Today's Gospel offers us a special picture. John, fixing his gaze on Jesus passing by, exclaims: "Behold the Lamb of God!" (v.36).

The theme of the Lamb is recurring in the liturgy of this Christmas season: highlighting the profound link between Incarnation and Redemption.

Francis of Assisi, who described himself as 'simple and idiot', actually understood the above-mentioned link. In fact, every situation or figure that reminded him, almost as an allegory, of the Servant of God who became the Lamb of the Father for all humanity, led him to stop, to make that event his own. 

This truth made him vibrate inwardly and so profoundly that it changed every path in his day, every decision that was less important to him. 

The Franciscan Sources, an early work, informs us of evocative and emblematic episodes.

We learn that: "Once crossing the March of Ancona, after preaching in the same city, and heading towards Osimo, in the company of Brother Paul [...] he met a shepherd in the countryside, who was grazing his flock of rams and goats. In the middle of the flock was a single sheep, quietly and humbly grazing on the grass. As soon as he saw it, Francis stopped, and as if he had had a grip on his heart, full of compassion he said to his brother:

"Do you see that lonely and meek sheep among the goats? Our Lord Jesus Christ, surrounded and hunted down by the Pharisees and Synodites, must have looked just like that humble creature. Therefore I beseech thee, my son, for love of Him, be thou also full of compassion, let us buy her and take her away from these goats and goatherds".

Brother Paul felt moved by the moving piety of the blessed father; but possessing nothing but the two rough tunics with which they were clothed, they did not know how to make the purchase; and behold, a merchant came along and offered them the necessary price. And they, thanking God, proceeded on their journey to Osimo, taking the sheepskin with them. When they arrived in Osimo, they went to the bishop of the city, who received them with great reverence. 

However, he could not conceal his surprise at seeing before him that little sheep that Francis was pulling with so much affection. However, as soon as the servant of the Lord had told him a long parable about the sheep, the bishop, all composed before the purity and simplicity of heart of the servant of God, thanked the Lord.

The next day, having resumed his journey, Francis was thinking of the best way to arrange the sheep, and at the suggestion of the brother who accompanied him, he entrusted it to the cloistered nuns of St Severinus, who accepted the gift of the sheep with great joy as a gift from heaven, took loving care of it for a long time, and then with its wool wove a tunic which they sent to Francis while he held a chapter at the Portiuncula. 

The Saint received it with devotion and joyfully clasped the cassock to his heart and kissed it, inviting everyone to rejoice with him" (FF 456).

Proper feria of 4 January (Jn 1:35-42)

"Behold the Lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world".

Francis, the Minim, loved all animals, but he had a particular fondness for the lamb, because it reminded him of the Lamb of God sacrificed for our Redemption.

The mere thought of the Son of God sent to the slaughter moved him deeply, even to tears.

The Sources, an inexhaustible treasure chest of early life, offer us very significant pictures in this regard.

"He had a special tenderness for lambs, because in Scripture Jesus Christ is often and rightly compared to the meek lamb because of his humility.

For the same reason, his love and sympathy turned in a special way to all those things that could best depict or reflect the image of the Son of God" (FF 455).

"Another day, on a pilgrimage through the same March, with the same Brother Paul, who was very happy to accompany him, they came across a man who was bringing to market two lambs to sell, tied, bleating and dangling from his shoulders.

On hearing those bleats, the servant of God, greatly moved, approached them, stroking them, as a mother does with her crying children, with much compassion, and said to the master:

"Why do you torment my brother lambs, keeping them so tied and dangling?"

He answered: "I am taking them to the market and selling them: I need money". And Francis: "What will become of them?" And they: "The buyers will kill them and eat them".

On hearing this the Saint exclaimed: "Never let it be! Take my cloak as recompense and give me the lambs".

The man was well pleased with such a barter, for the cloak, which Francis had received on loan from a man that very day to shelter him from the cold, was worth much more than the two beasts.

But having received the lambs, the saint again realised the awkward problem: "How to provide for them?" and, on the advice of Brother Paul, he returned them to their master, advising him not to sell them, not to harm them in any way, but to keep and guard them with care" (FF 457).

Proper Feria of 3 January (Jn 1:29-34)

The Gospel passage presents the testimony of John, the Forerunner.

To those who ask him who he was, he presents himself as "the voice of one crying out in the wilderness" (Jn 1:23).

He baptised with water in order to prepare hearts for the One who comes and to whom the Baptist does not even feel worthy to untie the lace of his sandals.

The humble and strong testimony of the Precursor is echoed by that of Francis who, barefoot, announces the One who revolutionised his existence: Jesus - who baptised him in Holy Spirit and Fire.

Like John, the Poor Man perceives himself as unworthy and inadequate; but the Resurrection he has received has transformed him into a bold Herald of the Great King, for whom he wishes to prepare the way.

Jesus is the Way, but he sends before him heralds of the Kingdom, of the Word made flesh.

In the Sources we read:

"A great many, inflamed by his preaching, bound themselves to the new laws of penance, according to the form indicated by the man of God.

The servant of Christ established their form of life to be called the Order of the Brothers of Penance.

This new Order admitted all, clerics and laymen, virgins and spouses of either sex, because the way of penance is common to all who wish to strive for heaven" (FF 1073).

"He, in fact, had been elected by God, like a new Elijah, to be chariot and charioteer of spiritual men" (FF 1070).

Yes, Francis was and remains the Voice of one who, at that time, cried out in the desert of the world and continues to do so by his example, exhorting us to do our part as he did his.

"I am the voice of one who cries out in the wilderness. Straighten up the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said" (Jn 1:23).

Proper feria on 2 January (Jn 1:19-28)

"And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger [...] now Mary kept all these words and events, comparing them in her heart" (Lk 2:16, 19).

Francis was attracted to the figure of Mary, the Mother of God; She who, in profound humility, had been the grace-filled, virginal cradle of the blessed Son.

To her he dedicated praises, prayers and places in the community, placing the Order itself under her maternal protection.

In the Sources we read:

"He finally went to a place called the Portiuncula, in which there was a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin: an ancient building, but then absolutely neglected and abandoned. When the man of God saw it thus abandoned, driven by his fervent devotion to the Queen of the world, he fixed his abode there, with the intention of repairing it. There he often enjoyed the visit of the Angels, as the name of the church itself, called St Mary of the Angels since antiquity, seemed to indicate. Therefore he chose it as his residence, because of his veneration for the Angels and his special love for the Mother of Christ [...].

This place, at the time of his death, he recommended to the brothers as the place dearest to the Virgin' (FF 1048).

And again: '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).

To the Mother of God he gave his tribute of honour in the wonderful prayer, best known of all: the "Salutation to the Blessed Virgin Mary".

"Hail, Lady, holy Queen,/

holy Mother of God Mary,/

Thou virgin made Church [...].

Thou in whom was and is every fullness of grace and every good" (FF 259).

In Her he always repeated "May the Lord give you Peace" - wherever he went. Greeting revealed to him by the Most High.

The figure of Clare herself in the Sources is recalled as the "imprint of the Mother of God", and to Francis she recalled Mary's veracious freshness and her extraordinary identification of life and spiritual traits.

This Marian physiognomy, reflected in her disciple, helped the beginnings of the Order, giving her an essential role in the mission that united the two Poor of Assisi.

Mary Most Holy Mother of God, 1 January (Lk 2:16-21)

In his Prologue, John speaks to us of the Word made one of us, as a sign of God's gratuitous love and unwavering faithfulness towards us.

In his autograph writings, in his Letter to the Faithful, Francis emphasises:

"The Most High heavenly Father, through his holy angel Gabriel, announced this Word of the Father, so worthy, so holy and glorious, in the womb of the holy and glorious Virgin Mary, and from her womb he received the true flesh of our humanity and frailty. 

He who was rich above all else, chose in this world, together with the most blessed Virgin, his mother, poverty" (FF 181-182).

And Clare in her Testament echoes this by saying:

"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).

Yes, Francis contemplated the Word of God made flesh.

That is why the sacred live nativity scene was born, to see with the eyes of the body the hardships suffered by the God made one of us.

The Sources say:

"The Saint is there ecstatic before the crib, full of sighs, his spirit vibrating with compunction and ineffable joy" (FF 469).

"And we have contemplated his glory" (Jn 1:14).

Francis and Clare meditate and contemplate the Fullness of Light that has come to visit us as the rising sun that gives Hope to all men, those reborn of water and the Spirit.

31 December - VII day between the Octave of Christmas (Jn 1:1-18)

"He began to praise God and spoke of the Child to those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem" (Lk 2:38).

Francis of Assisi considered Holy Christmas the feast of feasts. From there, in fact, had started the salvific parable of a merciful Father who wanted to "unroll like sackcloth" his divinity and humanity through the Gift of his Son.

That is why he infinitely praised God and spoke of the Child and the salvation He brought to all men at every opportunity, opportune and not opportune.

The depth of his prophetic spirit, received by Grace, made him capable of going beyond the immediate with refined inner insight.

In the Treasury of Sources we find particularly significant passages:

"The man of God stood before the manger, filled with pity, sprinkled with tears, overflowing with joy.

The holy sacrifice is celebrated above the manger and Francis, Christ's Levite, sings the holy Gospel.

He preaches to the people and speaks of the birth of the poor king and, in naming him, calls him, out of tenderness of love, the 'Child of Bethlehem'.

A virtuous and sincere knight who had left the scholastic militia and had become very attached to the man of God, Mr John of Greccio, claimed to have seen, inside the manger, a beautiful sleeping child, whom the blessed Francis, holding him with both arms, seemed to rouse from sleep.

This vision of the devout knight is rendered credible by the holiness of the witness, but it is also substantiated by the truth it indicates and confirmed by the miracles by which it was accompanied.

For the example of Francis, re-proposed to the world, had the effect of reawakening faith in Christ in numb hearts; and the hay from the manger, preserved by the people, had the power to heal sick beasts and drive away various other diseases.

Thus God glorifies his servant in all things and shows the efficacy of holy prayer with the probing eloquence of miracles" (FF 1186).

And Clare herself, the first plant of the Seraphic Father, in her stupendous Testament, while entrusting all her present and future daughters to the custody of the Lord Cardinal, expresses herself thus:

"For the love of that Lord, who poor at his birth was placed in a crib, poor lived on earth and remained naked on the cross, may he take care to make this little flock of his observe - this which the Most High Father, through the word and example of our blessed father Francis, generated in his holy Church precisely to imitate the poverty and humility of his beloved Son and of his glorious Virgin Mother [...]" (FF 2841).

Francis and Clare of Assisi: two stars of the firmament that illuminate the salvific Mystery of a God made flesh, who came to give Himself to every person and reality that claims salvation.

30 December - sixth day between the Octave of Christmas (Lk 2:36-40)

Francis, the jester of God, after Grace had made him a new creature, preferred to the natural family the one given him by the Father of mercies. 

Indeed, without hesitation, before the bishop of Assisi and all the onlookers, he stripped himself naked as a sign of abandonment, adding:

"Until now I have called you my father on earth; from now on I can say with all confidence: Our Father, who art in heaven, because in Him I have placed all my treasure and placed all my trust and hope" (FF 1043).

As if to say: "Did you not know that I must care for the things of my Father?" (Lk 2:49).

An eloquent response to the old world languishing in its solace, preferring to taste the sweetness breathed at home in Nazareth.

Francis is in tune with the Holy Family: both in the personal and community dimensions developed around him.

Indeed, he was nourished by poverty and simplicity, growing in age, Wisdom and Grace, before God and his beloved brothers.

He was submissive to every brother and sowed everywhere that extraordinary infused Wisdom, which came to him from above, pure and surrendered.

Mary accompanied him everywhere.

He clung to her at every important event, so much so that he called her the Advocate of the Order, she who had made our brother the Lord of Majesty.

But no less was Clare part of the unique, silent Family of God, so fully that she received the gift (by now ill and no longer able to go to church) of participating meaningfully in the Christmas Liturgy.

The Father of Mercies and the entire Nazarethian Family were with her. 

The Sources inform us:

"At that hour of Christmas (1252), when the world rejoices with the angels over the newborn Child, all the Women set out for Matins to the place of prayer, leaving the Mother alone burdened with her infirmity. 

And, having begun to think of the little Jesus and greatly regretting not being able to participate in the singing of his praises, she sighs and says to him:

"Lord God, here I am left alone for Thee!".

And suddenly the wonderful concert that was going on in the church of St Francis began to ring in her ears.

He heard the friars psalm in jubilation, followed the harmonies of the singers, even perceived the sound of the instruments.

The place was by no means so close as to humanly allow the perception of those sounds: either that solemn celebration was made divinely sonorous to the point of reaching her, or her hearing was strengthened beyond all human possibilities.

Indeed, surpassing this prodigy of hearing, she was even worthy to see the Lord's crib.

When, in the morning, her daughters came to her, the blessed Clare said:

"Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not leave me alone when you abandoned me!

I have indeed heard, by the Grace of Christ, all those ceremonies that were celebrated this night in the church of St Francis" (FF 3212).

In the communities of Francis and Clare of Assisi, the spirit of the Family of Nazareth fermented, experienced in suffering but also a place of genuine virtue.

Clare, like another Mary, meditated in her heart on all the Mysteries of the Son of God.

Holy Family of Nazareth C (Lk 2:41-52)

The persecution and murder of the Holy Innocents recalls that of the Innocent par excellence: Jesus - and the entire Holy Family of Nazareth, by Herod.

Joseph, warned, "rose up in the night, took the child and his mother and fled into Egypt" (Mt 2:14).

Francis meditated much on the martyrdom of the persecuted Lamb.

Every event reminded him of his sufferings.

The Sources narrate a very significant episode:

"In the diocese of Gubbio, a sheep gave birth to a lamb. There was a ferocious sow there, who, with a rabid bite, killed the innocent creature.

Hearing of the deed, the pitiful father was seized with the deepest compassion and, thinking of the Lamb without blemish, lamented before all at the death of the little lamb.

"Oh alas, brother lamb," he said, "innocent animal, representing Christ to men, cursed be that wicked one who slew thee. And may no one, man or beast, eat his flesh!"

The evil swine immediately fell ill and, after serving three days of suffering for her guilt, finally suffered execution' (FF 1146).

An emblematic fact that explains and brings to mind many things, not least the ferocity of every persecutor (and Herod).

In the "Sacrum Commercium" document contained in the Franciscan Sources, we read:

"But the perfection of all virtues, that is, Our Lady Persecution, to whom, as to me, God has entrusted the kingdom of heaven, was with me in all circumstances, faithful helper, strong co-operator, wise counsellor, and if at times she saw someone grow lukewarm in charity, forget even for a little while heavenly things, become attached in any way to earthly goods, she would immediately raise her voice, shake the army, cover the faces of my children with shame so that they would seek the name of the Lord" (FF 1994).

Clare of Assisi herself, meditating on the penury and danger of the Holy Family of Nazareth, shed hot tears in continuous prayer.

In the Rule, addressed to her daughters she says:

"Have the Spirit of the Lord and his Holy operation [...] and love those who persecute us [...] for the Lord says: Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who persevere to the end will be saved' (FF 2811).

And Francis, in his Testament, writes to his brothers thus:

"Wherever they are not accepted, let them flee to another land to do penance with the blessing of God" (FF 123).

Francis himself, who went to the Sultan of Egypt, Melek-el-Kamel to bring the proclamation of Christ, was persecuted:

"Before he reached the Sultan, his assassins seized him, insulted him, lashed him, and he feared nothing: neither threats, nor torture, nor death; and although invested with the brutal hatred of many, he was received by the Sultan with great honour!" (FF 422).

And to his brothers he taught that boldness in faith that makes one intrepid in adverse situations, because Providence accompanies the innocent who are beaten for Christ, for his Gospel.

"He arose in the night, took the Child and his Mother and fled into Egypt" (Mt 2:14).

Francis could not think back without weeping [...] how destitute and lonely Joseph, Mary and Jesus found themselves at the time of the Child's birth and their flight into Egypt.

"Once, while he was sitting at lunch, a monk reminded him of the poverty of the blessed Virgin and the destitution of Christ her Son. Immediately he rose from the table, burst into sobs of sorrow, and with his face wet with tears he ate the rest of the bread on the bare earth" (FF 788).

Eighth of Christmas. Innocent martyrs (Mt 2:13-18)