In today's Gospel passage, to the Pharisees who tried to catch him at fault, regarding the repudiation of his own woman, Jesus responds by pointing out the hardness of their hearts.

It was because of this that Moses had to draw up the act of repudiation; but in creation, in the beginning, perfect communion was experienced, in true harmony.

Francis, having made a choice of total dedication to God - and following his example, so did Clare - saw marriage as the place where the Gospel sanctifies, bearing witness to beautiful unity, embodying his own original calling.

In the Sources we find an emblematic episode:

"A devout noblewoman went to the Saint to tell him of her sorrow and ask for a remedy: she had a very bad husband, who made her suffer by hindering her in the service of Christ" (FF 1193).

The woman asked Francis to pray for him, that God would touch his heart.

The saint listened to her and then answered: "Go in peace and be assured that in a short time you will have from your man the consolation you desire.

And he added: 'You will tell him from God and from me that now is the time for mercy; then, for justice'" (FF 1193).

The woman went home and reported those words to her husband. The Holy Spirit descended upon him and made him a new, meek man.

He said: "Madam, let us serve the Lord and save our souls" (FF 1193).

They led a holy and industrious life, returning to God on the same day.

This couple lived according to the divine will, making the project of the origins their own, in its specific calling.

They preferred to dwell in love, as the Lord had intended, in that «But from the beginning of creation...» (Mk 10:6).

Two creatures dwelling in a qualified and qualifying project, a work of art of the Eternal, to which Francis, with his prophetic spirit, paid attention in order to renew and give vigour to withered limbs, imprinting piety in hardened hearts.

«Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote this rule for you» (Mk 10:5).

Friday, 7th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 10,1-12)

"And whoever scandalises one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea" (Mk 9:42).

Thus Jesus pronounces in today's Gospel: woe to those who cause scandals.

Francis and Clare feared them greatly, even though they were people who had salt in themselves.

There are several passages that accurately inform us in specifics.

In the Major Legend:

"[...] those who violated the holy Religion by wicked works incurred its condemnation and its dreadful curse:

"From you, O Lord most holy, and from all the heavenly curia, and from me also, your little one, be cursed those who, by their bad example, disrupt and destroy all that, through the holy brothers of this Order, you have built and do not cease to build".

Often, thinking of the scandal given to the little ones, he felt an immense sadness, to the point of believing that he would have died of grief, if the divine goodness had not sustained him with its comfort" (FF1139).

And in the Second Life of Celano:

"The goodest brothers," he said, "are confounded by the works of the evil brothers, and even though they personally have not sinned, they are judged by the example of the wicked.

For this very reason they pierce me like a sharp sword and run it through my bowels all day long."

It was for this reason above all that he shrank from the company of the brothers, lest he should happen to hear something unpleasant about one or the other that would renew his sorrow" (FF 741).

Clare, then, in the Rule, addressed to the sisters, says:

"Let them not dare to bring back to the monastery the gossip of the world. And of what is said or done inside, they are bound not to report anything outside the monastery that might cause scandal [...]" (FF 2805).

And again:

"I admonish then, and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that the sisters beware of all pride, vainglory, envy, avarice, care and solicitude of this world, of detraction and murmuring, of discord and division" (FF 2809).

And she added:

"On the contrary, let them always be solicitous to preserve reciprocally the unity of mutual charity, which is the bond of perfection" (FF 2810).

«Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another» (Mk 9:50).

Thursday 7th wk. in O.T. (Mk 9,41-50)

Jesus advises his disciples not to consider anyone an enemy, even more so when acting in his Name.

Francis always thought and acted in the name of the Lord. Everything was done starting from Him.

The Sources are shot through with acting 'in the name of the Lord'.

We read:

"When he had chosen the group he intended to take with him, Francis said to those brothers:

"In the name of the Lord, go two by two through the streets, with dignity [...]" (FF 1636).

But he also performed healings in the name of the Lord Jesus wherever he was.

The Sources attest:

"The man of God Francis had accustomed himself to seek not his own interest, but above all what he saw necessary for the salvation of his neighbour" (FF 444).

In fact, passing through the diocese of Narni, at Sangemini he was hosted, with three brothers, by a man of great virtue, whose wife was possessed by a demon.

This pious person turned devoutly to the Saint, begging him to heal her.

Francis consented since it was a matter of the glory of God and the good of many.

Calling his brothers he said to them:

"Let us pray to the Lord, brothers, for this woman, that she may be freed from the yoke of the devil, to the praise of God. Let us be one on each side, lest the evil one deceive us and escape us" (FF 441).

After praying, with the virtue of the Holy Spirit, he approached the ossessa, who was in convulsions and screaming.

The saint said: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, by obedience I command you, O demon, to leave this creature and dare not torment it any more!"

He had scarcely uttered those words, that the devil departed very quickly with great uproar and fury, so much so that the holy father, by the sudden recovery of the woman and the prompt obedience of the enemy, thought he had deluded himself, and hastened away from him with blushes, this working of Divine Providence, to prevent him from falling into pride" (FF 441).

The friend of God cast out demons in the Name of the Lord Jesus!

Francis and his brothers worked in unity with God, with an exemplary life and entrusted to the Spirit of the Lord and his holy operation.

Wednesday, 7th wk. in O.T. (Mk 9:38-40)

Today's Gospel recounts Jesus' second proclamation of his death and resurrection, combined with the ability to know how to welcome the advancing Kingdom through the little ones.

He advises that the more one wants to be 'first', the more one must be a servant.

Small in stature, but truly endowed with that littleness that makes children in the heart, in his life Francis was minor in interiority

and knew how to recognise the bearers of the Gospel.

He was always concerned to welcome those who in their simplicity came to him in the name of Jesus.

The authority of the Sources informs us:

"Often thinking of the scandal given to the little ones, he felt an immense sadness, to the point of believing that he would have died of grief, if the divine goodness had not sustained him with its comfort" (FF 1139).

Francis himself described himself as "I, small and simple, inexperienced in speaking, have received the grace of prayer more than that of preaching [...]".

Again: "Nothing else did he possess, the Poor Man of Christ, but two pennies that he could bestow with liberal charity: his body and soul" (FF 1167).

And to his brothers he taught and recommended littleness in every happy or sad affair:

"Scarcity itself was for them abundance and superabundance, while, according to the advice of the Wise Man, they took pleasure not in greatness, but in the smallest things" (FF 1075).

The same simplicity of children with which he loved to receive the Word of God, he transferred it between the lines of life.

This episode helps us to understand the childlike heart he had received from God.

"At St. Mary of the Portiuncula they brought the man of God a sheep as a gift, which he accepted with gratitude, because he loved the innocence and simplicity that, by its nature, the sheep shows.

The man of God admonished the sheep to praise God and not to annoy the brothers at all. The sheep, in turn, as if feeling the pity of the man of God, put his teachings into practice with great care.

When she heard the friars singing in the choir, she would also enter the church and, without the need of a teacher, she would bend her knees, uttering tender bleats before the altar of the Virgin, Mother of the Lamb, as if impatient to greet her" (FF 1148).

By becoming a child at heart, Francis welcomed in simplicity the Kingdom that was coming to him, attesting in his concrete life the infancy of the Spirit that informed him.

«Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but him who sent me» (Mk 9:37)

Tuesday, 7th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 9,30-37)

Jesus heals an epileptic boy by corroborating the synergy of Faith and Prayer.

The Poor Man of Assisi knew from direct experience that demons fear prayer done with faith and humility.

They know, in fact, that it transcends the clouds and is pleasing to God, increasing their trusting surrender to Him.

The Franciscan Sources are a well of experience and spiritual wealth in this regard.

In them we read: "There they were continually intent on praying to God, applying themselves to the exercise of prayer and devotion more with the mind than with the voice, for the reason that they did not yet have liturgical books [...].

But instead of those books, they read uninterruptedly, leafing through it and leafing over it again the book of the cross of Christ, day and night, instructed by the example and the word of the Father, who continually gave them the discourse of the cross of Christ" (FF 1067).

It is clear that on this granite foundation was wedged a great faith, which made possible healings of all kinds, demonic deliverances, because they were fertilised by so much Grace.

The Lord acted through Francis and his friars, working prodigious things:

"In the village of Sangemini the servant of God received hospitality from a devout man, whose wife was tormented by the devil. After praying, he commanded, by virtue of obedience, the demon to leave the woman and, with the help of divine power, forced him to flee immediately: a clear demonstration that the obstinacy of demons cannot resist the virtue of holy obedience [...]" (FF 1219).

«And he said to them, 'This kind of demons cannot come out with anything except prayer» (Mk 9:29).

Since Francis knew that everything is possible for those who believe, he incessantly repeated to his brothers and in his writings:

"All the small and the great [...] and all men from every part of the earth, who are and who will be, all of us Friars Minor, useless servants, humbly pray and entreat that we persevere in the true faith and penance, for no one can be saved in any other way" (FF 68).

"Let us all love with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our ability and fortitude, with all our intelligence, with all our strength [...] the Lord God [...] who created us, redeemed us and will save us through his mercy alone" (FF 69).

The Poor Man often prayed thus before the Crucifix:

«Most glorious God,

illuminate the darkness of my heart.

And give me sure faith

certain hope and perfect charity

wisdom and knowledge,

Lord,

that I may do thy holy and true commandment.

Amen».

(FF 276).

Monday 7th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 9,14-29)

In today's Gospel, Jesus calls those who listen to love those who behave as enemies.

«Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you» (Lk 6:27).

Francis loved those who mocked and judged him - and invited his brothers to do likewise.

In the Sources:

"Deeply humble and mature in charity, each nurtured for his brother the sentiments one has towards a father and lord [...] They were careful not to fall victim to unbridled desires. They were implacable judges of themselves, concerned not to harm one another in any way" (FF 1448).

"If it sometimes happened that a brother missed a word that could hurt, the remorse of conscience would not let him rest until he confessed his mistake, humbly throwing himself to the ground and begging the offended person to put his foot over his mouth.

And in the Letter to the Faithful, Francis, speaking of enemies, expresses himself thus:

"We must love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. We must also deny ourselves and place our bodies under the yoke of service and holy obedience, as each one has promised to the Lord" (FF196).

The holy father, if he was misjudged by men or his brothers were singled out, reminded himself and them that therein lies the perfect joy of one who is poor in heart.

The Sources illustrate:

"There were therefore conflicting opinions about these evangelical men. Some regarded them as madmen and fixated; others maintained that their talk came from anything but dementia.

One of the hearers remarked: 'These here are either united to God in an extraordinarily perfect way, or they are true fools, for they lead a desperate life: they eat almost nothing, they walk barefoot, they have miserable clothes'" (FF 1437).

Furthermore, Francis abhorred detraction like a plague.

In fact we read:

"The vice of detraction, the radical enemy of piety and Grace, he abhorred it as the bite of the serpent and as the most harmful pestilence.

He affirmed that the most pitiful God has it in abomination, because the detractor feeds on the blood of souls, after having killed them with the sword of the tongue [...].

Sometimes he judged that one who had stripped his brother of his good name should be stripped of his habit, and he did not want him to raise his eyes to God, if he had not first procured by all means to return what he had taken.

"The wickedness of detractors," he said, "is all the greater than that of thieves, the greater the force with which the law of Christ, which finds its fulfilment in love, compels us to desire the salvation of souls more than that of bodies.

«...for with the measure with which you measure, it will be measured back to you» (Lk 6:38).

7th Sunday in O.T. (C)  (Lk 6,27-38)

The Lord used Francis to renew his Church, placing him as the foundation stone of the Order in the ecclesial community, just as he used Peter as the point around which to build its visible Unity.

Jesus also entrusted the Poverello with the responsibility of restoring a spiritually broken Church.

Francis began by materially repairing various churches; then through mission he understood what God was asking of him.

In fact in the Sources we find:

"Now well rooted in the humility of Christ, Francis recalls the obedience of restoring the church of San Damiano, which the Cross imposed on him.

Truly obedient, he returns to Assisi, to carry out the order of the divine voice, if only by begging.

Having laid aside all shame for love of the poor Crucified One, he went to seek alms from those with whom he had once lived in abundance, and subjected his weak body, prostrated by fasting, to the weight of stones.

He thus succeeded in restoring the little church, with God's help and the devoted assistance of his fellow citizens.

Then, so as not to let his body grow numb in idleness, after his fatigue, he went on to repair, in a place a little further from the city, the church dedicated to St Peter, driven by the special devotion he nourished, together with pure and sincere faith, towards the Prince of the Apostles" (FF 1047).

Having repaired to this church, he went to the Porziuncola [St Mary of the Angels] and, seeing it so abandoned, driven by his devotion to the Queen of the world, he settled there.

The Sources continue: "This is the place where St Francis, guided by divine revelation, began the Order of Friars Minor. Precisely by the disposition of divine Providence, which directed him in all things, the servant of Christ had materially restored three churches, before founding the Order and devoting himself to the preaching of the Gospel.

In this way he had not only achieved a harmonious spiritual progress, rising from the sensible to the intelligible, from the lesser to the greater, but had also, by a tangible work, symbolically shown and prefigured his future mission.

For, just as the three buildings were repaired, under the leadership of this holy man the Church would be renewed in three ways: according to the form of life, according to the Rule and according to the doctrine of Christ proposed by him - and a threefold militia of the elect would celebrate its triumphs" (FF 1050).

22 February, Chair of St Peter (Mt 16:13-19)

Jesus told the crowd and his disciples: «If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me [...]» (Mk 8:34).

Francis, after his profound conversion, had grasped by Grace the fuller meaning of self-denial.

Scanning the Sources, the episodes contained therein highlight this well.

At the beginning of the Franciscan parable, the Poverello encouraged his brothers to persevere, renouncing all that was contrary to the Word of God.

"At the same time, another worthy person entered the Religion, and so the blessed sons of the man of God reached the number of seven.

Then the pious father gathered all his children around him and spoke at length with them about the Kingdom of God, about the contempt of the world, about the necessity of denying one's own will and mortifying one's own body, and he revealed his intention of sending them to the four parts of the world.

By now the holy father, like the barren, simple and poor woman of the Bible, had given birth seven times, and wished to give birth to Christ to all the people of the faithful, calling them to weeping and penance" (FF 1058).

Francis had a watchful eye on the ability to deny those who wanted to enter into that evangelical fraternity.

In fact, in the Franciscan documents, we find a very significant episode.

The Minim of Assisi, travelling through the province of the Marches to preach, met a man who asked him to join his community.

The father addressed him thus:

"Brother, if you want to enter our family, it is necessary first that you distribute all your goods to the poor, according to the perfection advised by the holy Gospel, and then that you renounce your will completely" (FF 1567).

At these words the man inspired by carnal and not spiritual love, gave all his goods to his kinsmen.

Then he went to Francis reporting that he had deprived himself of all he had.

But the father asked him how he had done it.

He replied: "Brother, I have given all mine to some relatives who were in need" (FF 1567).

The passage continues: 'Francis knew, through the Holy Spirit, that this was a carnal man, and immediately took him away:

"Go your way, brother Fly, for you have given yours to your kinsmen, and now you would like to live on alms among the brethren".

And he went his way, refusing to distribute his possessions to other poor people (FF 1567).

Friday, 6th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 8,34-9,1)