In today's passage Jesus addresses His disciples and exhorts them to have faith, not to be troubled, for He goes to prepare "a place" for them.

To Thomas, who asks the way, the Lord responds by saying that He is the way, the truth and the life of the Father.

Always on his way, Francis exhorted his disciples to have faith, not to let themselves be troubled in difficult times.

He admired and extolled the faith of believers and the solid witness from wherever it came.

In the Sources there are various passages on this subject.

In the Unbiblical Rule:

"Let us therefore hold fast to the words, life, doctrine and holy Gospel of Him who deigned to pray for us to His Father and manifest to us the name of Him, saying:

"Father glorify your name [...] Make them glorious in the truth. Your word is truth [...]" (FF 62).

And Francis admired the faith of the woman Jacopa of the Septuagint*, a noble woman attached to him and to the whole fraternity.

The Sources relate:

"One day Francis summoned his companions and said:

"You know how Lady Jacopa of the Septuagint was and is very faithful and affectionate to me and to our fraternity. I believe that if you inform her of my state of health, she will consider this as a great grace and consolation.

Let her know [...] that she will send you some unbleached cloth to make a cassock [...] And send her some of that cake she used to prepare for me when I was in Rome.

This is the sweet that the Romans call mostacciolo, and it is made with almonds, sugar or honey and other ingredients.

Jacopa was a spiritual woman, a widow, devoted to God, one of the noblest and richest ladies in Rome.

Through the merits and preaching of Francis she had received so much grace from God that she seemed almost a second Magdalene, tenderly devoted to the point of tears" (FF 1657).

The brothers had written a letter to send to Donna Jacopa, but they heard a knock at the door and it was indeed her, who had come in haste to visit Francis.

Since it had been established from the earliest times that no women should enter the cloister to safeguard the honour and recollection of the religious house, a friar said to Francis:

"Father what shall we do? Should we let her come in and approach you?".

Francis replied:

"The prohibition does not apply to this lady, whom such faith and devotion has brought from so far away".

Jacopa therefore entered Francis and on seeing him began to weep....

Donna Jacopa turned to them and explained:

"Brothers, while I was praying, I was told in spirit:

Go and visit your father Francis. Hurry, do not delay, for if you delay you will not find him alive [...]" (FF 1657- Perugina Legend).

So Francis, now close to passing away, had the joy of the testimony of a great faith from this noble woman.

And near her Easter she seemed almost to say to her own:

«Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God and believe in me» (Jn 14:1).

He too, in the footsteps of Christ, went to prepare 'a place' for them.

* Jacopa not of the Settesoli, but of the seven "sogli", that is, thrones or seats.

* "Iacopa de Septem soliis".

Friday of the 4th Easter wk.  (Jn 14:1-6)

«He who receives him whom I send, receives me; but he who receives me, receives him who sent me» (Jn 13:20).

Jesus, at the Last Supper, after having washed the feet of his disciples invites them to do the same, reminding them that a sent one is not greater than the one who sent him.

At the same time he reminds them that to receive the one God sends is to receive the Lord himself.

Francis knew, by grace, that to receive is the infinitive of the verb unveil.

The Lord manifests himself to the one who hosts with love the one sent by the Father of mercies.

The Poor Man and his sons knew the special welcome of the Assisian bishop, as is narrated in the Legend of the Three Companions:

"When they arrived in Rome, they found the Bishop of Assisi there, who received them with great joy.

He nourished an affectionate esteem for Francis and all the friars; but, ignorant of the reason for their coming, he was seized with anxiety: he feared that they might want to leave Assisi, where the Lord had begun through them to do wonders of good.

He was proud and happy to have such zealous men in his diocese, on whose exemplary life he relied greatly.

However, when he heard the purpose of the journey and understood their plans, he was reassured and promised to advise and help them' (FF 1456).

But there were also those who reacted differently with the brothers sent:

"Many took them for charlatans or simpletons, and did not want to receive them at home, for fear that they would commit theft.

In several places, after receiving a heap of insults, they found nowhere to take refuge except under the porches of churches or houses.

One day, two friars arrived in Florence. They went around the whole city begging, but could not find anyone to take them in.

When they arrived at a house that had a porch in front of it, under which there was an oven, they said to each other:

"We can rest here".

They begged the landlady to receive them into the house, but she refused.

Then they humbly proposed that she at least allow them to take refuge that night near the oven. The woman agreed [...].

That night they slept uneasily until dawn by the oven, warmed by divine love alone and protected by Our Lady Poverty's blanket.

They rose to go to the nearest church, to participate in the morning liturgy' (FF 1442).

In recognising the one Christ sends is inherent the revelation of the authentic and personal encounter with Jesus.

Moreover, Francis and his followers were clearly aware that if they had rejected the Master, the path of the disciple could not have been different.

Hence the acceptance of everything, dwelling in Love.

The Sources recall that in this lies Perfect Lettership, as Francis taught Brother Leo:

"'Behold, I return from Perugia and, deep in the night, I come here, and it is a muddy winter and so harsh that, at the end of my cassock, icicles of frozen water form [...] I come to the door and, after long beating and calling, a friar comes and asks:

"Who is it?"

I answer:

"Brother Francis" [...]

the other replies:

"Go away, you are simple and an idiot, you cannot come here anymore [...]".

And I always remain in front of the door and say:

"For God's sake, accept me for this night" [...].

"Well, if I have been patient and not disturbed, I say to you that here is true happiness and here is true virtue and salvation of the soul' " (FF 278).

Thursday of the 4th wk. in Easter   (Jn 13:16-20)

The passage proposed by the Liturgy today highlights Jesus' wonderful discourse to his own on Love.

He begins by saying to abide in his love; and the concluding verse reiterates what was said earlier: to love one another.

Both Francis and Clare were consumed by the love of God, so much so that in the Sources we find remarkable passages on the subject.

The Major Legend narrates:

"Who could worthily describe the fervour of charity, which inflamed Francis, the Bridegroom's friend? For he, like a burning coal, seemed all consumed by the flame of divine love.

On hearing the name of the Lord's love, he immediately felt stimulated, struck, inflamed: that name was for him like a plectrum, which made the depths of his heart vibrate.

"To offer, in recompense for alms, the precious patrimony of the love of God," he affirmed, "is noble prodigality; and most foolish are those who esteem it less than money, since only the inappreciable price of divine love is capable of buying the kingdom of heaven. 'And much must we love the love of Him who loved us much' " (FF 1161).

Likewise Clare, in her third letter to Agnes of Prague, expressed herself thus:

"...it is now clear that the soul of the faithful man, who is the most worthy of all creatures, is made by the Grace of God greater than the heavens. While, in fact, the heavens with all other created things cannot contain the Creator, the faithful soul, on the other hand, and it alone, is his dwelling and abode, and this only by reason of charity, of which the ungodly are devoid. It is the Truth itself that affirms this:

"He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I also will love him; we will come to him and make our abode in him" " (FF 2892).

And again, regarding exchangeable love, in the Legend of the Three Companions:

"They occupied the day in prayer and working with their hands, so as to resolutely avoid idleness, the enemy of the soul. At midnight they rose for prayer, animated by groans and tears.

They loved one another with a deep affection, and served and provided for one another, as a mother would do with her only tenderly loved child. Such was the affection that burned in their hearts, that they were ready to give themselves up to death without hesitation, not only for love of Christ, but also to save the souls or bodies of their brothers" (FF 1446).

The fraternity of the origins of Francis is the highest and most concrete testimony of what it means to remain in the Love of Gift and pour it into relationships with the brothers.

Eloquent facts call for authenticity in relationships, without using the truth to one's own advantage.

For it is clear that "he who does the truth comes towards the light, that his works may be made manifest, for they are done in God" (John 3:21).

«These things I command you, that you love one another» (Jn 15:17).

St Matthias, 14 May  (Jn 15:9-17)

Under Solomon's Portico in Jerusalem, Jesus makes his denunciation to the Jews: you are not my sheep, because you do not listen to my voice.

Francis had a great concern for the sheep of his flock, wanting to walk in the footsteps of the Lord and desiring the same for them.

He had a special fondness for sheep and lambs: they reminded him of the Lamb that was immolated for our salvation.

It is touching how these meek animals listened to him, recognising his voice as a true shepherd.

In the Sources we find significant passages on this subject. The Major Legend narrates:

"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 monks singing in the choir, she would also enter the church and, without the need for a teacher, would bend her knees, uttering tender bleats before the altar of the Virgin, Mother of the Lamb, as if eager to greet her.

'During the celebration of Mass, at the moment of the elevation, he would bend his bent knees, as if he wanted, that devout animal, to reproach the ungodly for their irreverence and wanted to incite the devout to reverence towards the Sacrament' (FF 1148).

Francis, a meek shepherd, was listened to and followed by all creatures, who perceived in him his unity with Christ, the Good Shepherd sent by the Father.

His intimates listened to him with great admiration, for his eloquent life spoke for him.

«My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me» (Jn 10:27)

Tuesday of the 4th wk. in Easter  (Jn 10:22-30)

Jesus in chapter ten of the Johannine Gospel calls Himself the 'Shepherd and Gate of the sheep' by entering through which one encounters salvation. He alone is the true Shepherd who cares for them and defends them from harm.

One day Francis, close to the finishing line of his calling, was asked by a friar about the figure who would lead the Order after him.

The passage, taken from the second life of Celano, reads as follows:

"Father you will pass from this life, and the family that followed you remains abandoned in this vale of tears. Point to one, if you know one exists in the Order, who satisfies your spirit and to whom the burden of being a general minister can be confidently placed'.

Francis, accompanying each word with sighs, replied:

"I do not know anyone capable of being the leader of such a varied army and shepherd of such a numerous flock. 'But I want to paint you and, as they say, model the figure, in which one can clearly see what the father of this family must be'.

"He must be," he continued, "a man of the most austere life, of great discretion and praiseworthy reputation [...] apply himself zealously to prayer and know how to distribute certain hours to his soul and others to the flock entrusted to him [...After the prayer, then, put yourself at the disposal of the religious, willing to let yourself be bothered by all, ready to answer and provide for everyone with affability [...] Even if it is admitted that you stand out for culture, however, even more in your conduct be the portrait of virtuous simplicity and cultivate virtue [...]".

And he continued:

"He comforts the afflicted, being the last refuge for the afflicted, lest, not finding salutary remedies with him, the sick be overcome by the disease of despair. Let him humble himself, to bend the proud to meekness, and let him drop some of his right, to win a soul to Christ. As for the deserters of the Order, as if they were lost sheep, do not close the bowels of your mercy to them, knowing full well that the temptations that can drive them to such things are very violent [...] It is your task above all to investigate the secret of consciences to extract the truth from the most hidden veins, but do not listen to those who gossip [...]" (FF 771-772).

All this indicates the value of being "Door" for Francis among his brothers, whom he loved with firmness and tenderness; with discretion and understanding, for the love of Christ.

«I am the Gate: if anyone enters through me, he will be saved; and he will go in and out and find pasture» (Jn 10:9)

Monday of the 4th wk. in Easter  (Jn 10:1-10)

Jesus, the true Shepherd, arguing with the Jewish leaders under Solomon's porch makes them aware that they are not his sheep. These, in fact, listen to his voice and follow him. The authorities, on the other hand, do not believe even the evidence of his works.

Francis was a tender-hearted but firm shepherd on the path to follow in the footsteps of Christ.

In this sense various passages from the Sources illuminate his itinerary. In his Admonitions, the Poverello writes:

"Let us look closely, brothers and sisters, at the good shepherd who, in order to save his sheep, endured the passion of the cross.

The Lord's sheep followed him in tribulation and persecution, in ignominy and hunger, in infirmity and temptation, and in other similar things; and they received from the Lord eternal life in return" (FF 155).

Again, St Bonaventure's Major Legend informs us:

"One day, being on his way near Siena, he met a large flock of grazing sheep. According to his custom, he greeted them benevolently, and they, ceasing to graze, all ran to him at once, lifting their snouts and gazing up at him.

They made him such a feast that the brothers and the shepherds were astonished, seeing the lambs and even the rams prancing around him in such a marvellous way" (FF 1147).

And finding St Francis together with St Dominic in Rome, in the house of the Cardinal of Ostia, before the latter spoke thus of his brothers, with great humility:

"Lord, my brothers for this very reason have been called Minors, so that they may not presume to become majors.

The very name teaches them to remain lowly and to follow in the footsteps of Christ's humility, so that in the end they may be raised above others in the presence of the saints.

If you want them to bear fruit in the Church,' he continued, 'keep them and preserve them in the state of their vocation, and bring them down even against their will.

For this, Father, I beseech you: that they may not be all the more haughty as they are poorer and may not show themselves arrogant towards others, do not in any way allow them to obtain offices' (FF 732).

Yes, Francis prayed to his heavenly Father to keep his sheep in humility and not to be torn from his hand.

The Poor Man of Assisi carried within himself all the traits of the authentic shepherd.

«My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me» (Jn 10:27)

4th Sunday in Easter C  (Jn 10:27-30)

In the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus speaking to his disciples tells them that only the Spirit of God can revive man and open him to new horizons.

Francis of Assisi, after his carefree youth, when he met the Lord, received a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit which, turning his life upside down, led him to a completely new existential style, overturned by the Gospel rebirth.

He considered himself a fool for Christ, "simplex et idiot"; united with Our Lady Poverty, because he was assumed by Jesus from the beginning to the end of his life and the source of divine riches.

By the work of the Spirit he was a new man, before whom bare and vital perspectives prevailed.

The world, with its deceptive appearances, no longer interested him and he was only attracted by the unloved Love.

He too, like Peter, if not with words with deeds, repeated to our Saviour:

"Jesus to whom shall I go, to whom shall we go?! You alone have words that do not pass away!".

But some passages from the Franciscan Sources support all this.

"Another time, being in Rome in the house of a cardinal, he was questioned about some obscure passages, and he expounded those profound concepts so clearly, that one would think he had always lived in the midst of the Scriptures.

Therefore the lord cardinal said to him:

"I do not question you as a man of letters, but as a man who has the Spirit of God.

And for this I gladly accept the meaning of your answer, because I know that it comes from God alone" (FF 691).

And again Celano, in the Vita prima:

"Men and women, clerics and religious flocked to see and hear the Saint of God, who appeared to all as a man from another world.

People of all ages and sexes were solicitous to admire the wonders that the Lord was again working in the world through his servant.

By reason of the presence or even the mere fame of Saint Francis, it seemed indeed that a new light had been sent down from heaven at that time to dispel the caliginous darkness that had invaded the earth" (FF 383).

Francis himself, in the Regola Bollata (1223), exhorts his followers thus:

"What they must desire above all things is to have the Spirit of the Lord and his Holy operation, to pray to him always with a pure heart and to have humility, patience in persecution and infirmity" (FF 104).

«It is the Spirit that vivifies, the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life» (Jn 6:63)

Saturday of the 3rd wk. in Easter  (Jn 6:60-69)

In today's passage Jesus upsets the mind-sets of the Jews who wonder how he can give them to eat his body and drink his blood.

Francis, endowed by Grace with extraordinary charisms, understood all this well.

In his simplicity he was a great lover of the Eucharist, to which he dedicated a special letter: 'Letter to all clerics on the reverence of the Body of the Lord'.

In it, among other things, we read:

"For we possess and see bodily nothing 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 207a).

And again the Sources inform about Francis' devotion to the Body and Blood of the Lord.

"He was burning with love in every fibre of his being for the sacrament of the Body of the Lord, filled with awe beyond measure at such benevolent deigning and most generous charity [...] being filled with reverence for this venerable sacrament, he offered the sacrifice of all his limbs, and, when he received the immolated Lamb, he immolated his spirit in that fire, which always burned on the altar of his heart [...].

One day he wanted to send the brothers into the world with precious pyxes, so that they might place the price of redemption in the most worthy place possible, wherever they saw it kept with little decorum" (FF 789).

Clare also yearned to receive the living Bread descended from heaven with great devotion and recollection:

"When then he was about to receive the Body of the Lord, he first shed hot tears and, approaching then with trembling, feared Him who is hidden in the Sacrament no less than the Sovereign of heaven and earth" (FF 3210).

And again, during his long stay he devoted himself even more devoutly to the Eucharist.

According to the Legend:

"In that grave illness which confined her to the bedside, she had herself lifted up and supported at the back with supports; and, while sitting, she spun very delicate fabrics.

From these she made more than fifty pairs of corporals and, enclosing them in silk or purple envelopes, she destined them for various churches throughout the plain and the mountains of Assisi" (FF 3209).

The life of these two Poor Men was an unceasing Eucharistic sacrifice for the benefit of humanity, in unity with Jesus.

Their every gesture was bread broken and blood shed for every needy creature.

Living in poverty and simplicity in daily life, she became bread for all.

«He who chews my flesh and drinks my blood has the Life of the Eternal One» (Jn 6:54)

Friday of the 3rd wk. in Easter  (Jn 6,52-59)

In this part of chapter 6 of the Johannine Gospel it is emphasised by Jesus that no one can go to Him unless the Father draws him.

Whoever listens and learns from the Father goes to Jesus.

Francis, always listening to the Word and instructed by the Spirit, one day told his brothers the following:

"The Order and the life of the Lesser Brothers resembles a little flock, which the Son of God, in this last hour, asked of his heavenly Father, saying:

"Father I wish that you would raise up and give to me in this last hour a new humble people, different in their humility and poverty from all the others who have gone before them, and happy to possess only me alone." And the Father answered his beloved Son:

"Son, what you have asked is done".

Francis then added that the Lord wanted the brothers to be called 'Minor', because this is precisely the people asked by the Son of God to his Father, and of them it says in the Gospel: Do not be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the Kingdom; and again: What you did to one of the least of my brothers (minors), you did to me.

'Although here the Lord speaks of all who are poor in spirit, yet he intended to refer in a special way to the Order of Friars Minor, which would flourish in his Church' (FF 1617).

And Clare, in the enclosure of the Damianite walls, writing to her spiritual daughter Agnes of Prague:

"Fill yourselves with courage in the holy service which you have begun by the ardent desire of the poor Crucified One. He for all of us bore the torment of the cross, snatching us from the power of the Prince of Darkness, who held us in chains as a result of the sin of the first man, and reconciling us with God the Father'" (FF 2863).

These two saints testify with their lives that for them the Bread that comes from God is the Word of Jesus and the ultimate self-giving Act of Him, transformed into everlasting salvation for us all.

The prayer dear to Francis, and often repeated by him before the Crucifix, is an externality of listening and faith at the same time, of footsteps directed to communion with the Father and his Son Jesus in the Spirit.

""Most high and glorious God, / illumine the darkness of my heart. / And give me straight faith, / certain hope and perfect charity,/ wisdom and knowledge, / Lord, / that I may do your holy and true commandment. Amen"" (FF 276).

«No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him» (Jn 6:44).

«He who believes has the Life of the Eternal One» (Jn 6:47).

Thursday of the 3rd wk. in Easter  (Jn 6:44-51)