In chapter ten of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warns against the hypocrisy of the one whom St Teresa of Ávila described as ‘a liar, a hypocrite, a man of darkness’.
We must fear him, says the Lord, for he is capable of casting us into Gehenna.
When, by grace, Francis of Assisi manages to convert and tame the wolf of Gubbio, he then reminds the inhabitants of that place of a crucial point:
«The flame of hell, which is to endure eternally for the damned, is more dangerous than the fury of the wolf, who can kill only the body: how much more, then, is the mouth of hell to be feared, when such a multitude is kept in fear and trembling by the mouth of a small animal.
Return therefore, dearest ones, to God and do worthy penance for your sins, and God will deliver you from the wolf in the present and in the future from the fire of hell» (Fioretti. FF 1852).
Likewise, the humble Francis kept every form of hypocrisy far from his life.
The Sources recount a significant episode.
“One winter the Saint had his poor body covered with a single habit, reinforced with very coarse patches.
The guardian*, who was also his companion, bought a fox skin and brought it to him, saying:
«Father, you suffer from your spleen and stomach: I beg your charity in the Lord to allow me to sew this skin inside your habit. If you do not want the whole thing, at least accept a part of it to cover your stomach».
Francis replied:
«If you want me to wear this fur under my habit, have another one of the same size sewn on the outside. Sewn on the outside, it will be a sign of the fur hidden beneath».
The friar listened, but was not of the same mind […] In the end, the guardian gave in, and had one fur sewn over the other, so that Francis might not appear outwardly different from what he was within.
O example of consistency, identical in life and in words! The same inside and out, as a subject and as a superior!
You desired no glory, neither external nor private, for you boasted only in the Lord” (FF 714).
The guardian was Brother Angelo of Rieti.
«But rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna» (Mt 10:28b)
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A (Mt 10:26–33)
