In this octave of Christmas, the first Christian sanctified by persecution is the young Stephen.

The liturgy proposes a passage from Matthew in this regard.

In it, Jesus invites us to be courageous witnesses, knowing that, brought before the tribunals of men, the Spirit will speak in every believer devoted to the Gospel.

Francis of Assisi experienced in his life, renewed by Christ, the sting of persecution, extended to his brothers in the name of the Word lived to the letter.

In the Sources we read:

"People of high and modest condition mocked and maligned them, even to the point of stripping them of their miserable garments.

The servants of God remained naked because, according to the evangelical ideal, they wore nothing but that one piece of clothing, and moreover they did not ask for the restitution of what was taken from them [...].

Some threw mud on them; others put dice in their hands, inviting them to play; still others, grabbing them from behind by the hood, dragged them on their backs.

These and other such wickednesses were inflicted on them, because they were thought to be such mean beings, that they could be scrambled at will.

Together with hunger and thirst, with cold and nakedness, they endured tribulations and sufferings of all kinds.

But they bore it all with imperturbable patience, according to the admonition of Francis, without allowing themselves to be brought down by sadness or wounded by resentment, without speaking ill of those who afflicted them.

On the contrary, as perfect evangelical men, placed in the occasion of making great spiritual gains, they exulted in the Lord, considering it a happiness to be exposed to such trials and hardships; and, faithful to the Word of the Gospel, they prayed solicitously and fervently for their persecutors" (FF 1444).

Francis, like Stephen, considered persecution to be the sister of poverty and the virtuous crowning of a life dedicated to God without sparing.

Regarding it we find in the Sources, in the Legend of St Clare, how relatives rushed to the monastery to bring home Agnes, Clare's sister, intent on following her on this new journey of faith.

"Hurry up and come home with us!"

But she replies that she does not want to be separated from her sister Clare: then a cruel-hearted knight rushes at her and, sparing no punches and kicks, tries to drag her away by the hair, while the others push and lift her by the arms.

At this the young girl cries out, as she is torn from the hand of the Lord, as if by lions:

"Help me, dearest sister, and do not let me be taken away from Christ the Lord!" "(FF 3205).

But Clare's powerful prayer and her determination got the better of the bullies.

"While they turned away in bitterness at the failure of the undertaking, Agnes got up again joyfully and, now enjoying the cross of Christ, for whom she had fought in this first battle, she gave herself up for ever to divine service" (FF 3206).

Whoever perseveres in his evangelical journey will be saved.

"And you will be hated by all because of my name. But whoever perseveres to the end, he will be saved" (Mt 10:22).

Eighth of Christmas. St Stephen (Mt 10,17-22)

«Do not be afraid: behold, I announce to you a great joy, which will be to all the people, today [...] a Saviour has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord» (Lk 2:10).

Francis' joy was so great at the thought of the Birth of Jesus that, on that day, even the animals had to 'celebrate' such an Event:

"Francis had more devotion for the Lord's Christmas than for any other feast of the year.

Indeed, although the Lord worked our salvation on the other feasts, the Saint said that it was from the day of his birth that he undertook to save us.

And he wanted every Christian at Christmas to rejoice in the Lord and for love of him, who gave us all of himself, to be joyfully generous not only with the needy, but also with animals and birds" (FF 1669).

"Above all solemnities, he celebrated with ineffable solemnity the Christmas of the Child Jesus, and called the day on which God, made a little infant, had sucked at a human breast a feast of feasts.

He kissed with an eager heart the images of those infant limbs, and the compassion of the Child, pouring into his heart, also made him stammer words of sweetness in the manner of children" (FF 787).

Three years before his death, we owe to Francis the first original and authentic live representation of the Lord's Christmas, at Greccio (the night of 25 December 1223), with papal authorisation, and the collaboration of a faithful and pious friend.

He had told the latter to procure a small child "to see with the eyes of the body the discomforts in which he found himself for lack of things necessary to an infant, how he was laid in a crib and how he lay on the hay [...]" (FF 468).

The Sources wonderfully recount:

"And the day of gladness came, the time of rejoicing!

For the occasion many friars from various parts are summoned here; men and women arrive festive from the cottages of the region, each one bringing, according to his possibilities, candles and torches to illuminate that night, in which the Star that illuminated all days and times blazed forth splendidly in the sky.

Francis arrived at the end and saw that everything was arranged according to his desire, and he was radiant with joy.

Now the crib is set up, the hay is placed there, and the ox and donkey are introduced.

In that moving scene, evangelical simplicity shines out, poverty is praised, humility is recommended.

Greccio has become the new Bethlehem.

This night is as clear as day and sweet to men and animals!

People flock and rejoice with a joy they have never tasted before, before the new mystery.

The forest resounds with voices and the imposing cliffs echo with festive choirs.

The friars sing choice praises to the Lord, and the night seems all aflutter with joy.

The Saint stands there before the Crib, full of sighs, his spirit vibrating with compunction and ineffable joy.

Then the priest solemnly celebrates the Eucharist over the crib and he himself savours a consolation he has never tasted before.

Francis put on the diaconal vestments, for he was a deacon, and sings the holy Gospel with a sonorous voice: that strong, sweet, clear voice ravishes all in heavenly longings.

Then he speaks to the people, and in the sweetest of words he evokes the poor newborn King and the small town of Bethlehem.

Often, when he wished to name Christ Jesus, inflamed with heavenly love he called him "the Child of Bethlehem", and that name "Bethlehem" he pronounced by filling his mouth with his voice and even more with tender affection, producing a sound like bleating sheep.

And every time he said 'Child of Bethlehem' or 'Jesus', he passed his tongue over his lips, as if to taste and retain all the sweetness of those words [...].

When that solemn vigil was over, each one returned to his home full of ineffable joy" (FF 468 - 470).

[Christmas of the Lord]

"Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,/ for he has visited and redeemed his people" (Lk 1:68).

Francis, a gift from Heaven sent to prepare God's ways, after Providence led him to complete conversion, was transformed by the Spirit into a Prophet for his time and beyond.

In the Major Legend, St. Bonaventure offers us the original figure and experience of the Poor Man of Assisi.

Like John, born to point to the Lamb of God, so was the young merchant's son. Renewed by his new spiritual birth, he sang the Mystery of the Incarnation in the fibres of his own flesh.

In the Sources we read:

"The Grace of God, our Saviour, in these last times has appeared in his servant Francis, to all those who are truly humble and truly friends of holy poverty.

For while they venerate in him the superabundance of God's mercy, they are instructed by his example to radically deny ungodliness and worldly desires, to live in conformity with Christ and to yearn, with insatiable thirst and desire, for blessed hope.

On him, truly poor and contrite of heart, God rested his gaze with great condescension and goodness; not only did he lift him, a beggar, from the dust of worldly life, but he made him a champion, guide and herald of evangelical perfection and chose him as a light, for believers, so that, having become a witness to the light, he might prepare for the Lord the way of light and peace in the hearts of the faithful" (FF 1020).

"Like the morning star, appearing in the midst of the clouds, with the radiant rays of his life and teaching, he drew to the light those who lay in the shadow of death; like the rainbow shining through the bright clouds, bearing in himself the sign of the covenant with the Lord, he proclaimed to men the Gospel of peace and salvation.

Angel of true peace, he too, in imitation of the Precursor, was predestined by God to prepare the way in the desert of the highest poverty and to preach penance by example and word" (FF 1021).

"And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High/ because you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways" (Lk 1:76).

Feria proper of 24 December - Christmas Eve (Lk 1:67-79).

Today's Gospel presents us with the birth of John, the prophet of Christ, and the amazement of onlookers:

"What shall this child be? And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him" (Lk 1:66).

In the life of Francis, from his birth, a visible sign of God's predilection was manifested on him and his mother Mona Pica.

The Sources make this clear:

"In fact, she was made to share, as a privilege, a certain resemblance to the ancient Saint Elizabeth, both by the name imposed on her son and also by the prophetic spirit.

When neighbours expressed their admiration for Francis' generosity of spirit and moral integrity, she would repeat almost divinely inspired:

"What do you think he will become, this son of mine? Know, that by his merits he will become a son of God'.

In fact, this was also the opinion of others, who appreciated Francis already grown up for some of his very good inclinations.

He shunned anything that might sound offensive to anyone and, growing up with a gentle spirit, he did not appear to be a son of those who were called his parents.

Therefore the name of John is appropriate to the mission he then carried out, that of Francis to his fame, which soon spread everywhere after his full conversion to God.

Above the feast of any other saint, he held that of John the Baptist to be most solemn, whose distinguished name had imprinted in his soul a sign of arcane power.

Among those born of women there arose none greater than this, and none more perfect than this among the founders of religious orders. It is a coincidence worthy of note' (FF 583).

Feria proper of 23 December (Lk 1:57-66).

Francis of Assisi was so much in love with Mary, the Bride of the Holy Spirit and Mother of Jesus, that wherever he found himself he lifted up continual praises to her.

He carried her in his heart as the Blessed One among all women, for she had made our Brother the Lord of Majesty.

In Clare's face he always saw the reflection of her who had believed in the fulfilment of God's plan.

She always meditated on the extreme indigence of the Blessed Virgin and her Son, on how Mary had made herself one with the needs of her neighbour.

We read in the Sources what Francis said to his brothers:

"My dear brothers and sons, do not blush to go out to beg, for the Lord made himself poor for our sake in this world.

It is after the example of Him and His most holy Mother that we have chosen the way of true poverty: this is our inheritance, purchased and left by the Lord Jesus Christ to us and to all those who wish to live like Him in holy poverty" (FF 1547).

And again he reminded his brothers:

"When you see a poor person, brother, the mirror of the Lord and his poor Mother is placed before you" (FF 672).

He recalled that Mary, empty of herself, had left room for God's work in her:

"The Most High heavenly Father, through his angel Gabriel, announced this Word of the Father, so worthy [...] in the womb of the Holy and glorious Virgin Mary, and from her womb received the true flesh of our humanity and frailty" (FF 181).

Francis, God's jester, wherever he went, brought the joy of the proclamation of Christ, birthing it with holy works.

And the Legend of St Clare begins by reminding us:

"Let men therefore follow the new followers of the Incarnate Word: let women imitate Clare, the imprint of the Mother of God, the new guide of women" (FF 3153).

Clare, in fact, studied to go to the sisters bringing the joy of Christ who dwelt in her.

"The child leapt for joy" in the hearts of the sisters, who perceived their Mother as the beloved of the Most High.

4th Sunday in Advent (C)  (Lk 1:39-45)

Today's Gospel turns its gaze on Mary of Nazareth and gives us the principal expression of the Annunciation:

"Fear not, Mary, for you have found grace with God" (Lk 1:30).

Francis made himself a jester of God, but as he loved her, we might add: 'jester of the Blessed Virgin'. He saw in the divine favour poured out by God upon Mary the gift par excellence of the Giver of all good.

Clare herself, in her Spiritual Testament, addressed to her daughters, says:

"By means of these virtues, and not by our own merits, but by the sole mercy and Grace of the Giver, the Father of mercies himself, may they always pour out the perfume of their good name on those who are far off, as on those who are near" (FF 2846).

Thus highlighting how the enemy of Grace is detraction, which Mary never knew.

Grace was the travelling companion of Francis and Clare of Assisi.

We find wonderful expressions in this regard in the second letter addressed by Clare to Agnes of Prague. In various passages, they well recall the beauty of Mary of Nazareth:

"I give thanks to the Author of grace, from whom, as we believe, comes every supreme good and every perfect gift, because he has adorned you with so many recognitions of virtue and has illustrated you with the insignia of such high perfection that, having made you a diligent imitator of the Father, in whom is all perfection, you deserve to become perfect in your turn, so that his eyes find in you no sign of imperfection" (FF 2872).

Clare, 'àltera Maria', unwillingly conveys to Agnes in these few lines what she lives by Grace, offering the testimony of the Marian perfume of a handmaiden wide open to the Gift.

And Francis, on the other hand, on his path of conversion had so well understood the beneficial effects of Grace, that he put into action the same gratuitousness he received towards his brothers, especially towards those who showed the greatest need.

The Sources, in fact, narrate of a friar who in his heart pondered whether he could consider himself worthy of the Grace of heaven to those whom the Saint treated with familiarity.

Whereupon Francis, enlightened by the Spirit, addressed this friar saying:

"Let no thought disturb you, O son, for I hold you the dearest of all those who are particularly dear to me, and I gladly make you a gift of my familiarity and love".

The friar was amazed and, having become even more devout since then, not only did he grow in love towards the Saint, but by the work and Grace of the Holy Spirit he was enriched with ever greater gifts (FF 1196).

Feria proper of 20 December (Lk 1:26-38)

The Lucan passage considered in this feria of Advent is the announcement of the angel Gabriel to the priest Zechariah who was officiating in the temple: despite the advanced age of both spouses, they were to have a son named John.

But his lack of faith rendered him mute until the day of the fulfilment of that event, which also redeemed his wife Elizabeth from the infamy of the time for her barrenness.

As a new John, Francis was given to the world to announce salvation, to bring glad tidings to all.

His mother, Mona Pica, of marked interiority and openness to the new, immediately sensed that her son would be great before the Lord.

In the Franciscan Sources, his birth is presented as a new beginning of Christlikeness, spread through the folds of life.

In them we read: "The servant and friend of the Most High, Francis, was given this name by divine Providence, so that by his originality and novelty the fame of his mission might spread more easily throughout the world. His mother had called him John, when he was reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, and from a son of wrath had become a son of grace*.

A mirror of righteousness, that woman presented in her conduct, as it were, a visible sign of his virtue. In fact, she was made to share, as a privilege, a certain resemblance to the ancient Saint Elizabeth, both by the name she bestowed on her son and also by her prophetic spirit.

When neighbours expressed their admiration for Francis' generosity of spirit and moral integrity, she would repeat, almost divinely inspired:

"What do you think he will become, this son of mine? Know that by his merits he will become a son of God.

[...] Therefore, the name of John is appropriate to the mission he then carried out, that of Francis to his fame, which soon spread everywhere after his full conversion to God.

Above the feast of any other saint, he held that of John the Baptist to be most solemn, whose distinguished name had imprinted in his soul a sign of arcane power.

Among those born of women there arose none greater than this, and none more perfect than this among the founders of religious orders" (FF 583).

Francis put all his enthusiasm into understanding and realising the suggestions of the new Grace: to announce the perfection of the Gospel, preaching penance to all, with simplicity.

And since for the Poverello the voice of the smallest had the same weight as the voice of the great, indeed it is privileged, in the Spirit, because of that priority given to the smallest by the Gospel, the Lord took him at his word for his making himself the least in everything and among everyone.

"Often the Lord manifests what is best to the least" (Reg. c. IV. 18).

"And many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord" (Lk 1:14b-15a).

* Francis was baptised in the church of Santa Maria del Vescovado. The baptistery was later moved to the cathedral of San Rufino, where it still stands today.

Feria proper on 19 December (Lk 1:5-25)

The birth of Jesus narrated in Matthew's Gospel highlights not only Isaiah's prophecy but also Joseph's obedience to God's plan.

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife with you [...]" (Mt 1:20).

As the little work in the Sources tells us: "Sacrum Commercium", Francis, a righteous and fearful man, married Our Lady Poverty, with a mutual exchange of gifts and promises, with a commitment of love and fidelity summed up by one word: "Covenant".

We read:

"Thus enamoured of your beauty, the Son of the Most High Father to you alone was closely united in the world and knew you for proof most faithful in all things.

Even before He came to earth from the splendour of His homeland, Thou didst prepare for Him a worthy habitation, a throne on which to sit, and a throne in which to rest, namely, the most poor Virgin, from whom He was born to shine upon this world.

To him as soon as he was born with solicitude you ran to meet him, so that he might find in you, and not in softness, a place that would be pleasing to him.

He was laid, says the evangelist, in a manger, because there was no room for him in the inn.

In the same way, never parting from him, you always accompanied him, so that throughout his life, when he appeared on earth and lived among men, while the foxes had their dens and the birds of heaven their nests, he had nowhere to lay his head.

And later when he, who had once opened the mouth of the prophets, opened his mouth to teach, he first wanted to praise you, he first exalted you with the words: blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (FF 1977).

This is echoed by Clare of Assisi, who in one of her letters to her spiritual daughter, writes:

"If, therefore, such and so great a Lord, coming down in the Virgin's womb, wanted to appear in the world as a despicable, needy and poor man, so that men - who were very poor and destitute, hungry because of the excessive scarcity of heavenly nourishment - might become rich in Him by possessing the heavenly realms, exult and enjoy greatly, filled with enormous joy and spiritual gladness" (FF 2865).

Weekday Liturgy, 18 December (Mt 1:18-24)