every gift received, in every tiny reality that spoke to her of the Eternal.

"She welcomed with great joy the fragments of alms, the pieces of bread that the beggars brought back and, almost sad for the whole loaves, she was happy instead for those little pieces" (FF 3188).

A woman conformed to Christ in everything, she considered herself a nothing before God.

In her Testament she exhorted meekness and humility of heart, as a loving Mother:

"I still pray to her who will be in the government of the sisters, that she may endeavour to preside over the others more by virtue and holiness of life than by dignity, so that, animated by her example, the sisters may lend obedience to her, not so much because of the office she occupies, but out of love.

Let her also be provident and discreet towards her sisters, like a good mother towards her daughters [...].

Let her still be so affable and accessible to all that the sisters can confidently manifest their needs to her and have recourse to her at all times with confidence [...]" (FF 2848).

Meekness and humility: the stature of little ones, to whom the Mysteries of the Kingdom are revealed, finding consolation in loving with the sentiments of Christ.

*Ermentrude of Bruges: to her we owe the spread of the Order of the Poor Clares in Flanders.

Tuesday 1st wk. in Advent  (Lk 10,21-24)

Jesus draws attention to the operative power of the Word of God, even at a distance, where authentic Faith palpitates.

In this sense, an episode narrated by the Sources is symptomatic.

In conversation with Cardinal Ugolino (the future pope), faced with the latter's reproach as to why he had sent his friars to foreign lands and so far away, Francis, a man of profound faith in the Word of God, responds with a great outburst of spirit:

"Do not think, sir, that the Lord has sent the brothers only for the good of these regions.

I tell you in truth that God has chosen and sent the brothers for the spiritual benefit and salvation of the souls of men throughout the world; they will be received not only in the lands of Christians, but also in those of the infidels.

Provided they observe what they have promised the Lord. God will give them what they need in the lands of the infidels as in Christian lands" (FF 1638).

Here Francis manifested a solid and universal faith in the Word that works always and everywhere where it finds open doors and sincere reliance.

Clare of Assisi too, who grew up in the shadow of Saint Francis, a woman of clear and strong ideas, revealed a granitic faith in the Word of God whose saving and transforming power she sensed, so much so that she refused material support from the begging friars if Pope Gregory then decided to prohibit the friars from going to the Monasteries without prior authorisation.

Regretting the scarcity of the bread of the Word, she groaned and said:

"Take them all away from us now, the friars, after you have taken away those who gave us the nourishment of life!

As the Bride of the Canticle, Clare knew by direct knowledge what benefits her soul and those of her sisters had received for the healing of soul and body.

She, a woman enclosed in the secret of the Word, certain of its boundless efficacy, knew the transformation that had taken place at St Damian's through the power of the Word - which does not return to God before it has effectively worked what it desires.

«Truly I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith!» (Mt 8:10).

Monday 1st wk. in Advent  (Mt 8:5-11)

In the Gospel of this first Sunday of Advent, the underlying theme is that of being ready for the unpredictable Coming of the Lord, watching and waiting.

Francis of Assisi lived his entire life, beginning with his conversion, in a continuous act of vigilance for the arrival of the Beloved.

In the fraternity, he always sought to encourage his brothers in this direction.

In the Perugian Legend, we read:

"If the servant of God provides wisely for his body with good grace and as far as possible, and brother body shows himself to be lazy, negligent and sleepy in prayer, in vigils and in other good works of the spirit, then he must chastise him like a rebellious and indolent beast, which wants to eat, yes, but refuses to work and carry the load" (FF 1652).

His sons, who looked to the life that the Poverello led with great rigour, followed him.

"They afflicted their bodies not only with fasting, but with many vigils, suffering cold and nakedness and working with their hands.

Very often, in order not to remain idle, they went to help the poor people in the fields, sometimes receiving bread from them for the love of God. With these and other virtues, they sanctified themselves and the place of the Porziuncola. Other brothers who came later behaved in the same way for a long time, albeit with less austerity" (FF 1553).

At that time, the type of asceticism and spirituality practised was expressed in a rigorous way of life, but Francis always seasoned it with the salt of wisdom regarding his community.

Clare herself, a woman enclosed in the secret of God, lived in San Damiano "as a pilgrim and stranger in this world" (Reg. c. VIII,1), in a vigil abandoned to her Spouse, whom she awaited with diligent living.

Hers was an opening to a Presence that intoxicates the poor and humble heart with joy, in a prayer that is love 'in the secret of the Father'.

Chiara's life was lived in joyful penance and expectation, following the Gospel, in extreme poverty and Christian fraternity.

Like Francis, she became a trusted and prudent servant, placed at the head by the Lord to give food at the proper time (cf. Mt 24:45).

«Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming» (Mt 24:42)

First advent Sunday A  (Mt 24:37-44)

The Gospel of the day insists: «be on your guard» and «stay awake, praying».

The Poor Man of Assisi, like the women of St Damian's, lived their existential parable in constant vigil and prayer, careful not to fall into lukewarmness.

In the Franciscan Sources there are episodes that eloquently underline these Gospel coordinates.

In Francis' Letters we find exhortations to the friars never to neglect prayer, the breath of the soul:

"Let us raise our praise and prayers to Him day and night, saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, for we must pray always without ceasing" (FF 188).

But there is a striking episode involving the Poverello:

"The Saint once came with his companion to a church far from the town.

Wishing to pray alone, he told his companion [...] Left alone, he addressed long and very devout prayers to God, and at the end he looked around to see where he could lay his head down to sleep.

But immediately troubled in spirit, he began to feel oppressed by fear and tedium and to tremble all over. He clearly felt that the devil was directing his attacks against him [...] He immediately got up and went outside, made the sign of the cross, and exclaimed:

'By Almighty God, I command you, demons, to pour out upon my body all that is in your power.

I will gladly endure it, for I have no worse enemy than my own body: thus you will do justice to my adversary and inflict punishment on him in my stead."

Those who had gathered to terrify his soul, encountering a spirit more ready than ever, even if in weak flesh, immediately fled in confusion and shame" (FF 707).

And St. Clare, in San Damiano, together with the sisters whom the Lord had given her, lived always attentive and vigilant in prayer:

"She used to wake the young girls for Matins, gently rousing them with gestures, and inviting them to praise God.

Often, while they were still asleep, she would light the lamps; often she herself would ring the bell.

There was no place in her monastery for lukewarmness, no place for sloth where laziness was shaken by a pungent impulse to pray and serve the Lord" (FF 3200).

Therefore: «be awake, praying»  (Lk 21:36)

Saturday 34th week in Ordinary Time  (Lk 21:34-36)