Franciscan Easter
For Saint Francis, the mystery of Christ's resurrection could only be expressed through great jubilee, joy, praise, and singing, just as he himself did in his youth. Francis meditated deeply on the mysteries of our Lord's life, and then he had no better way to express the results than by praising God. And his joy is genuine because it is the result of the experience of having carried the cross, and having triumphed over himself.
When Saint Francis speaks of the great mystery of the resurrection of Christ (and he does this always, at least indirectly), only endless words of happiness come out. His words are taken mostly from Holy Scriptures and the liturgy, spun by faith and love in the heart of a deeply believing man. Of a man emptied of himself. A man that looks a lot to the poor and humbled Christ. A man who, near the end of his life, will be able to say: "I know Christ crucified by heart." A man who has tenderly embraced and cured the "crucified" body of the leper brothers...
Francis learned that the joys that are not born from the cross (with all that it means) are like fireworks, they last as long as they last, they fade little by little. On this Easter, let us “anchor” our hope and the source of our joy, to the cross of Jesus, the tree of life. Let this fountain water our smallest hopes and joys, those of each day, so that you can make them more true, broaden and purify them.
May we pray with the psalms of the Office of the Passion, composed by Saint Francis, in which he speaks of the triumph of the Lord's resurrection.
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