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4The most high Father made known from heaven through His holy angel Gabriel this Word of the Father—so worthy, so holy and glorious— in the womb of the holy and glorious Virgin Mary, from whose womb He received the flesh of our humanity and frailty.a 5Though He was rich, 2 Cor 8:9 He wished, together with the most Blessed Virgin, His mother, to choose poverty in the world beyond all else.b
6And as His Passion was near, He celebrated the Passover with His disciples and, taking bread, gave thanks, blessed and broke it, saying: Take and eat: This is My Body. Mt 26:26 7And taking the cup He said: This is My Blood of the New Covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Mt 26:28 8Then He prayed to His Father, saying: Father, if it can be done, let this cup pass from me. Lk 22:42 9And His sweat became as drops of blood falling on the ground. Lk 22:44 10Nevertheless, He placed His will in the will of His Father, saying: Father, let Your will be done; not as I will, but as You will. Mt 26:42; Mt 26:39 11His Father’s will was such that His blessed and glorious Son, Whom He gave to us and Who was born for us, should offer Himself through His own blood as a sacrifice and oblation on the altar of the cross: 12not for Himself through Whom all things were made, Jn 1:3 but for our sins, 13leaving us an example that we might follow His footprints. 1 Pt 2:21
14And He wishes all of us to be saved through Him and receive Him with our heart pure and our body chaste. 15But, even though His yoke is easy Mt 11:30 and His burden light, Mt 11:30 there are few who wish to receive Him and be saved through Him. 16Those who do not wish to taste how sweet the Lord is and who love the darkness more than the light, Ps 34:9 [Vulgate, Ps 33:9]; Jn 3:19 not wishing to fulfill God’s commands, are cursed; 17it is said of them by the prophet: Cursed are those who stray from your commands. Ps 119:21 [Vulgate, Ps 118:21]
18But how happy and blessed are those who love God and do as the Lord Himself says in the Gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Mt 22:37; Mt 22:39 19Let us love God, therefore, and adore Him with a pure heart and a pure mind, because He Who seeks this above all things has said: True adorers adore the Father in Spirit and Truth. Jn 4:23 20For all who adore Him must adore Him in the Spirit of truth.
- In these verses, 4-13, Francis presents a catechetical tool against the Christological teachin s of the Cathars who viewed matter and the flesh as evil. Thus he accentuates the central mysteries of Christian belief in graphically concrete incarnational expressions, leading to the conclusion that Christians are called to follow the footsteps of the Word made flesh, a fundamental concern of the saint.
- The phrasing of this passage, "cum dives esset, super omnia voluit," makes its interpretation difficult. It could be translated "Though He was rich beyond all things ..." or, as in this edition, "He wished ... to choose ... beyond all else ..."
Epistola ad fideles (Recensio posterior), Fontes Franciscani, p. 80-81
4Istud Verbum Patris tam dignum, tam sanctum et gloriosum nuntiavit altissimus Pater de caelo per sanctum Gabrielem, angelum suum in uterum sanctae et gloriosae virginis Mariae, ex cuius utero veram recepit carnem humanitatis et fragilitatis nostrae. 5Qui, cum dives esset super omnia, voluit ipse in mundo cum beatissima Virgine, matre sua, eligere paupertatem.
6Et prope passionem celebra- vit pascha cum discipulis suis et accipiens panem gratias egit et benedixit et fregit dicens: Accipite et comedite, hoc est corpus meum. 7Et accipiens calicem dixit: Hic est sanguis meus novi testamenti, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum. 8Deinde oravit Patrem dicens: Pater, si fieri potest, transeat a me calix iste. 9Et factus est sudor eius sicut guttae sanguinis decurrentis in terram. 10Posuit tamen voluntatem suam in voluntate Patris dicens: Pater, fiat voluntas tua; non sicut ego volo, sed sicut tu. 11Cuius Patris talis fuit voluntas, ut filius eius benedictus et gloriosus, quem dedit nobis et natus fuit pro nobis, se ipsum per proprium sanguinem suum sacrificium et hostiam in ara crucis offerret; 12non propter se, per quem facta sunt omnia sed pro peccatis nostris, 13relinquens nobis exemplum, ut sequamur vestigia eius.
14Et vult ut omnes salvemur per eum et recipiamus ipsum puro corde et casto corpore nostro. 15Sed pauci sunt, qui velint eum recipere et salvi esse per eum, licet eius iugum suave sit et onus ipsius leve. 16Qui nolunt gustare, quam suavis sit Dominus et diligunt tenebras magis quam lucem nolentes adimplere mandata Dei, maledicti sunt; 17de quibus dicitur per prophetam: Maledicti qui declinant a mandatis tuis.18Sed, o quam beati et benedicti sunt illi qui Deum diligunt et faciunt sicut dicit ipse Dominus in evangelio: Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde et ex tota mente et proximum tuum sicut te ipsum. 19Diligamus igitur Deum et adoremus eum puro corde et pura mente, quia ipse super omnia quaerens dixit: Veri adoratores adorabunt Patrem in spiritu et veritate. 20Omnes enim, qui adorant eum, in spiritu veritatis oportet eum adorare.