The gospel for this morning comes from Luke 8

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you.”
He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

St. Francis of Assisi offers insightful wisdom on this passage:  “They are children of the heavenly Father whose works they do, and they are spouses, brothers, and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are spouses when the faithful soul is joined to our Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. We are brothers to Him when we do the will of the Father Who is in Heaven. We are mothers when we carry Him in our heart and body through divine love and pure and sincere conscience and give birth to Him through a holy activity which must shine as an example before others.” (Earlier Exhortation, para 8)

Earlier Exhortation (also known as Second Letter to the Faithful) from Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Vol. 1: The Saint, Eds.: Regis J, Armstrong, J. Wayne Hellman, William J. Short.