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And so he fixed this in his heart: to the best of his ability, never to deny anything to anyone begging from him for God's sake. This he did and with such care that he offered himself completely, in every way, first practicing before teaching the gospel counsel:a "Give to the one who begs from you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."
Chapter VIII
HOW HE BUILT THE CHURCH OF SAN DAMIANO, AND OF THE WAY OF LIFE OF THE LADIES LIVING IN THAT PLACEb
18 The first work that blessed Francis undertook,
after he had gained his freedom
from the hands of his carnally-minded father,
was to build a house of God.
He did not try to build a new one,
but he repaired an old one,
restored an ancient one.c
He did not tear out the foundation,
but he built upon it,
reserving to Christ his prerogative,
although unaware of it,
for no one can lay another foundation,
but that which has been laid,
which is Christ Jesus. 1 Cor 3:11
When he had returned to the place mentioned where
the church of San Damiano had been built in ancient times,
he repaired it zealously within a short time,
- The practice and the teaching of the gospel is a prominent theme of Christian hagiography. This can be seen in Gregory of Nyssa’s (+394) The Life of Moses, II, 55: "The history all but cries out to you not to be presumptuous in giving advice to your hearers in your teaching unless the ability for this has been perfected in you by a long and exacting training such as Moses had." [This and all future passages from this text are taken from: Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses, edited with translations, introductions, and notes by Abraham Malherbe and Everett Ferguson, (Paulist Press, NY, 1978).] Cf. Carolyn Walker Bynum, Docere Verbo et Exemplo: An Aspect of Twelfth-Century Spirituality, (Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1978).
- Thomas uses the title, Domina [Lady] which traditionally referred either to princesses of blood or to nuns and canonesses. (See Du Cange, Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, ed. L. Favre, (Graz,1883-1887). Domina 5, and Domicellae 2).
- Thomas uses the adjective novus [new] thirty-nine times in this work emphasizing Francis as a "new soldier of Christ" (n. 9), a "new athlete of Christ" (n. 10), and a "new evangelist" (n. 89). Integrally associated with him are a new: mystery (n. 85), song (n. 126), Bethlehem (n. 85), miracles (nn. 119, 121), vine (n. 74), light (nn. 119, 123), order (n. 74), joy (n. 119), waters (n. 151), teachings (n. 26), spirit (n. 6) and rite (n. 89).
Vita Prima, Fontes Franciscani, p. 293-294
8Posuit deinde in corde suo nemini pro Deo a se petenti, secundum posse de caetero aliquid denegare.9Quod et diligentissime fecit et implevit, quousque totum omnimode praebuit semetipsum, evangelici consilii primitus exsecutor quam doctor effectus:10Qui petit a te, inquit, da ei, et volenti a te mutuari ne avertaris.
Caput VIII — Quomodo construxit ecclesiam Sancti Damiani et de conversatione Dominarum in eodem loco degentium.
181Primum itaque opus quod beatus Franciscus aggreditur,
liberatione sui
de manu carnalis patris obtenta:
domum construit Deo,
illamque non de novo facere tentat,
sed veterem reparat,
vetustam resarcit;
2non fundamentum evellit,
sed super illud aedificat, praerogativam, licet ignorans,
semper reservans Christo:
Fundamentum enim aliud nemo potest ponere,
praeter id quod positum est,
quod est Christus Iesus a.
3Cumque ad locum in quo, sicut dictum est,
ecclesia Sancti Damiani antiquitus constructa fuerat, reversus foret,
gratia ipsum Altissimi comitante,
in brevi eam tempore studiosius reparavit.