God, keep them and preserve them in the status in which they were called, and do not permit them to rise to ecclesiastical prelacies."

⁶ And because he preferred humility to honor
both in himself and in all his subjects,
God, the lover of the humble,
judged him worthy of higher honors
as a heavenly vision revealed to one brother,
a man of outstanding virtue and devotion.

For when he was in the company of the man of God and was praying fervently with him in a deserted church, he passed into ecstasy, and saw among the many thrones in heaven one more noble than the rest, adorned with precious stones and glittering with great glory. He wondered within himself ^{Est 15:9} at the splendor of the lofty throne, and thought quietly about whose it might be. Then he heard a voice saying to him:" This throne belonged to one of those who fell, and now it is reserved for the humble Francis." Finally, when the brother came back to himself from the flight of prayer, he followed the blessed man as he proceeded to act in his usual manner.

As they went along the road, talking to one another about God, that brother, not unmindful of his vision, skillfully asked him what he thought of himself. The humble servant of Christ said to him: "I see myself as the greatest of sinners." When the brother said, to the contrary, that he could neither say nor feel this with a good conscience, [Francis] continued: "If Christ had pursued so great a criminal with such mercy, I surely think he would be much more grateful to God than I." At hearing such remarkable humility, the brother was convinced of the truth of the vision, knowing from the sacred testimony of the Gospel that the truly humble will be exalted to the height of glory from which the proud have been cast out.

⁷Another time, when he was praying in a deserted church at Monte Casale in the province of Massa, he realized through the spirit that sacred relics had been left there. When he sadly reflected that they had been robbed of the honor due them for a long time, he ordered the brothers to bring them with reverence to the place. But when, for an urgent reason he had gone away, his sons, forgetting the father's order, disregarded the merit of obedience. One day when they wanted to celebrate the sacred mysteries, after they had removed the cover from the altar, they discovered—not without great wonder—some very beautiful and very fragrant bones. They

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« ut fructum faciant in ecclesia Dei, tenete illos et conservate in statu vocationis eorum, et ad praelationes ecclesiasticas nullatenus ascendere permittatis ».

6 ¹Et quoniam humilitatem tam in se
quam in subditis cunctis praeferebat honoribus,
amator humilium Deus
altioribus ipsum dignum iudicabat fastigiis,
secundum quod uni fratri,
viro virtutis et devotionis praecipuae,
visio caelitus ostensa monstravit.

²Cum enim esset in comitatu viri Dei et una cum ipso in quadam ecclesia deserta ferventi oraret affectu, in ecstasi factus, vidit inter multas in caelo sedes unam caeteris digniorem, pretiosis ornatam lapidibus et omni gloria refulgentem. ³Miratus intra se praecelsi refulgentiam throni, anxia coepit cogitatione perquirere, quis ad illum deberet assumi. ⁴Audivit inter haec vocem dicentem sibi: « Sedes ista unius de ruentibus fuit et nunc humili servatur Francisco ». ⁵Reversus demum frater ad se ab orationis excessu, virum beatum exterius prodeuntem solito fuit more secutus.

⁶Cumque incedentes per viam, de Deo invicem loquerentur, frater ille, visionis suae non immemor, solerter ab eo quaesivit, quid de se ipso sentiret. ⁷Ad quem humilis Christi servus: « Videor » , ait, « mihi maximus peccatorum ». ⁸Cui cum frater diceret ex adverso, quod hoc nec posset sana conscientia dicere nec sentire, subiunxit: « Si quantumcumque sceleratum hominem tanta fuisset Christus misericordia prosecutus, arbitror sane, quod multo quam ego Deo gratior esset ». ⁹Confirmatus fuit frater ex tam admirabilis humilitatis auditu de veritate visionis ostensae, Evangelio sacro testante cognoscens, quod ad excellentiam gloriae, de qua superbus eicitur, vere humilis exaltetur.

7 ¹Alio quoque tempore, cum in deserta quadam oraret ecclesia in provincia Massae apud Montem Casalem, intellexit per spiritum, sacras ibidem remansisse reliquias. ²Quas cum longo iam tempore defraudatas honorificentia debita non sine moerore conspiceret, praecepit fratribus, ut eas cum reverentia deferrent ad locum. ³Sed cum, poscente causa, discessisset ab eis, mandati patris immemores, filii obedientiae meritum neglexerunt. ⁴Die vero quadam, cum sacra celebrare vellent mysteria, superiore altaris operimento submoto, ossa pulcherrima et redolentia nimis non sine admiratione reperiunt,