The Gospel of Matthew recounts the flight into Egypt of the Family of Nazareth due to Herod's persecution, who, in order to eliminate Jesus, had all the children in Bethlehem and the surrounding area killed.

This unique family was rejected from the moment it was formed, a model of perseverance in the face of trials.

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

In fact, without hesitation, in front of the bishop of Assisi and all those present, 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 complete confidence: Our Father, who art in heaven, because in Him I have placed all my treasures and all my trust and hope" (FF 1043).

This was an eloquent response to the old world that left him languishing in its pleasures, preferring to enjoy the sweetness he breathed at home in Nazareth.

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

In fact, he nourished himself with 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 that came to him from above, pure and yielding.

Mary accompanied him everywhere.

He clung to her in 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 so, Clare was part of the unique, silent Family of God - so fully that she received the gift (now ill and no longer able to go to church) of participating sensitively in the Christmas Liturgy.

The Father of Mercy and the entire Nazareth Family were with her.

The Sources inform us:

"At that hour of Christmas (1252), when the world rejoiced with the angels for the newborn Child, all the women went to Matins at the place of prayer, leaving the Mother alone, burdened by her infirmity.

And, having begun to think of the little Jesus and to grieve greatly that she could not participate in the singing of his praises, she sighed and said to him:

'Lord God, here I am, left here alone for you!'.

And suddenly, the wonderful concert taking place in the church of St Francis began to resound in her ears.

She heard the friars singing psalms in jubilation, followed the harmonies of the singers, and even perceived the sound of the instruments.

The place was not close enough to allow human perception of those sounds: either that solemn celebration was made divinely sonorous enough to reach her, or her hearing was strengthened beyond all human possibility.

Indeed, surpassing this miracle of hearing, she was even worthy of seeing the Lord's crib.

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

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

By the grace of Christ, I heard all the ceremonies that were celebrated last 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, experienced in suffering but also a place of genuine virtue, was alive and well. Clare, like another Mary, meditated in her heart on the mysteries of the Son of God, well understanding the apprehensions and dangers of flight. She herself, leaving the old world that pursued her, had known hardship and tribulation.

All these experiences helped her, on her journey as a Poor Woman, to relive the events of the family of Nazareth in depth.

«Now after Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 'Rise, take the Child and his Mother, and go to the land of Israel'» (Mt 2:19-20a)

Holy Family of Nazareth (year A)  (Mt 2:13-15, 19-23)