Matthew's Gospel insists on the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees who close the kingdom of heaven before the people by their behaviour.

Looking in the Sources we discover how all this was embodied by the Poor Man of Assisi in a unique way.

Francis was so averse to hypocrisy that he put in the same Regola non Bollata (1221) a specific paragraph about it:

"And let the brothers beware of showing themselves sad on the outside and dark in the face like hypocrites, but let them show themselves joyful in the Lord and joyful and graciously lovable" (FF 27).

He detested all duplicity as a plague, and denounced it publicly even in his own regard, if it seemed to him that he had not lived according to the Word of God - fearing that he would not enter the kingdom of heaven and would not be a credible witness.

In this regard, the Sources reveal:

"Once, around Christmas, a large crowd had gathered for a sermon at the hermitage of Poggio*.

Francis began in this way:

"You think me a holy man and therefore you have come here with devotion. Well, I confess to you, throughout this Lent I have eaten food seasoned with lard".

And so more than once she attributed to gluttony what she had instead conceded to illness' (FF 715).

Clare herself, an imprint of the Mother of God, always exhorted her community to shun all forms of falsehood, which she categorised as true blindness.

She, Clare by life and virtue, always guarded against this plague that could ruin fraternity between sisters and prevent mutual love.

«Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven before the people» (Mt 23:13).

- This means Poggio Bustone, in the Rieti valley.

Monday 21st wk. in O.T.  (Mt 23,13-22)

On this Sunday, Luke's Gospel brings to our attention Jesus' exhortation to strive to enter through the narrow gate, reiterating that at the moment of our final encounter with Him, our deeds will speak for us.

«And behold, there are those who are last who will be first, and there are those who are first who will be last» (Lk 13:30).

The theme of the Narrow Gate and 'becoming the last' is present throughout the Franciscan sources.

After his conversion, the Son of Peter Bernardone took great care to follow Jesus' recommendation to «strive to enter through the narrow gate».

In fact, in what we call the "Writings of Francis" [mostly dictated to a friar who was his secretary], his firm adherence to the Gospel emerges clearly.

In the Earlier Rule (1221), we find among the exhortations addressed to his friars:

'And let them strive to enter through the narrow gate, for the Lord says: "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and few find it" (FF 37).

Well aware of the Gospel's demand for humility and minority, he responded to his followers regarding who should be considered a true friar minor:

"Take a dead body," he said, "and put it wherever you like. You will see that if you move it, it does not resist; if you let it fall, it does not protest. If you put it on a chair, it will not look up, but down. If you put it in purple, it will seem twice as pale. This is the true obedient person: one who does not judge why he is being moved; he does not care where he is sent; he does not insist on being transferred; when elected to office, he maintains his usual humility; the more he is honoured, the more he considers himself unworthy" (FF 1107).

And Clare was no less so!

In her Testament left to her sisters, we read:

"But since the way is narrow and the gate is small through which one enters into life, few are those who find it and enter into it; and even if there are many who enter, very few persevere in it. But blessed are those who are allowed to walk this path and persevere to the end" (FF 2850).

In the Legend:

"From then on, she no longer refused any menial task, to the point that, for the most part, she was the one who poured water on her sisters' hands, stood to assist them while they sat, and served them at table while they ate" (FF 3180).

Yes, the last shall be first in the Kingdom of God!

How many have been pushed aside by the harshness and arrogance of competitive life will be embraced by God's mercy.

Sunday 21st O.T. year C  (Lk 13:22-30)

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus addresses the common people and his disciples, warning them against the criteria used by the scribes and Pharisees:

«Do not do as they do, for they say and do not do» (Mt 23:3). 

In their actions, they seek to appear and be admired, living outside themselves rather than within.

They seek the first places and to be called 'rabbi' by the people.

No, says Jesus, let it not be so among you; the logic of the Kingdom is different, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

In this context, let us look to the Sources.

Francis had such great practical respect for God that we read in the Sources:

"He did not want to call those who were named 'Good' by their name, out of reverence for the Lord who said, 'No one is good except God alone.

Likewise, he did not want to give anyone the title of 'father' or 'master', nor write it in letters, out of respect for the Lord who said: Call no one 'father' on earth, nor be called 'masters', etc." (FF 1615).

The Poor Man of Assisi also abhorred hypocrisy, the disease of appearing to be and not being, and not doing.

In fact, in Celano's Second Life we read:

"These people are concerned with appearing good, not with becoming good. They accuse others of vice but do not renounce their own [...] They sell the pallor of their emaciated faces for the price of fatal praise in order to appear spiritual, so that they may judge everything and be judged by no one.

They enjoy the fame of being saints without having done any good works, of being called angels without having any virtue" (FF 770).

The Poverello was clearly opposed to all forms of ostentation and lack of transparency.

In fact, in the Sources: "Once, around Christmas, a large crowd had gathered for a sermon at the hermitage of Poggio [Bustone].

Francis began in this way:

'You believe me to be a holy man and therefore you have come with devotion. Well, I confess to you that throughout this Lent, I have eaten food seasoned with lard'.

And so, more than once, he attributed to gluttony what he had actually allowed himself because of his illness" (FF 715).

Francis' interiority went hand in hand with his outward appearance, in a skilful existential balance.

Saturday of the 20th wk. in Ordinary Time  (Mt 23:1-12)

Matthew highlights the answer given by Jesus to the leaders who were trying to test him, regarding the greatest commandment.

And the Lord displeases them: to love God with all one's self, and one's neighbour as oneself, is the best one can do.

Francis of Assisi was inflamed by a profound love for God and neighbour, because, by grace, he had understood that in these two commandments was contained the whole Gospel.

The Sources attest to this glaringly.

"Among other words, which recurred frequently in his speech, he could not hear the expression 'love of God' without feeling a certain emotion. Immediately indeed, at the sound of this expression 'love of God' he was aroused, moved and inflamed, as if the inner chord of his heart were touched with the plectrum of his voice.

"It is a prodigality of nobility," he repeated, "to offer this wealth in exchange for alms, and those who value it less than money are most foolish".

For his part, he infallibly observed until his death the resolution he had made when he was still in the world, not to refuse any poor person who asked him for the love of God.

Once a poor man asked him for charity for the love of God. Since he had nothing, the Saint secretly took the scissors and prepared to part with his miserable cassock.

And he would certainly have done so had he not been discovered by the brothers, whom he ordered to provide the poor man with other compensation" (FF 784).

"The power of love had made Francis a brother to all other creatures; it is no wonder, therefore, that the charity of Christ made him even more a brother to all those who are honoured with the image of the Creator.

For he said that nothing is more important than the salvation of souls, and he proved this very often by the fact that the Only-Begotten of God deigned to be hung on the cross for the sake of souls.

Hence his commitment to prayer, his moving from place to place to preach, his great concern to set a good example.

He did not consider himself a friend of Christ if he did not love the souls he loved [...].

But above all measure, he loved with a particularly intimate love, with all the affection of his heart, the brothers, as family members of a special faith and united by sharing in the eternal inheritance" (FF 758).

Francis knew that brotherly love was proof of the love attested to God in all its concreteness.

Friday of the 20th wk. in O.T. (Mt 22:34-40)

Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a wedding banquet.

The guests do not care to attend the king's banquet, and the servants are sent to gather those they find in the streets, but in their wedding garments.

«For many are called, but few chosen» (Mt 22:14).

Let us now look at the Poor Man of Assisi: how he lives all this, according to the account of the Sources.

Enamoured of Our Lady Poverty, Francis insistently invited the Same to take food with the brothers [cf. Sacrum Commercium Beati Francisci cum Domina Paupertate]:

"Then they led her to the place where the table was prepared. As she arrived she looked around and, seeing nothing but three or four loaves of barley bread and bran placed on the grass, was seized with great admiration" (FF 2020).

He then "commanded them all to be together and spoke words of life to them, saying:

"Be blessed, my children, by the Lord God who created the heavens and the earth, for you have welcomed me into your home with such fullness of charity, that today, being with you, it seemed to me that I was in the paradise of the Lord [...].

Here is what I have sought so much, now I contemplate it [...] because on earth I have united myself with men who are for me the faithful image of Him who is my spouse in heaven.

May the Lord bless your courage and praise the work of your hands'" (FF 2024).

Called and elected in the company of Our Lady Poverty, to follow in the footsteps of the Son of God.

Clare herself, in her Spiritual Testament, a true Franciscan pearl, addresses her present and future daughters, inviting them to guard the priceless treasure of election. We read in it:

"Among the other benefits that we have received and every day receive from our Donor, the Father of Mercies, for which we are greatly obliged to render to Him glorious living deeds of grace, great is that of our vocation. And the greater and more perfect it is, the more we are obliged to him. Therefore the Apostle admonishes: 'Know your vocation well'" (FF 2823).

And again:

"The Son of God became our Way; and this by word and example our blessed father Francis, a true lover and imitator of Him, showed and taught us" (FF 2824).

At this point Clare recalls when the Saint, under divine inspiration, prophesied about them.

"Having climbed over the wall of the said church [...] he addressed some poor people who were standing nearby:

"Come and help me in this work of the monastery of St Damian, for soon women will come to inhabit it, and by the fame of the holiness of their lives glory will be given to our heavenly Father throughout his holy Church".

We can, therefore, admire in this fact the great goodness of God towards us: He has deigned, in His superabundant mercy and charity, to inspire such words to His Saint concerning our vocation and election" (FF 2827-2828).

[Thursday of the 20th wk in O.T.  (Mt 22:1-14)]

In chapter twenty of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a master who calls and welcomes to work in his vineyard at all hours, even those who arrive at the last hour. Without taking anything away from those who have worked hard all day, the Lord fully welcomes even those who arrive late, according to the human clock.

God, in his goodness, evaluates according to a criterion different from the prejudices of men.

Therefore: «the last shall be first and the first, last» (Mt 20:16).

In the Franciscan Sources we find a Poor Man who loved hard work and not prejudice, shunning idleness.

He understood, however, that our God is not despotic, but dispenses his goods in total gratuity.

The Minor always looked to the Goodness of the Author of all things, who cares for each one, and wants to lead all into his Kingdom.

He exhorted his brothers to work with solicitude in the Vineyard of the Lord, welcoming everyone and staying away only from those who were idle.

The Sources recount:

"When the brothers were staying at Rivotorto, there was one of them who prayed little, did not work, and refused to go looking for alms because he was ashamed: he ate hard, however.

Considering such conduct, Francis realised with the light of the Holy Spirit that this was a carnal man. And he addressed these words to him:

"Go your way, Brother Mosca! You want to eat the work of your brothers, but you are idle in the service of God. You are like the drone, which neither works nor gathers, and devours the fruit of the labour of the industrious bees."

That fellow went his way, without even asking for an apology, from the carnal man that he was" (FF 1612).

Yet Francis had no prejudices, and always contemplated the Supreme Goodness of God, going back to the saving Origin of all things.

In this way "he exulted over all the works of the Lord's hands and, from that spectacle of joy, he went back to the Cause and Reason that makes all things live" (FF 1162).

So he did not fail to admonish his brothers not to be envious of what the Lord was working in their neighbour:

"Whoever envies his brother concerning the good that the Lord says and does in him, commits the sin of blasphemy, for he envies the Most High himself, who says and does all good" (FF 157 Admonitions).

And again:

"I want my brothers to work and keep themselves exercised. In this way they will not go about, idling with their hearts and their tongues, grazing on illicit things" (FF1093).

Wednesday of the 20th wk. in O.T.  (Mt 20:1-16)

Jesus astonishes and astounds his disciples, remarking:

«it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God» (Matthew 19:24).

Peter's question arises: what about us who have left everything for the Gospel?

But Jesus assures the hundred for one and the experience of the Life of the Eternal.

Let us look at Francis and his own in the Sources and on the subject.

As Dante Alighieri recalls in the Divine Comedy (Canto XI of Paradise):

"Oh unknown riches! veracious wealth!/ takes off his shoes Egidio, takes off his shoes Silvestro/ behind the groom, this way the bride likes".

Francis had embraced Lady Poverty as the greatest wealth existing on this earth.

In love with Christ, in order to follow in His footsteps so as to resemble Him as much as possible, he adhered to Him with all his fibres and taught his own to do the same.

In fact, in the Sources (Legend of the Three Companions) it is narrated:

"There went Messer Bernard, who was very rich, and sold all his possessions, gaining much money, which he distributed entirely to the poor of the city.

Peter also carried out the divine advice as well as he could.

Having deprived themselves of everything, they both put on the habit that the Saint had taken shortly before, after having left that of a hermit.

And from that hour, they lived with him according to the form of life of the holy Gospel, as the Lord had indicated to them.

And so Francis was able to write in his Testament:

'The Lord himself revealed to me that I should live according to the form of life of the holy Gospel'" (FF 1432).

Consulting the Word, as he was wont to do, he had before his eyes the expression "Do not take anything with you on your journeys" and "Whoever wishes to follow me should renounce himself" (FF 1431), shaking with joy.

"Francis, a man of God, with the two brothers of whom we have spoken, having no lodging where they could dwell together, took refuge with them at St Mary of the Portiuncula.

There they made themselves a hut to live in community.

A few days later, a man from Assisi, Egidio, came down to them, and with sincere respect and devotion, on his knees, begged the man of God to receive him with him.

Francis, touched by his faith and goodness [...] received him gladly" (FF 1435).

Those who followed the Poverello, in his fraternity and for the sake of the Gospel had well understood the scope of that vocation-mission and its happy conclusion beyond time.

To leave for Christ is to find and live to a greater extent.

Tuesday of the 20th wk. in O.T.  (Mt 19:23-30)

The Poor Man of Assisi, had understood by divine revelation that true wealth is the Poverty embraced by the Son of God, who became Poor for us, so that we might become rich in Him.

Indeed, the Giver of all good wanted Francis to grow in the riches of simplicity through love of the highest poverty. 

We find in the Sources:

"The Saint, noticing how poverty, which had been the intimate friend of the Son of God, was now being repudiated by almost the whole world, wanted to make her his bride, loving her with eternal love, and for her he not only left his father and mother but generously distributed all he could have.

No one was so greedy for gold, as Francis was for poverty; no one was more eager for treasures, than Francis was for this gospel pearl.

Nothing offended his eye more than this: to see something in the brothers that was not entirely in harmony with poverty.

As for him, from the beginning of his religious life until his death, he had these riches: a cassock, a cord and pants, and of this he was content" (FF 1117).

"He often recalled to mind, weeping, the poverty of Jesus Christ and of his Mother, and affirmed that this is the queen of virtues, because one sees it shine so brightly, more than all the others, in the King of kings and in the Queen his Mother (FF 1118). "He taught, having learned it by revelation, that the first step in holy religion consists in fulfilling that word of the Gospel: If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor" (FF 1121).

«If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me» (Mt 19:21)

Monday, 20th wk. in O.T.  (Mt 19:16-22)

Jesus speaks of a Fire that came to earth, dividing those who follow him from those who do not.

Francis, who understood what the Lord meant by Fire, knew it well: it was the Holy Spirit.

As Master and Minister of the Order of Friars Minor, the Spirit of God guided the Poverello in his every step.

If we consult the Sources, we realise this.

"And so, by the disposition of divine goodness and through the merits and virtues of the Saint, it came to pass, mercifully and wonderfully, that the friend of Christ sought with all his strength to die for Him and could not succeed [...]

On the one hand, he did not lack the merit of the martyrdom he desired, and on the other, he was spared in order to be later honoured with an extraordinary privilege.

The divine fire that burned in his heart became ever more ardent and perfect, so that it might later shine more brightly in his flesh.

O truly blessed man, who is not torn by the iron of the tyrant, yet is not deprived of the glory of resembling the Lamb who was slain! (FF 1175).

In fact, "the Spirit of the Lord, who had anointed and sent him, assisted his servant Francis wherever he went [...]

His words were like a burning fire that penetrated the depths of the heart and filled minds with admiration" (FF 1210).

Furthermore, the Fioretti [popularised in the last quarter of the 14th century by an unknown Tuscan] tell us of Clare of Assisi's desire to dine once with Francis.

Francis, who had always refused, was persuaded by his friars to abandon his rigidity on this matter and to grant her request.

So Clare came to St. Mary of the Angels, and there Francis had the table set on the ground, together with a brother of the Saint and a sister who accompanied Clare.

"And for the first course, St. Francis began to speak of God so sweetly, so highly, so marvellously, that the abundance of divine grace descended upon them, and they were all caught up in God.

And as they stood there with their eyes and hands raised to heaven, the men from Sciesi and Bettona and those from the surrounding countryside saw that Santa Maria degli Agnoli and the whole place and the forest [...] were burning fiercely, and it seemed as if a great fire was occupying the church and the place and the forest together" (FF1844).

So much so that the inhabitants of the surrounding area ran, worried, to put out the fire they saw.

But on the spot they found only Francis and Clare and their companions rapt in God, understanding that this was divine fire and not material, a testimony of the Spirit of God inflaming those holy souls.

Indeed, to benefit from that Holy Spirit gained through the Baptism of Christ!

«I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!» (Lk 12:49)

Sunday 20th. in Ordinary Time, year C   (Lk 12:49-53)