To love our neighbour is not only to wish him well, but also to do him
all the good that it is in our power to do. If we fall short of this, we
deserve the reproach of St. James, addressed to those who, though they have
ample means for giving material aid to the poor, content themselves with
bare words of comfort.
The love of Blessed Francis for the poor was so intense that in their case
he seemed to become a respecter of persons, preferring them to the rich,
both in spiritual and in temporal matters. He was like a good physician who
in visiting the sick shows the most tender solicitude for those afflicted
with the most terrible diseases and lingers longest by their bedsides.
One day I had to wait my turn to go to confession to him for a very
long time, he being engaged in hearing a poor blind beggar woman. When
I afterwards expressed my surprise at the length of her confession, he
said: "Ah! She sees far more clearly the way to go to God than many whose
eyesight is otherwise perfect."
On another occasion, sailing with him on the lake of Geneva, I heard
the boatman calling him "Father," and addressing him with corresponding
familiarity. "Listen," he said to me, "to those good people. They are
calling me their Father; and, indeed, I do believe they love me as such.
Oh! how much more real happiness they give me than those who call me 'My
Lord.'"