Jesus [who also attributes great value to signs and performs them to lead one to believe, revealing his glory] reproaches the king's official with immature faith, too attached to miracles.

Francis considered it the test of his witness, seeing in it the secret of knowing how to live human affairs - once one is 'instructed' by the Passion of the Son of God.

The Minim saw in the poor and sick the Christ who took on our infirmities and healed them.

An episode from the Sources, taken from the Major Legend, tells us:

"A pilgrim, debilitated by a very acute fever, which had previously struck him, was returning from overseas on board a ship [...].

Since he was not yet perfectly free of the fever, he felt tormented by a burning thirst.

Although, by now, there was no more water, he began to shout aloud:

"Go with confidence and fetch me a drink, for blessed Francis has filled my keg with water!".

A truly wonderful thing: they found the vessel they had previously left empty filled with water" (FF 1284).

One day the father said to a friar who had despised a poor and sick man:

"Shall I tell you how you have sinned against him, or rather against Christ?

Behold: when you see a poor man, you must consider him in whose name he comes, that is, Christ, who became man to take our poverty and infirmity. In the poverty and infirmity of this beggar we must lovingly discern the poverty and infirmity of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he bore in his body for the salvation of the human race' (FF 1645).

The Poverello also healed many people afflicted with fever and various ills,

but emphasised what he saw beyond the albeit important sign.

He always called his brothers to a solid, granitic faith.

He spoke to them of that, expressing it in a discipleship adhesion that went beyond the immediate and rested on union with Christ.

We well understand the prayer he uttered before the Crucifix of San Damiano, in which, addressing God, he said:

"dame fede dricta" [give me certain faith] (FF 276).

The Word ruminated and lived by the Poverello increased day by day our trust in the Lord, who has plans for us of Peace and not of misfortune.

Clare too, abandoned to Christ, healed a sister with the sign of the cross.

Not the signs, but the Sign changes the life, the history of every creature.

"Another of the sisters, named Amata, had been in bed suffering from dropsy for thirteen months and had a fever, a cough and sickness on one side.

On her Donna Chiara, moved by pity, resorted to that noble system of her medical art.

She marked her with the cross in the name of her Christ and immediately restored her to full health" (FF 3223).

This is the faith that sinks into the incarnate Word and transforms the path, rests on Christ who died and rose again for all, and is a sure beacon in the night.

«Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe» (Jn 4:48)

Monday 4th wk. in Lent  (Jn 4:43-54)

In his young life, Francis had encountered the paternal and maternal compassion of the Lord.

After a life spent in cheerful and somewhat dissolute brigades, he was thunderstruck by the Father of Mercies or, as he called him, the Great Helmsman.

Touched by Grace, after his evident change of mentality, before the Crucifix of San Damiano his vocation-mission was revealed to him.

He renounced everything, even his earthly father, to be free to go where the Father in heaven sent him.

The waste of his youthful years translated him into boundless generosity towards lepers and the poor.

The Blessing Embrace of the Almighty had imprinted him with a more solid and precious human and spiritual character.

All his life he wept for his sins, thinking of the Passion of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for all his lost children.

In the Sources ('Vita seconda' by his biographer Celano) we find a moving passage:

"Once he heard that a sick friar had a desire to eat some grapes. He accompanied him to a vineyard and, sitting down under a vine, to infuse him with courage, he himself began to eat first' (FF 762).

Mercy for the misfortunes of others is the Franciscan foundation of the spiritual journey.

And again:

"He used to say that it is the duty of the superior, a father and not a tyrant, to prevent the occasion of guilt and not to allow those to fall who would then find it difficult to get up again, once they have fallen.

Oh, how worthy of compassion is our foolishness!

Not only do we not lift or support the weak, but we sometimes push them to fall.

We judge it of no importance to take away from the Supreme Shepherd a sheep, for whom on the Cross he uttered a loud cry with tears.

But quite differently didst thou, holy father, prefer to amend the errant and not to lose them!

[...] the oil and the wine, the rod and the staff, the zeal and the indulgence, the burning and the anointing, the prison and the womb, everything has its time.

All these things require the God of vengeance and the Father of mercies: but he prefers mercy to sacrifice' (FF 763).

Clare herself, a loving mother, had received a generous heart full of compassion, especially towards her needy sisters.

The Sources, through the Rule, attest that as the leader of the community, the First Plant of Francis did not allow herself to be imprisoned by the law, but unmistakable Charity reigned over all.

We read in fact:

"[The abbess] console the afflicted. May she still be the last refuge of the afflicted so that, should the remedies of health be lacking in her, the disease of despair may not prevail in the sick" (FF 2778).

Francis and Clare, transformed by the Father's mercy, treasured the gift they had received and poured it out freely to all creatures. Never caged by the immovability of the codes, they were witnesses of that singular welcome that recovers those who have erred and reintroduces them into the new life of the risen.

"...Where there is mercy and discretion,

there is neither superfluity nor harshness" (FF 177).

«While he was still a long way off, his father saw him, had compassion, and ran to his neck and kissed him wide open» (Lk 15:20)

Sunday 4th in Lent (C)  (Lk 15:1-3.11-32)

In the parable of the Pharisee and publican, Jesus evangelises those who presumed to be righteous, despising others.

Francis always felt himself to be nothing before God, sinking into his humility like the seed in the earth.

He feared pride like the plague and detested it deeply.

To appear, to show off, to surpass, were verbs with which he never wanted to have any connection: he abhorred them.

We read in Celano's Vita prima:

"One day, full of admiration for the Lord's mercy in all the benefits bestowed on him, he wished to know [...] what would become of his life and that of his brothers.

To this end he withdrew, as he often did, to a suitable place for prayer.

There he remained for a long time, invoking with fear and trembling the Ruler of all the earth, thinking back with bitterness on the years that had passed badly and repeating:

"O God, be merciful to me a sinner!" (FF 363).

He feared all forms of boasting and ostentation of works; he abhorred feeling good and all kinds of pride.

In the Regola bollata (1223) to his brothers he said:

"I admonish, then, and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that the brothers beware of all pride, vainglory, envy, avarice, cares and cares of this world, of detraction and murmuring" (FF 103).

In the Rule of Clare, in paragraph 2809 of the Sources, we find the same statement - as if to highlight the same concern: to keep a distance from all forms of vainglory.

Francis (and Clare too) perceived himself to be a great sinner, like the publican in the Gospel, who dared not even look up to heaven.

His humility and awareness of his own penury led him to assume a very low profile, without glorying in anything, neither before God nor before men.

Indeed, in his Admonitions, we read:

"Blessed is that servant who does not glory in the good that the Lord says and works through him, more in the good that he says and works through another. Blessed is the man who wants to receive from his neighbour more than he wants to give of himself to the Lord God" (FF 166).

And again:

"By this sign one can recognise the servant of God, if he has the Spirit of the Lord: if, when the Lord accomplishes something good through him, his 'flesh' does not take pride in it - since 'flesh' is always contrary to all good - but rather still considers himself vile in his own eyes and esteems himself smaller than all other men" (FF 161).

«O God, be gracious to me a sinner [...] for whoever lifts himself up will be brought low, but whoever lowers himself will be lifted up» (Lk 18:13-14)

Saturday 3rd wk. in Lent  (Lk 18:9-14)

To the scribes who ask what is the greatest commandment Jesus answers in a disconcerting way: Listen! To love God and neighbour with all one's self is worth more than a thousand sacrifices!

To the scribe, who had understood all this, Jesus points out that he is not far from the Kingdom of God.

The Poor Assisian had clear ideas about the priorities to be given on the spiritual path.

For him, love for God with every fibre of his being, and for his neighbour, was a sweet truth carved into his heart in letters of fire.

In this regard, we are assisted by the Sources, rich in episodes from his life.

"The soul was all thirsty for its Christ and offered itself entirely to Him in body and spirit [...].

She was always looking for a secluded place, where she could be united not only with her spirit, but with her individual limbs, to her God.

And if he suddenly felt visited by the Lord, so as not to be without a cell, he made himself a small one with his cloak.

And if at times he was without it, he would cover his face with his sleeve, so as not to reveal the hidden manna [...].

Often, without moving his lips, he would meditate for a long time within himself and, concentrating the outward powers within, he would lift up his spirit to heaven.

In this way he directed his whole mind and affection to that one thing he asked of God: he was not so much a praying man as he himself was transformed into a living prayer' (FF 681-682).

Also, from the very beginning of his conversion, love for his brothers, compassion for their sufferings and needs, were the guiding motif of his actions.

"He took much money with him and went to the lepers' hospice; he gathered them together and distributed alms to each one, kissing their hands.

On his return, the contact that had previously been repugnant to him, that is, seeing and touching lepers, was truly transformed into sweetness [...] by the grace of God he became a companion and friend of the lepers so that, as he says in his Testament, he stood among them and humbly served them" (FF 1408).

Clare, a faithful disciple of Francis, did the same within the Damianite walls, always ready to serve lovingly the sisters of her community and those who knocked at the Monastery door.

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

"Very often she washed the feet of the servants who returned from outside and, washing them, she kissed them" (FF 3182).

Loving the Lord with all one's strength and one's neighbour as oneself is worth more than holocausts; the two Assisian giants had understood this well, testifying it to all.

«And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your life and with all your mind and with all your strength [...] You shall love your neighbour as yourself» (Mk 12:30-31)

Friday, 3rd wk. in Lent  (Mk 12,28b-34)

In this passage from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus casts out a demon from a mute man who, freed, begins to speak. Immediately some accuse him of doing this in the name of the prince of demons. But Jesus testifies that he acts through the Finger of God, by God.

Like Jesus, Francis had temptations and was greatly tried by the devil.

But the Finger of God, the Holy Spirit, won every battle in him, extending the Kingdom of Heaven into hearts.

Like Francis, Clare also encountered such trials from which, by the Grace of God, she always emerged unscathed, because she was not divided, but totally united with Christ.

The Sources are eloquent bearers of great existential truth. Let us look at what they tell us in this regard.

"In those places he had to fight hand to hand with the devil, who confronted him in order to frighten him not only with interior temptations, but also exteriorly with clashes and ruin.

But Francis, as a very strong soldier of Christ, knowing full well that his Lord could do everything everywhere, did not let himself be frightened at all, but repeated in his heart:

"You cannot, O evil one, unleash the weapons of your malice against me in these places any more than you would do to me if we were in the crowd" (FF 446).

And a friar, who had long been harassed by the assaults of the devil and wept at the feet of Francis, was delivered by him:

"The Father felt pity for him, and realised that he was tormented by malignant instigations:

"I command you, O demons," he exclaimed, "by the virtue of God, do not torment my brother any more from now on, as you have dared so far.

Immediately that gloomy darkness dissipated, the friar rose free and felt no more torment, as if he had always been free of it" (FF 697).

Clare was also attacked several times by the enemy.

"While she was once weeping, in the middle of the night, the angel of darkness appeared to her in the form of a black child, and thus admonished her: Do not weep so much, for you will go blind!

But, she answered him at once: 'He shall not be blind who will see God,' and he turned away in confusion" (FF 3198).

And in her first letter to her spiritual daughter, Agnes of Bohemia, Clare herself expresses it this way:

"The man covered with clothes cannot pretend to wrestle with an unclothed man, for he who offers a grapple to his adversary is sooner thrown to the ground" (FF 1867).

The servants of God, in their simplicity, have clear ideas, because they are guided by the Finger of God - and they do not give up the authentic Vocation.

«But if by the Finger of God I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come for you» (Lk 11:20)

Thursday 3rd wk. in Lent  (Lk 11:14-23)

In the Gospel passage proposed today, Jesus proclaims that he came to give full fulfilment to the Law.

So not to demolish or transgress the Word, but to observe it by loving.

Love is the true fulfilment of the Law of the Lord, which is perfect and refreshes the soul.

Francis understood this well by living and teaching his fraternity to do the same.

The Sources provide, through various pieces, precious examples of life. In the Letter to the Rulers of Peoples:

"I beseech you [...] with all the reverence of which I am capable, not to forget the Lord, absorbed as you are by the cares and cares of this world, and not to deviate from his commandments, for all who forget the Lord and deviate from his commandments are cursed and will be forgotten by him" (FF 211).

At the same time, the Poverello, with that balance and elasticity that distinguished him, emphasised:

"And whenever necessity arises, let all the brothers, wherever they may be, be allowed to take all the food that men can eat, just as the Lord says of David, who ate the loaves of the offering that were not allowed to be eaten except by priests [...] Similarly, in times of manifest necessity, let all the brothers provide for their necessities as the Lord will give them grace, since necessity has no law" (FF 33).

According to Francis' thought, what harms love is detraction. In fact, in the Major Legend, we read:

"The vice of detraction, the radical enemy of piety and grace, horrified him like the bite of the serpent and like the most harmful pestilence [...].

'The wickedness of detractors,' she said, 'is so much greater than that of thieves, the greater the force with which the law of Christ, which finds its fulfilment in love, obliges us to desire the salvation of souls more than that of bodies'" (FF 1141).

Clare herself, in the Rule, warns:

"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).

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

Love was the Rule of the brothers and the Poor Ladies of San Damiano: "[...] and so, carrying the yoke of mutual charity, with ease we will fulfil the law of Christ. Amen." (FF 2918 - Letter to Ermentrude of Bruges).

«Do not think that I have come to tear down the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to demolish, but to fulfil» (Mt 5:17)

Wednesday 3rd wk. in Lent  (Mt 5,17-19)

The Annunciation illustrates the art of listening in Mary, visited by the Angel Gabriel. She accepts the Mystery but asks questions of meaning, using her intelligence, in humility and dignity.

After their conversion, Francis and Clare always sought God's will by looking to Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, the one who had found favour with the Almighty by becoming the Mother of Jesus.

From the very beginning of his vocation-mission, Francis paid special and devoted attention to the Virgin.

The Sources make us aware of the extraordinary love for Her, expressed in a hieratic antiphon of the Poverello:

"Holy Virgin Mary, there is none like thee, born in the world among women, daughter and handmaid of the most high King the heavenly Father, mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ, spouse of the Holy Spirit; pray for us with Saint Michael the Archangel and with all the powers of heaven and with all the saints, to thy most holy beloved Son, Lord and Master" (FF 281).

Francis "surrounded the Mother of Jesus with an unspeakable love, because she had made the Lord of majesty our brother" (FF 786).

But Clare herself, who was considered «altera Maria», when she arrived at the Portiuncula, where Francis and the brothers were waiting for her because of her total dedication to God:

"After she had taken the insignia of holy penance before the altar of St. Mary and, almost before the nuptial thalamus of the Virgin, the humble handmaid was married to Christ, immediately St. Francis led her to the church of St. Paul*, with the intention that she should remain there until the Will of the Most High disposed otherwise" (FF 3172).

Like Mary, Clare pronounced her 'Fiat' to the will of the Father:

«Behold the handmaid of the Lord: let it be to me according to thy word» (Lk 1:38).

Oh how they both loved God's will!

Forgetful of themselves they adhered to the divine plan for them, each in her own time, each in her own groove.

In the Sources again we find:

"In the same way, then, that the glorious Virgin of virgins bore Christ materially in her womb, you too, following his vestiges, especially his humility and poverty, can always, without any doubt, bear him spiritually in your chaste and virginal body. And thou shalt contain in thee Him by whom thou and all creatures are contained, and shalt possess that which is most lasting and final good even in comparison with all the other transient possessions of this world" (FF 2893 - Letter Three to Blessed Agnes of Prague).

Francis and Clare, following the example of the humble Mary of Nazareth, loved God's will for them in a sunny and lasting way.

In fact, in a concluding prayer of Francis, we contemplate his constant yearning to seek her and follow her with abandonment.

"Almighty, everlasting, just and merciful God, grant us wretches to do, by the power of your love, what we know that you want, and to always want what pleases you, so that, inwardly purified, inwardly enlightened and kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit may we follow in the footsteps of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and, with the help of your grace alone, come to you, O Most High, who in perfect Trinity and simple Unity live and reign glorious, Almighty God for ever and ever. Amen" (FF 234 - Letter to the whole Order).

*The church and Benedictine monastery of San Paolo delle Abbadesse, where Clare was led after her consecration in the Portiuncula, stood near Bastìa Umbra, 4 km from Assisi.

Annunciation of the Lord  (Lk 1:26-38)

In the Lk passage, the unbelief and mistrust of the people of Nazareth towards Jesus emerges, the provocations put forward and the Lord's replies emphasising the deaf acceptance of his Message.

Francis of Assisi admired the ordinary holiness of anyone, but especially of his brethren.

He often repeated that the preacher who seeks his own glory in preaching rather than the salvation of souls is to be pitied.

To them would be preferable one who was simple and without a 'tongue', but capable of pushing others to the good.

He rejoiced greatly when he knew that his brothers scattered around the world, with the daily holiness of their lives, induced many to return to the right path.

One day, he went to a church in the hamlet of Assisi and started cleaning.

There he learned that a certain John, a simple man, was ploughing a field of his own near the church.

"And immediately he went to him and found him intent on cleaning. He said to him, 'Brother, give the broom to me, I want to help you.'

He took the broom and finished cleaning.

Then they sat down, and John said: "For a long time I have intended to serve God, especially since I heard about you and your brothers. But I did not know how to join you. But since it pleased the Lord that I should see you, I am willing to do whatever pleases you".

Observing his fervour, Francis rejoiced in the Lord, also because he then had few brothers and because this man with his simplicity gave him confidence that he would be a good religious".

Francis invited him to give the goods he possessed to the poor, as the Gospel says.

John, the simple man, did not let himself be told twice and obeyed the Poverello in everything, selling an ox to give to the poor.

The Sources continue:

"Francis, who always liked pure and holy simplicity in himself and in others, had great affection for John.

And as soon as he had dressed him in the habit, he took him as his companion.

He was so simple that he considered himself obliged to do whatever Francis did.

When the saint was praying in a church or in a secluded place, John wanted to see him and stare at him, to repeat all his gestures: if Francis bent his knees, if he raised his joined hands to heaven, if he spat or coughed, he would do the same.

Although enchanted by such simplicity of heart, Francis began to rebuke him. But John replied: "Brother, I have promised to do all that you do; and therefore I intend to do all that you do".

The Saint was amazed and delighted at such purity and simplicity. John made such progress in all the virtues that Francis and the others were amazed at his holiness.

And not long afterwards he died in this holy perfection. Francis, filled with joy inwardly and outwardly, told the brothers about his life, and called him "Saint John" instead of "Brother John" (FF 1566).

The onlookers marvelled at the holiness manifested in the ordinary of one who lived the Word concretely and asked: «Is not this the Son of Joseph?» (Lk 4:22).

The simple and transparent life bewilders those who have abstruse ideas of holiness; they believe it to be linked to sumptuous descent, forgetting that God loves and proclaims in the ordinary.

«No prophet is accepted in his own country» (Lk 4:24)

Monday 3rd wk. in Lent  (Lk 4,24-30)