LETTER II.
To all the Faithful of Christ,
To all Christians, religious, priests, laymen, and women, and to all who dwell in the world ; Brother Francis, their servant and slave, reverently wishes true peace from heaven, and sincere charity in the Lord. I, being the servant of all, am bound to serve all, and to minister to them the most sweet words of my Lord. Wherefore, considering in my mind that on account of my infirmities and of the weakness of my body, I cannot personally visit each one, I desire by this letter to announce unto you the words of my Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Eternal Word of the Father, and also the words of the Holy Ghost, which are spirit and life. This Word of the Father, so divine, so holy, and so glorious, was announced from heaven by the holy Archangel Gabriel, and He descended into the womb of the glorious Virgin Mary, receiving from her the true flesh of our frail humanity. And being rich. He, together with His most blessed Mother, desired above all things in this world to embrace poverty. Before His Passion He celebrated the Pasch with His disciples, and taking bread, He gave thanks, and blessed and broke it, saying: ‘Take and eat, this is My Body ;’ and taking the chalice. He said : ‘This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins.’ Soon after He prayed to His Father, saying: ‘Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me.’ And His sweat became as drops of blood falling down upon the ground. But He united His will with that of His Heavenly Father, saying : ‘Father, Thy will be done ; not what I will, but what Thou wiliest.’
It was the will of His Father that this most glorious and blessed Son, Whom He gave to us, and Who was born for us, should, by the shedding of His Blood, offer Himself as a sacrifice on the Altar of the Cross, not for Himself, for by Him all things were made, but for our sins, ‘leaving us an example that we should follow in His footsteps.’ And He desires that we should all be saved by Him, and that we should receive Him with a pure mind and a chaste body. But alas! there are few who are willing to receive Him and to be saved by Him, although His yoke is sweet and His burden light.
Those who will not taste how sweet is the Lord, and who love darkness rather than light, being unwilling to fulfil the law of God, are cursed ; for the prophet, speaking of them, says : ‘Cursed are they that decline from Thy commandments.’ But, on the contrary, how blessed and happy are they who adore Him (as they ought) in spirit and in truth. Let us praise and beseech Him day and night, saying : ‘Our Father, Who art in heaven,’ etc., for we ought always to pray, and not to faint.
We ought indeed to confess all our sins to a priest, that we may receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, because whoever does not eat His Flesh and drink His Blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God. We must also each of us partake of this Sacrament worthily, for “he who eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord”
Let us moreover bear worthy fruits of penance, loving our neighbour as ourselves, and if anyone cannot love him as much as himself, let him at least inflict no evil on him, but do him good, Let those who have received the power to judge, exercise justice with mercy, as they hope to obtain mercy from God. ‘Judgment without mercy to those who show no mercy.’ Let us have charity and humility, and give alms, for almsgiving cleanses our souls from the filth of sin. At death we lose all that we have in this world, but we take with us charity and the alms-deeds we have done, and for these we shall receive a great reward from God.
We ought to fast, and to abstain from all vice, and from all that will lead us into sin, as well as from extravagance and superfluity. We should often visit the churches, and venerate and reverence all ecclesiastics on account of their office, and because they distribute the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ, which they offer in sacrifice, receive themselves, and administer to others. And let everyone know and hold for certain that we cannot be saved except through the sacred Words and the Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which priests preach, announce, and distribute, and of which they are the sole ministers.
We religious especially, and all who have renounced the world, are bound to do more and greater things; we must give up all that is not necessary, and hate our body with its vices and sins, for Our Lord says in the Gospel : ‘From the heart comes forth evil things ;’ we must love our enemies, and do good to those who hate us ; we must observe the precepts and counsels of our Redeemer, denying ourselves and subjecting our bodies to the yoke of obedience. But no one is bound to obey where there is sin or fault, for we came to religion in order to save our souls, and to give good example to others.
Those to whom power is entrusted, and who are considered Superiors, must be mindful to become as the least, and servants of their brethren, and they must show mercy to their subjects as they would wish to have mercy shown to them if they were subjects. Let them not be angry with their brethren on account of their defects, but correct them kindly with all patience and humility, and support and assist them by their counsels.
Let us not be wise and prudent according to the flesh, but simple, humble, and pure. Let us despise our bodies and hold them in subjection, because on account of our sins we have become miserable and corrupt, as the Lord says by the prophet : ‘I am a worm and no man’ We should never desire to be above others, but rather to be subject to every human being for the love of God. And the Spirit of God will rest on all those who act in this way, and persevere therein to the end ; He will make of them His temple and dwelling-place ; they will become the children of the Eternal Father, whose works they perform ; the spouses, brothers, and mothers of Our Lord Jesus Christ We are His spouses because all faithful souls are united to Him through the Holy Ghost ; we are His brothers when we do the will of His Father, Who is in heaven ; we are His mothers when we bear Him in our hearts and bodies by love and a pure conscience, and bring Him forth by holy works, which shine as examples to others. Oh, how great and glorious it is to have a Father in heaven ! Oh, how holy to have a sweet and loving Paraclete for our Spouse ! Oh, how holy, how delightful, how sweet, how peaceful, how amiable, how desirable above all is it to have such a Brother, Who gave His life for His sheep, and Who prayed for us to His Father, saying : ‘Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given Me. Father, all those whom Thou hast given Me in the world were Thine, and Thou hast given them to Me, and the words which Thou gavest Me, I have given to them ; and they have received them, and have known for certain that I came forth from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. I pray for them ; I sanctify Myself, that they may be made perfect in one as We are One. And I will. Father, that where I am, there also My ministers may be, that they may see the glory of My kingdom.’
Therefore let all creatures who are in heaven, on earth, in the sea, and under the earth give praise, honour, glory, and benediction to the Lord, for all He suffered for us, and for all He has done, and will do for each one ; for He is our strength and our fortitude, He only is good. He only Most High, omnipotent, admirable, glorious, and most holy, and worthy to be praised and blessed for ever and ever. Amen.
But all those who do not the works of penance, who will not receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but who do the works of sin and death; who follow their own concupiscence and wicked desires ; who will not keep what they have promised ; who are slaves to the world and to their bodies, and are engrossed by the desires, cares, and anxieties of this life — all these are deceived by the devil, whose children they are, for they do his works. They are blind, for they cannot see the true light, Jesus Christ Our Lord. They have not the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, because the Son of God is not in them, and He is the Wisdom of the Father. It is of these that it is said : ‘Their wisdom has been devoured;’ they know, and see, and understand how to do evil ; knowingly they lose their souls. See, O ye blind, how you are deceived by your enemies, that is the world, the flesh, and the devil, because the flesh finds pleasure in sin, and bitterness in the service of God, for all evils come from the flesh, as Our Lord says in the Gospel. You think to possess the vain joys of this world for a long time, but you are deceived, for the day and the hour are coming of which you will not think, and of which you do not know.
When sickness lays hold of the body, and death approaches, the friends and relations of the sick man come round him saying : ‘Settle the affairs of thy house,’ etc. And behold his wife and his children, his relations and friends, pretend to weep, and, seeing their tears, his heart is touched, and being moved by the evil spirit, he says : ‘Behold, I place my soul and my body and all I have in your hands.’ Truly this man is cursed who confides and leaves his soul and body and all he has in such hands. Of him Our Lord spoke by the prophet : ‘Cursed is the man who places his hope in man.’ Then they call the priest, who says to the sick man : ‘ Dost thou desire to do penance for thy sins ?’ He answers : ‘I do.’ ‘Wilt thou make satisfaction out of thy property to all those whom thou hast defrauded and deceived ?’ He replies : ‘No’ ‘Why not ?’ asks the priest. ‘Because I have placed it all in the hands of my relations.’ And then he loses his speech, and so he dies miserably.
But let all know that any man, in whatever place, or of whatever quality, who dies in sin without satisfaction, and who can make satisfaction and will not, is seized upon by the devil, who tears his soul from his body with such anguish and tribulation, that none will believe it unless they feel it And all the knowledge, the talents, and the powers that he had will be taken from him, and his friends and relations, to whom he gave his goods, will divide them, and then they will curse his soul and say : ‘Cursed be he, for he might have given us more, only he would not ; he might have made more money,’ and so on. His body is eaten by worms, his soul is tormented by the devils, and so he loses both soul and body through the love of this short life.
I, Brother Francis, the least of your servants, desiring to kiss your feet, pray and beseech you by that Love which God is, to receive, keep, and observe these words, and all the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ, with humility and charity. And let all those who receive and understand them, practise them as in example to others. And if they persevere in them to the end, may they be blessed by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.