Who raises the dead, by miraculously bringing him back to life, he then freed his home from a double sorrow. Behold the faithful servant imitated his merciful Lord who, moved by mercy, raised from the dead the only son of a widowed mother! ^{Lk 7:12} Behold another Elijah and Elisha who, we read, raised the sons of their hosts!

³⁰Even irrational creatures obeyed him. For example, one time when the croaking of frogs in a lake near a church interrupted his preaching, he told them to be quiet, so that he too could give praise to God. They were silent after this, until later at another time he returned to the same church. When he was told that they were always silent after his word, sorry for delaying them for so long a time, he commanded them to praise their Creator as usual. Old-timers in talking about these two events, that is the events of the frogs and the boy raised from the dead, testified that they saw them. One of them, called Brother Veritas [Truth], said that his tomb is famous for miracles.

³³Insensible things also seemed to obey. Once, after a general chapter was celebrated at Assisi, Brother Monaldo and about thirty other brothers remained to speak to blessed Francis about the salvation of the soul. He ordered that a meal be given to them since they wanted to leave the next day. Since the procurator had only a small amount of bread, the poor Francis sent word to Clare so that, if she had any, she would send some bread to him for breakfast. At that time, she had only three loaves of bread and sent two. He placed these, divided into small pieces, on the table together with the other small amount, saying: "This is the bread of charity." What more? From these three loaves, those brothers had their fill and from what was left over a full basket was taken away.

³⁸There are many signs that neither memory nor any writing retain through which Christ distinguished His herald and sign-bearer, Francis, distinguishing his teaching with a truly undeniable certitude. When we come to work in teaching and other activities, however, we do not shun idleness, which is the death of the soul. Let us be taught by the example of the father, and certainly of Christ Himself, Who was poor and in labors from youth.^a

⁴⁰I read about a certain brother who said fifty psalms each day that the Lord would guard him from the pains of purgatory. One night, when he was spending the night in prayer, the Savior together with the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and, on Christ's right side, was a large cross touching heaven. The Lord said to him while he was

 Previous

Next 

illo qui suscitat mortuos invocato, mirabiliter suscitando domum a duplici perhibetur absolvisse moerore. ²⁹Ecce fidelis servus,misericordem Dominum imitatus, qui matris filium viduae unicum, motus misericordia, suscitavit! Ecce alter Helias et Eliseus, qui hospitum filios suscitasse leguntur!

³⁰Parebant et sibi ratione carentia. Inter alia, cum semel eius praedicationem ranae tumultuantes in lacu prope fores ecclesiae impedirent, silentium illis, ut et ipse Deum laudare posset, indixit. ³¹Quae ulterius tacuerunt, donec alio postmodum tempore ad eandem reversus ecclesiam, cum eas post verbum suum semper tacuisse didicisset, praecepit, ut suum laudarent more solito Creatorem, dolens, quod ipsas tanto tempore retardasset. ³²Duo haec, scilicet de ranis et iuvene suscitato, longaevi temporis senes ad partes deferentes se vidisse testati sunt; unus, frater Veritas dicebatur, cuius sepulcrum fertur miraculis illustrari.

³³Parere quoque ipsa insensibilia videbantur. Celebrato semel apud Assisium capitulo generali, frater Monaldus et alii XXX circiter fratres remanserant, beato Francisco de salute animae locuturi. ³⁴Quibus ipse in crastino recedere volentibus prandium dari iussit. ³⁵Dispensatore vero non nisi unum modicum panem habente, misit ad Claram pauper Franciscus, ut pro dicto prandio, si quos haberet, mitteret sibi panes. ³⁶Ipsa tres solum panes tunc habuit et duos misit. Quos ille cum alio modico in minutas divisos particulas mensae apposuit dicens: « Iste est panis caritatis ». ³⁷Quid plura? Ex tribus panibus satiati sunt fratres illi et de residuo unum plenum capisterium est sublatum.

³⁸Plura sunt signa, quae nec memoria nec scriptura iam tenet, quibus suum Christus signiferum et praeconem Franciscum insigniens eius doctrinam vere indubitabili certitudine comprobavit. ³⁹Nos autem otium, quod est mors animae, non labores in doctrina et aliis, cum ad laborandum venerimus, declinemus; exemplo Patris, immo ipsius Christi docemur, qui fuit pauper et in laboribus a iuventute sua.

⁴⁰Legi de quodam fratre, qui qualibet die L Psalmos dicebat, ut eum Dominus a poena purgatorii custodiret. ⁴¹Nocte quadam, cum in orationibus pernoctaret, apparuit ei Salvator cum beata Virgine et ad dexteram Christi partem erat crux magna attingens usque ad coelum. ⁴²Et ait Dominus illi oranti: