PART III.
ADMONITIONS OF THE BLESSED FATHER ST, FRANCIS TO HIS BRETHREN
Our Lord said to His Disciples : ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me, If you had known Me you would surely have known My Father also ; and from henceforth you shall know Him and have seen Him. Philip saith to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus saith to him, Have I been so long a time with you, and have you not known Me? Philip, he that seeth Me seeth the Father also.’ The Father dwells in light inaccessible. God is a Spirit, and no one ever saw God ; therefore it is only by the spirit we can see Him, for the spirit giveth life, the flesh profiteth nothing. For neither can the Son, inasmuch as He is equal to the Father, be seen, as the Father and the Holy Ghost cannot be seen; therefore all those who saw Our Lord Jesus Christ according to His Humanity, but did not see and believe according to the spirit and the Divinity that He was the Son of God, were condemned. In like manner, all those who behold the Sacrament, which is sanctified by the Word of God upon the Altar in the hands of the priest, under the appearances of bread and wine, but who do not see and believe according to the Spirit and the Divinity that It IS really the most holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, are condemned. He, the Most High, has declared it, when He said : ‘ This is My Body, and the Blood of the New Testament;’ and ‘They who eat My Flesh and drink My Blood shall have eternal life.’ He who has the Spirit of God, Who dwells in His faithful servants — he it is who receives the most holy Body and Blood of the Lord ; but all others who presume to receive Him not having this spirit, eat and drink judgment to themselves. Wherefore, ‘O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart ? why do you love vanity and seek after lying f Why will you not know the truth, and believe in the Son of God } Behold, every day He humbles Himself as when He descended from His royal throne in heaven into the womb of the Virgin Mary ; every day He comes to us with like humility ; every day He descends from the Bosom of His Heavenly Father upon the Altar in the hands of the priest. And as ‘He appeared in true flesh to His holy Apostles, so now He shows Himself to us under the form of bread. And as they with the eyes of their body saw only His flesh, but contemplating Him with their spiritual eyes, believed Him ,to be their Lord and their God ; so we, who see only bread and wine with our bodily eyes, believe most firmly that It is His most holy Body and true and living Blood, And in this way Our Lord is always present with His faithful servants, as He said : ‘Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.’
III. God said to Adam : ‘ Of every tree in paradise thou mayest eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat.’ Adam might eat of every tree in paradise, because as long as he was obedient he did not sin. That man eats of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, who acts according to his own will, and prides himself upon the good which the Lord has given him and works in him ; and thus through the suggestion of the devil and his own transgression, this good becomes to him as the apple of the knowledge of evil. Therefore it is necessary that he should suffer punishment. Our Lord said in the Gospel: ‘He who does not renounce all he possesses, cannot be My disciple,’ and ‘ He that will save his life shall lose it’ That man renounces all he has, and loses hi? life, who places himself by obedience entirely in the hands of his Superiors, and always does and says those things that are agreeable to their wishes (provided that the things he does are good). This is true obedience. And if a subject thinks that something would be better and more profitable to his soul than what his Superiors command, let him sacrifice his will to God, and endeavour to accomplish the work enjoined him. This is charitable obedience, which causes him to sacrifice himself for God and his neighbour. If, however, a prelate orders a subject to do anything that would be injurious to his soul, he may refuse to obey, but he must not on that account leave his Superior. And if, for this cause, he suffer persecution from Superiors, he should love them the more in the Lord. Now he who would rather suffer persecution than separate himself from his Brethren, practises perfect obedience, for he gives his life for his Brethren. There are many religious who, under pretence of doing a greater good than what is commanded by their Superiors, look back, and return to the vomit of their own will. These are murderers, for they cause the loss of many souls through their fault. Our Lord says : ‘I did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister.’ Those who are appointed to be over others, should glory in this office only as much as if they had been chosen to wash the feet of their Brethren ; and if they are more disturbed at the loss of their dignity, than they would be at the loss of that lowly office, they may be sure their soul is in danger, and in proportion to the disturbance they feel is the greatness of their peril. Think, O man, how great is the excellence God has bestowed on you, for He created and formed you to the image of His beloved Son according to the body, and to His own likeness according to the spirit. And all creatures under heaven, according to their nature, know, serve, and obey their Creator better than you ; the devils did not crucify Him, but you, incited by them, have crucified Him, and still crucify Him when you delight in vice and sin. Of what then can you glory? For if you were so wise and clever that you knew all things, and could interpret all languages, and penetrate all heavenly mysteries with the greatest clearness, you could not glory in all this, for one demon knows more of heavenly, and even of earthly things, than all men put together, although some have ben endowed with special wisdom by God. Again, if you were richer and more beautiful than all others, nay, even if you could work miracles and put the devils to flight, still all these things are contrary to your nature, and in no way belong to you. In all this you cannot glory, but in one thing we may glory, that is in our infirmities, and in bearing daily the holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us all, my Brethren, consider the Good Shepherd, Who bore the suffering of the Cross to save His sheep. The sheep of the Lord followed Him in tribulation and persecution, in shame and hunger, in infirmity and temptations, and other sufferings, and for this they have received eternal life from the Lord. Therefore it is a great shame to the servants of God, that the Saints should do the works, and that we should expect glory and honour for preaching and reciting the works they have performed. The Apostle has said : ‘The letter killeth ; the Spirit giveth life’ Those are killed by the letter who desire to know the words only that they may be reputed more learned than others, and that they may acquire great riches to bestow on their relations and friends. Those religious are killed by the letter, who will not follow the spirit of the Divine teaching, but only care to know the words and to interpret them to others. And they are enlivened by the spirit of the Divine teaching, who offer all their knowledge, and all they wish to know, to the great God, from Whom is all good, for they do not live by the body only, but by the words and examples of the Holy Scriptures,
VII. The Apostle says : ‘ No one can say, the Lord Jesus, except fay the Holy Ghost,’ and ‘There is none that doeth good, no, not one/.’ Therefore, whoever envies his Brother for the good which God says or does in him, commits a sin like unto blasphemy, for he envies the Most High Himself, Who is the Author of all good words and works.
VIII. The Lord says in the Gospel: ‘Love your enemies, do good to them who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you,’ etc. They really love their enemies who do not grieve for the injury done to themselves, but for the sin committed, on account of the love they bear to God, and who show this love by their works. There are many who, if they commit sin, or suffer any injury, immediately blame their neighbor or their enemy. But this is not just, for each one has his enemy in his power, namely, his body, by which he sinned. Therefore blessed is the man who having this enemy in his power always keeps it chained, and wisely defends himself from it, for if he do this, no other visible enemy can hurt him. Nothing but sin should be displeasing to the servant of God. And no matter in what way a person sins, if the servant of God is disturbed and angry at it (unless it be for the love of God,) he commits a fault and deserves punishment. The true servant of God is not troubled or angry about anything ; he lives justly and seeks not himself. Blessed is he who keeps nothing back, but who renders ‘ to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’The servant of God may know whether he has the spirit of God, if, when the Lord works some good through him, he is not puffed up in body or mind, knowing that in himself he is contrary to all good, but rather appears viler in his own eyes, and esteems himself more miserable than other men.
XII. It cannot be known how much humility or patience a servant of God has, when he has everything according to his wishes or necessity. But when the time comes that those who ought to befriend him turn against him, then he has as much humility and patience as he shows, and no more.
XIII. ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ There are many who recite long offices and prayers, who afflict their bodies with abstinences and penances, but who are scandalised and disturbed by a single word, or by any injury done to them, or by the loss of anything belonging to them. These are not truly poor in spirit, for he who is truly poor in spirit hates himself and loves others, even if they strike him on the cheek.
XIV. ‘Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God.’ Those are truly peace-makers who in all the sufferings of this life keep their body and soul in peace for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘ Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.’ Those are truly clean of heart who despise the things of earth and aspire to those of heaven, and who never desist from adoring and contemplating the living God with a pure heart and mind.
XVI. Blessed is that servant who is not more exalted on account of the good God says and works by him, than for that which He says and works by others. That man sins who wishes to receive more from others than he is himself willing to give to the Lord his God. Blessed is the man who bears with the weakness of his neighbour, as he would wish others to bear with him in like case.
XVII. Blessed is the servant who gives and attributes all good to the Lord God, for he who retains anything for himself hides the money of the Lord his God, and all that he seems to have shall be taken from him. Blessed is that servant who does not think himself better when he is praised and exalted by men, than when he is despised and considered simple- and good-for-nothing, for what a man is in the sight of God, that he is and no more. Woe to that religious who is placed in a high position by others, and is not willing to descend from it. And blessed is that servant who is elevated by others against his will, and who always desires to be under the feet of all.
XVIII. Blessed is the religious who takes pleasure only in holy words and works of God, and who thus leads men to the love of God, with joy, happiness, and exultation. But woe to that religious who delights in vain and idle words, and by these tempts men to laughter. Blessed is that servant who does not speak for the hope of reward, who does not manifest all his thoughts, nor speak with eagerness, but who wisely considers what he should say and answer. Woe to that religious who does not keep secret the good which God does in him, manifesting it to others only by his works ; but who, for the hope of the reward, is more anxious to speak of it to men than to show it to God ; he may indeed receive the recompense he seeks, but those who hear him will derive but little benefit.
XIX. Blessed is that servant who bears discipline, accusations, and reprehensions from others as patiently as from himself. Blessed is the servant who mildly yields to reproof, obeys with modesty, humbly confesses his fault, and willingly makes satisfaction. Blessed is the servant who is not quick in excusing himself, and who humbly bears the shame and reprehension for sin when he has committed no fault. Blessed is that servant who is as humble among his Brethren and inferiors as among his Superiors and Prelates. Blessed is the servant who always remains under the rod of correction. He is a faithful and prudent servant who in all his offences does not delay to punish himself interiorly by contrition, and exteriorly by confession and works of satisfaction.
- Blessed is the servant who loves his Brother as much when he is ill and cannot do anything for him, as when he is well and can be of use to him. And blessed is he who loves his Brother as much when he is at a distance from him as when he is near, and who would say nothing about him behind his back, that he could not with charity say before his face. Blessed is that servant who trusts in the priests who live justly, according to the rules of the holy Roman Church, and woe to those who despise them ; for even if they were sinners, still no one ought to judge them, for God reserves to Himself alone the right of doing so. For as their charge is greater than that of any others, namely, the administration of the most holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which they receive, and which they alone can give to others, so the sin of those who offend against them is greater than against anyone else in the world.
XXI. Where charity and wisdom are, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where patience and humility are, there is neither anger nor perturbation of mind. Where joyful poverty is found, there is neither cupidity nor avarice. Where there are quietness and meditation, there is neither solicitude nor dissipation. Where the fear of God guards the house, the enemy can find no entrance. Where mercy and discretion are, there is neither superfluity nor parsimony.
XXII. Blessed is the man who treasures up for heaven the good things which the Lord shows him, and who does not desire to manifest them to men through the hope of reward, for the Most High will Himself make manifest his works to whom He pleases. Blessed is the servant who keeps the secrets of his Lord in his heart.
These are the words of life and salvation, and whoever chooses them and fulfils them, shall find life and
receive salvation from the Lord. Amen.