13
HOW CHRIST TOLD HIM HE DID NOT WISH THE BROTHERS
TO POSSESS ANYTHING IN COMMON OR INDIVIDUALLY

When the brother ministers urged him to allow the brothers something at least in common, so that such a great number would have some resources, blessed Francis called upon Christ in prayer and consulted Him about this. Christ immediately responded to him, saying: "I will take away everything held individually or in common. I will always be ready to provide for this family, no matter how much it might grow, and I will always cherish it as long as it will put its hope in me."^a

14
HIS ABHORRENCE OF MONEY
AND HOW HE PUNISHED A BROTHER WHO TOUCHED MONEY

Francis, a true friend of God and imitator of Christ,^b perfectly despised all worldly things. He detested money above all. He encouraged his brothers in word and example to flee from it as from the devil himself. He gave his brothers this observation: money and manure are equally worthy of love.

Now it happened one day that a layman came to pray in the church of Saint Mary of the Portiuncula and placed some money by the cross as an offering. When he left, one of the brothers simply picked it up with his hand and threw it on the windowsill. When this was reported to blessed Francis, and he, seeing he had been caught, immediately ran to ask forgiveness, threw himself to the ground, and offered himself to be whipped.

The saint rebuked him and reprimanded him severely for touching coins. He ordered him to pick up the money from the windowsill with his own mouth, take it outside the fence of that place, and with his mouth to put it on the donkey's manure pile. While that brother was gladly carrying out this command, all who saw or heard were filled with great fear. From then on, they valued money as much as manure, holding it in as great a contempt as ass's dung. They were encouraged to despise it by new examples every day.

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Qualiter Christus dixit ei quod nolebat fratres
habere aliquid in communi nec in speciali.
Caput 13.

¹Cum fratres ministri suaderent ei ut aliquid concederet fratribus, saltem in communi, ita quod tanta multitudo haberet ad quod recurreret, beatus Franciscus in oratione vocavit Christum et consuluit eum super hoc. ²Qui statim respondit ei, dicens: « Ego auferam omnia in speciali et in communi; huic enim familiae semper ero paratus providere quantumcumque crescat, et semper eam fovebo quamdiu sperabit in me ».

De exsecratione pecuniae
et qualiter punivit fratrem qui tetigit pecuniam.
Caput 14.

¹Verus amicus et imitator Christi Franciscus omma quae mundi sunt a perfecte despiciens, super omnia exsecrabatur pecuniam; et ad fugiendam ipsam tanquam diabolum fratres suos semper verbo et exemplo induxit. ²Haec enim ab ipso sollertia data erat fratribus ut stercus et pecuniam uno amoris pretio ponderarent.

³Accidit ergo die quadam ut saecularis quidam ecclesiam Sanctae Mariae de Portiuncula oraturus intraret, et oblationis causa pecuniam poneret juxta crucem; quam, illo recedente, frater quidam, simpliciter manu contingens, projecit eam in fenestram. ⁴Cum autem dictum fuisset, hoc beato Francisco, frater ille deprehensum se videns, statim recurrit ad veniam; et, humo prostratus se obtulit ad verbera.

⁵Arguit eum sanctus et de pecunia tacta durissime increpavit, jussitque eum ore proprio levare pecuniam de fenestra et extra sepem loci portare, et ponere eam ore propri o super stercus asini. ⁶Dum autem frater ille gratanter impleret jussum repleti sunt omnes videntes et audientes timore maximo, et ex tunc magis contempserunt pecuniam stercori asini comparatam, atque novis exemplis quotidie animabantur ad ipsam penitus contemnendam.