Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever. 
Today we're just continuing our series on Franciscan spirituality and the fruits of embracing this spiritual path, specifically that of simplicity. We'll just look at some examples of St. Francis' spiritual simplicity.
St. Francis arrived at true freedom through penance and self-dominion. He arrived at holy, pure simplicity by renouncing every form of empty science and human diplomacy. He had an honest and burning will that aimed constantly at God and at God alone. His motto was to be transparent, to not appear differently on the outside from what He really was on the inside. For this, St. Francis once thanked the farmer who admonished him to be what he was believed to be by the people.
Moved by this urgency, which in him was very strong, Francis accused himself before everyone of having eaten tasty foods seasoned with lard during the season of Lent. He accepted wearing the skin of a wolf, which the guardian gave to him so that he would appear outwardly what he judged himself to be inwardly, a wolf, as he would say. Publicly, Francis confessed to having had the feeling of vainglory in giving his mantle to a poor woman. He wanted everyone. He wanted to know that he had once eaten chicken, at least, it was considered a luxury at that time when he was eating it. He revealed to Friar Bernard the negative judgment made about himself and wanted to be punished severely for it.
Blessed Thomas of Celano, his biographer, writes of St. Francis, he says, "O coherence of maxims and of life, the same inside as outside, the same to an inferior as to a prelate. You didn't love external glory. Nor your own. You only gloried in the Lord," said Thomas of Celano. This is how Francis was, and this is the purity and honesty that every true disciple of his should aim at.
Things like superstructures or superficial etiquette and politeness, speaking and acting in ways that aim at ulterior motives, hidden maneuvers to arrive at your desired outcome, elaborate discourses which invite multiple interpretations or multiple precautions to avoid criticisms. All these things are unfamiliar behavior for an authentic Franciscan. A true Franciscan opposes the vanity of discussions with fervor in works. They oppose pretending to be a teacher of others by word with the compelling force of their example. It doesn't mean that they don't teach with their words, it just means that their words without deeds are meaningless.
A Franciscan spirit opposes the science of the world with the wisdom of the gospel, and before speculating in a learned way, a true Franciscan knows first how to pray with humility. In the world which is full of shrewd and torturous diplomacies, the Franciscan spirit goes forward principally armed with the truth, with the yes, yes, and no, no of the gospel, Matthew 5:37. It doesn't mean that diplomacy is bad or that we don't need to worry about being prudent in our words and our actions. It doesn't mean that we see everything in a black and white perspective, which is usually overly simplistic. It just means that we don't employ a cunning and ambitious spirit, a worldly-wise spirit in our undertakings.
Humanly speaking, a candid Franciscan soul is usually completely defenseless, but it's for this reason that God Himself takes up their defense. His simplicity is what keeps his energies intact in order for him or her to be a revelation of the spirit of Christ to others, Christ who dwells in them, in their soul. In this way, as Celano writes, holy simplicity, daughter of grace, sister of wisdom, mother of justice, matured from union with God in a poor, humble, and suffering life, makes the seraphic soul truly a poem of wisdom.
Let's ask Our Lady for that grace to be as our Lord says, to be as wise as serpents and as prudent as serpents, but also to be as harmless or as simple as doves, Matthew 10:16. 
Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.