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Later Admonition and Exhortation
To the Brothers and Sisters of Penance
(Second Version of the Letter to the Faithful)a
(1220?)
This writing may have been written upon Francis’s return from his journey to the Middle East in the Spring of 1220, for not only does it speak of his weakened condition but also suggests the post-conciliar concerns of Pope Honorius III. At the same time, it recalls Francis’s earlier exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance and encourages its observance in light of many of the teachings of the Fourth Lateran Council.
1In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Brother Francis, their servant and subject, sends esteem and reverence, true peace from heaven and sincere love in the Lord to all Christian religious people: clergy and laity, men and women, and to all who live in the whole world.b
2Because I am the servant of all, I am obliged to serve all and to administer the fragrant words of my Lord to them.c 3Therefore, realizing that I could not visit each one of you personally because of sickness and the weakness of my body, I decided to offer you in this letter and message the words of our Lord Jesus Christ,Whois the Word of the Father, and the words of the Holy Spirit, which are spirit and life.d
- The titles of this particular text suggest that it is a commonitorium and an exhortation, a work re inding and encouraging its recipients to fulfill a commitment previously undertaken. While Kajetan Esser’s critical edition of the text identifies this work by the more generic title, Letter to All the Faithful, this is does not appropriately indicate either the recipients or the contents of the texts.
- It is difficult to identify the recipients of this work since the earliest manuscripts read: Universis christianis religiosis clericis et laicis masculis et feminis omnibus qui habitant in universo mundo. Since these manuscripts contain no punctuation, the meaning of the sentence is unclear. In his critical edition, Kajetan Esser placed a comma after Universis christianis religiosis and argued that Francis was addressing not all Christians but rather "all Christian religious: clergy and laity, men and women ...", that is, Christians who had committed themselves to living more intensely their baptismal commitment through a life of penance.
- A special bond of union between Francis and the recipients of this exhortation is expressed in this paragraph, an interpretation which is strengthened in verse 40 when the saint writes of "the yoke of service and holy obedience," as well as the special love and responsibility which characterize their relationships. This bond is further underscoreded in Francis’s repeated use of the first person plural throughout verses 19 to 47.
- Offhanded comments of Francis’s biographers suggest that the deterioration of his health was a long process aggravated by his imprisonment in Collestrada (1202) and in San Damiano (1207-1208). Prior to his journey to the Middle East, illness struck Francis in Spain (1214/15) and in Assisi (1216/17). After his return from the Middle East, the infirmity of his eyes began to intensify.
Epistola ad fideles (Recensio posterior), Fontes Franciscani, p. 79
Epistola ad fideles
(Recensio posterior)
1In nomine Domini Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Universis christianis religiosis, clericis et laicis, masculis et feminis, omnibus qui habitant in universo mundo, frater Franciscus, eorum servus et subditus, obsequium cum reverentia, pacem veram de caelo et sinceram in Domino caritatem.
2Cum sim servus omnium, omnibus servire teneor et administrare odorifera verba Domini mei. 3Unde in mente considerans, quod cum personaliter propter infirmitatem et debilitatem mei corporis non possim singulos visitare, proposui litteris praesentibus et nuntiis verba Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui est Verbum Patris, vobis referre et verba Spiritus Sancti, quae spiritus et vita sunt.