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60 In his presence then, Blessed Francis said to the brothers: "Christ called me, an unlearned and simple man,a to follow the foolishness of His cross. He said to me: 'I want you to be a new fool in the world and in word and deed to preach the foolishness of my cross; to look to me, both you and all your brothers, and to be joined to me, without any examples from the Rules of Augustine or Benedict or Bernard.' But you! You wish to follow your own ideas and your learning and drag me along: in the end your learning will put you to shame."b
68 And turning to the Lord Cardinal he said: "These wise brothers of mine, whom you praise, think that with their human prudence they can deceive God, you, and me as they deceive and mislead themselves. They invalidate and trample under foot what Christ is saying and has said to them through me for the salvation of their souls and the good of the whole religion. I do not say and have never said anything of myself, but only what I have received from Him, with conviction of spirit, through His grace and goodness alone. But they, to the great peril of their souls, prefer their own mind to the mind of Christ and their own will to the will of God. They govern themselves badly and they govern the others who believe them badly as well. They do not build: they try to overturn and destroy what Christ out of sheer goodness and charity has determined to plant and to build in me and in them for the sure salvation of our souls and the building up of the whole Church."c
76 The force and power of his words changed the mind of the Lord Cardinal, and he recognized that what he was saying was absolutely true. 77 He called together the brothers who had persuaded him to present their proposals to Saint Francis. He said to them: "Brothers, listen to me. Watch yourselves. Do not deceive yourselves. Do not be ungrateful for the gift of God. God really is in this man, and Christ and His Spirit speak in him. Whoever hears him does not hear a man, but God. Whoever rejects him rejects God, not man. Humble your hearts and obey him if you wish to please God. If you offend him, thinking and acting contrary to his commands and counsels, you will deprive yourselves of
- The Latin phrase is idiotam et simplicem [unlearned and simple]. In Test 19, Francis uses idiotae to describe himself and his first companions, and, in A Letter to the Entire Order 39 (hereafter LtOrd), to describe himself. It can also be found as a derogatory remark on those refusing Francis hospitality in True and Perfect Joy 11 (hereafter TPJ).
- While this passage can be found in 2MP 68, its presence in TL V as well as in this text suggests that it was used frequently by the Spirituals and was part of that collection of sayings that was passed from one group to another to support their position.
- These words to Cardinal Rainierio Capocci seem to be an expression of literary license in which Angelo builds on earlier sources. The same may be written of the lengthy discourse that follows, lines 77-136, in which the reader may wonder if this is the teaching of Francis or, more likely, of Angelo.