Life of St. Francis of Assisi | 1

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Life of St. Francis of Assisi.

CHAPTER I.

The manner of life of St. Francis whilst he yet wore the secular habit.

In the city of Assisi there dwelt a man named Francis, whose memory is in benediction:

for God in His mercy, preventing him with His Divine blessing, vouchsafed to deliver him from the perils of this present life, and filled him abundantly with the gifts of His heavenly grace.

For although he was brought up in his youth among the vain children of worldly men in the vanities of the world, and was employed by his father, as soon as he had acquired some knowledge of letters, in the pursuit of worldly gain;

yet, by the continual present help of God, he never suffered himself to be carried away, like the lawless youths around him, by sensual pleasure, albeit he was of a gay and joyous spirit;

nor, although dwelling among covetous traders, was he intent upon gain, nor did he set his heart and hopes on money.

For in the soul of this young man there dwelt, by the gift of God, a certain innate and natural love of the poor of Christ,

which, growing up with him from his earliest childhood, filled his heart with such benignity that, in obedience to the words of the Gospel, he resolved within himself to give to everyone who should ask of him, and especially if the petitions were made in the name of God.

Now it happened one day, when Francis was wholly engrossed by the tumult of worldly business that a poor man asked alms of him; contrary to his usual custom he passed him unheeded, and went on his way.

But speedily recollecting himself, he ran after the poor man, charitably relieved his wants, and made a solemn promise to God that, from that day forth, he would never refuse alms to any that should ask it of him for the love of God.

And this promise he faithfully kept till the day of his death, meriting thereby an abundant increase of the grace and love of God.

So that he was wont to say, after he had perfectly put on Christ, that even while he still wore the secular habit, he could never hear words expressing the love of God without his heart being deeply moved and affected.

And certain it is, that in the sweetness and mildness of his bearing, the gentleness of his manners, his patience and docility—far beyond the ordinary custom of men, the munificence of his bounty, exceeding even the extent of his means,—

in all these things shone forth the beauty of this young man’s soul, clearly betokening the abundant outpouring of the Divine blessing reserved for him in days to come.

A certain man of great simplicity dwelt in those days at Assisi, who, by virtue of knowledge Divinely infused, whenever he met Francis in the street, would take off his mantle, and spread it upon the ground before him,

declaring that he did so because he was a man worthy of all honour and reverence, who should shortly perform great works and marvellous deeds, and was, therefore, to be highly honoured and praised by all faithful Christians.

But Francis as yet knew not, neither understood, the great purposes of God towards him;

for being by the will of his father engrossed by external affairs, and also by reason of the original corruption of our nature drawn down and depressed by earthly things,

he had not learned to contemplate heavenly mysteries, neither did he yet know the sweetness of Divine consolation.

And, forasmuch as the Lord is wont, by afflictions and tribulations, to open the ears of the Spirit, so, by the right hand of the Most High, he was suddenly changed,

his body being afflicted with long and severe sufferings, that so his soul might be prepared to receive the unction of the Holy Ghost.

Now, when he had recovered his bodily health, going forth one day, as was his wont, in apparel suited to his state, he met a certain soldier of honour and courage, but poor and vilely clad;

of whose poverty, feeling a tender and sorrowful compassion, he took off his new clothes and gave them to the poor man-at-arms, thus at once fulfilling two offices of piety, by covering the shame of a noble cavalier and relieving a poor man’s penury.

On the following night, when he was asleep, the Divine mercy showed him a spacious and beautiful palace filled with arms and military ensigns, all marked with the cross of Christ,

to make known to him that his charitable deed done to the poor soldier for the love of the great King of Heaven should receive an unspeakable reward.

And when he asked for whom all these things were reserved, a Divine voice answered him that they were for him and for his soldiers.

When Francis awoke, early in the morning, not being yet accustomed to understand and interpret Divine mysteries, nor through visible signs to ascend to invisible truths, he thought that this strange vision betokened some great earthly prosperity.

Therefore, being still ignorant of the Divine will, he determined to go into Apulia, there to enter the household of a certain Count of great magnificence and liberality, who dwelt in that country, hoping in his service to acquire military honour and renown, according to what he supposed to be the meaning of the vision.

When he had travelled for some days together, he came to a certain city, when the Lord spoke to him in the night with the familiar voice of a friend, saying, “ Francis, who can do most for thee—the Lord or the servant, the rich man or the poor?”

And when Francis replied that the Lord and the rich man could do more for him than the poor, — “Wherefore, then,” said the voice, “dost thou leave the Lord for the servant, and the God of infinite riches for a poor mortal?”

Then said Francis, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?”

And the Lord answered:

“Return home; for the vision which thou hast seen prefigured a spiritual work which thou shalt bring to pass, not by human counsel, but by Divine disposition.”

So, when the day dawned, Francis set forth in great haste towards Assisi, full of joy and confidence; and from that time he awaited in obedience the revelation of the will of God,

and withdrawing from the tumult of worldly affairs, he most devoutly besought the Divine clemency to vouchsafe to make manifest to him all that he was to do.

And so, by the practice of frequent prayer, the vehement flame of heavenly desires increased daily within him,

and already, for the love of his celestial country, he despised all earthly things, as if they existed not;

for he knew that he had found the hidden treasure, and like a prudent merchant he considered within himself how to sell all that he had to make it his own.

But he knew not yet how he was to purchase it, nor what he was to give for it; only it seemed to be made known to him that the spiritual merchant must begin with the contempt of the world, and that the soldier of Christ must begin by victory over himself.

Now, as he was riding one day over the plain of Assisi he met a leper, whose sudden appearance filled him with fear and horror;

but forthwith calling to mind the resolution which he had made to follow after perfection, and remembering that if he would be a soldier of Christ he must first overcome himself,

he dismounted from his horse and went to meet the leper, that he might embrace him; and when the poor man stretched out his hand to receive alms, he kissed it and filled it with money.

Having again mounted his horse, he looked around him over the wide and open plain, but nowhere could he see the leper;

upon which, being filled with wonder and joy, he began devoutly to give thanks to God, purposing within himself to proceed to still greater things than this.

He sought continually for wild and solitary places, where, with tears and unutterable groans, he poured forth long and fervent prayers, until at last our Lord was pleased to hear him;

for being one day engaged in fervent prayer, according to his custom, in a lonely place, he became wholly absorbed in God, when Jesus Christ appeared to him under the form of a crucifix, at which sight his whole soul seemed to melt away;

and so deeply was the memory of Christ’s Passion impressed on his heart, that it pierced even to the marrow of his bones.

From that hour, whenever he thought upon the Passion of Christ, he could scarcely restrain his tears and sighs;

for he then understood (as he made known to some of his familiar friends not long before his death), that those words of the Gospel were addressed to him: “If thou wilt come after Me, deny thyself and take up thy cross, and follow Me.”

And from that day forth he clothed himself with the spirit of poverty, the sense of humility, and the affection of interior piety.

And inasmuch as heretofore he had greatly abhorred the company of lepers, and could not endure even the distant sight of them, now—for the love of Christ crucified, who, according to the Prophet’s words, was despised as a leper — he, in contempt of himself, sought out and served lepers with great humility and piety, and aided them in all their necessities.

For he often visited them in their houses, giving them bountiful alms, and with affectionate compassion he would kiss their hands and their faces;

and he desired to bestow upon poor beggars not only his money, but even himself; oftentimes taking off his own clothes to cover them, tearing or cutting them in pieces for them when he had nothing else to give.

With the greatest reverence and piety he was wont to supply the necessities of poor priests, especially by providing them with ornaments for the altar, that so he might at the same time bear his part in the Divine worship, and provide for the needs of the ministers of God.

About this time, as he was visiting with great reverence and devotion the holy temple of St. Peter, at Rome, he saw a great multitude of poor surrounding the church door;

and partly induced by the love of poverty, partly by the delight which he took in the exercise of works of mercy, he gave his own clothes to the one who seemed most destitute;

and putting on the poor man’s rags, he remained there all day amidst these poor people, in marvellous joy and gladness of heart, that so despising the glory of the world he might attain to evangelical perfection.

He laboured with all diligence at the mortification of the flesh, that thus the cross of Christ, which he bore inwardly in his heart, might be impressed also outwardly on his body.

And all these things were done by Francis, this servant of God, before he had taken the religious habit, or separated himself from the conversation of the world.