angry, and to gnash her teeth, and in vexation of Spirit said to
herself: What shall I do? For all the World is going {John xii. 19.}
after her! I will take, said she, the Name of Prudence, and will speak
in their Hearts, and perchance they shall hear and consent. And she did
as she had said, speaking unto them humble words, and saying: What do
you here all {Matt, xx. 6.} the Day idle and making no Provision for
the Morrow? In what could it hurt you to have the necessaries of Life,
so long as you lack all Superfluities? For in Peace and Quietness could
you work out your Salvation and the Salvation of Mankind, if you were
supplied with all Things Needful to you. Therefore, while you have
Time, provide for yourselves and those who shall come after you, for
Men may not always be so generous to you, nor give you the customary
Gifts. It would be good for you to be always as you are, but that is
impossible, for God causes you daily to increase and multiply. Would
God reject you because you had Wherewith to give to the Needy, and
could remember the Poor, when He Himself has said: It is more blessed
to {Acts xx. 35.} give than to receive? Why, therefore, do you not
receive the Goods which are offered you, and not defraud the Givers
of their Eternal Reward? You need fear no harm from the possession
of Riches, so long as you account them as Nought. There is no Evil
in Things themselves, but only in the Soul of Man, for God {Gen.
i. 31.} saw All Things and they were good. To the Good, all Things
are good, all Things serviceable, for them All Things were made. O
how many having possessions use them evilly, which had they been
yours, would have been put to a good use, for holy is your Purpose,
holy your Desire. You do not wish to enrich your Relations who are
already rich enough, but simply to have All Things necessary, so that
your Conversation may be the more honest and orderly. These, and
similar things, she said unto them, and some having already a corrupt
Conscience, gave a ready Assent. But others turned a deaf ear to her
Sayings, and by shrewd Answers refuted her Reasoning, alleging, as did
also their opponents, Arguments from Holy Writ.
XVII
HOW AVARICE CALLED IN THE AID OF SLOTH
But Avarice, seeing that she could not, unaided, attain her ends upon
my Disciples, changed her plan, that she might better fulfil her
Purpose. So she called in Sloth, who neglects to begin good Works,
or to finish those begun. And Avarice made a Treaty with Sloth, and
entered into a Compact with her against the Religious. They were not
intimate, these two, nor closely affined, but they readily made Common
Cause in Evil-doing, as formerly did Pilate with Herod against the
Messiah. And when their Plan was laid, Sloth began her Ravages, and
having given Assault with her Satellites, she entered the Domain of the
Religious, and by sheer Force carried off their Arms and extinguished
their Charity, reducing them to Tepidity and Sluggishness. And so, a
little also by Pusillanimity of Spirit, they became altogether dead of
Heart.
XVIII
OF THE RELIGIOUS WHO WERE CONQUERED BY SLOTH[25]
After a While some of the Religious began to sigh most lamentably for
the Flesh-pots of Egypt which they had left behind, and ignobly to seek
what with noble Heart they had abandoned. They fretted at having to
walk in the Ways of God’s Commandments, and followed His Injunctions
with a barren Heart. They grew faint under their Burden, and for Want
of the Spirit could scarcely breathe. Compunction they rarely felt,
and never Contrition; at Obedience they murmured; their Thoughts
were Earthy, their Joy carnal, paltry their Sorrow and their Speech
imprudent, their Laughter easily provoked. Mirthful of Visage, their
Carriage full of Vanity, their Garments soft and delicate, carefully
cut, and still more carefully fashioned, they slept inordinately, ate
overmuch, and drank intemperately. Their talk was full of Jests, and
Railleries, and Idle Words. They engaged in Story-telling, changed the
Rule, disposed of Patronage, and were busily occupied about the Affairs
of the World. Of Spiritual Exercises there was no Care or Thought;
but rarely Exhortations to save the Soul; they had become lukewarm in
Celestial Things. In the Hardness of their Hearts they began to envy
one another, to provoke one another, to domineer over one another,
one Brother eagerly bringing the vilest Accusations against another.
They shunned Gravity, and sought false Sources of Joy, seeing that
they could not have the true. Nevertheless they kept up some show of
Sanctity, so that they might not be utterly despised, and by holy Talk
they sought to hide their wretched way of Life from the Simple. But
so great was the Ruin of the Interior Man, that, unable to contain
themselves, their evil Life burst forth in exterior Manifestations.
In short they began to fawn upon the World, striking bargains with
Worldlings that they might empty their Purses, and they enlarged their
Buildings and multiplied those Things which they had forever renounced.
They bartered their Words to the Rich, and their Courtesies to Noble
Ladies. They eagerly frequented the Courts of Kings and Princes, that
they might join House to House {Isa. v. 8.} and lay field to field.
And now they have become great {Jer. v. 27.} and rich, and have waxed
strong, because they have {Jer. ix. 3.} proceeded from Evil to Evil and
have not known God. They were cast down when {Ps. lxxii. 18.} they were
lifted up; they fell to the Earth before their Birth, and yet they say
unto me: We are thy Friends.
XIX
HOW THE LADY POVERTY SORROWED OVER CERTAIN RELIGIOUS WHO WERE POOR
IN THE WORLD, AND YET MORE PRONE THAN OTHERS TO SELF-INDULGENCE IN
RELIGION
In my Sorrow I sorrowed all the more over certain Religious who had
been poor and contemptible in the World, and yet grew rich after
they had come to me. And when they had waxed fat and gross {Deut.
xxxii. 15.} beyond the rest, they spurned and derided me. They in the
World were thought unworthy of Life, being destitute through Need
and Hunger. Once they ate Grass and the Bark {Job xxx. 4.} of trees,
they were disfigured {Job xxx. 31.} by their Calamity and Misery,
and now they are not content with the Community Life, but separate
themselves without shame, eating of special Meats. Their Example in
this is hurtful to the rest, and, moreover, they aspire to Honour among
the Disciples of Christ, who in this World were held most worthy of
Contempt. They who often wanted for Barley-bread and Water, and were
glad to lie under the Hedges, were the Sons of the Ignorant and Mean
and Unknown, on a level with my own Wretchedness. Now they hate me
and fly far from me, and are not ashamed to spit in my face. I have
suffered Contumely and Terrors at their Hands, {Jer. xx. 10.} and those
who were my Friends and stood by my side have insulted me. They grew
ashamed of me, and cast me off all the more that they knew they had
been enriched by my Favours, so much so that they even scorned to hear
my Name.
{Jer. iii. 22.} In my Sorrow I sorrowed and said unto them: Return,
ye rebellious Children, and I will heal your Backslidings. Take heed
and beware of {Luke xii. 15, and Ephes. v. 5.} Avarice, which is the
Service of Idols, for the Avaricious Man shall not be satisfied with
{Eccl. v. 9.} Silver. Call to Mind your former Days in which, being
{Heb. x. 32.} illuminated, you endured a great Fight of Afflictions.
Do not be of them who draw {Heb. x. 39.} back unto Perdition, but of
them that believe to the Saving of the Soul. He who made void the
Law of Moses died {Heb. x. 28.} without Mercy under two or three
Witnesses. How much {Heb. x. 29.} more, think you, doth he deserve
sorer Punishment, who hath trodden under Foot the Son of God, and hath
accounted the Blood of the Covenant, by which he was sanctified, an
unclean thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of Grace? Return,
then, ye Transgressors, {Isa. xlvi. 8.} search your Hearts, for a Man’s
life consisteth not in the abundance of Things which he possesseth.
{Job xix. 21, 22.} But they were angered, and said: Go to, depart from
us, thou miserable thing. We desire not the knowledge of thy Ways.
And I answered and said unto them: Have {Luke xii. 15.} pity upon me,
have pity upon me, at least, O ye, my Friends. Why do you persecute me
without a Cause? Did I not tell you that your Ways and mine would not
agree? It repenteth me that I have ever seen you.
{Cant. vi. 12.} And the Word of the Lord came to me, saying: Return,
return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee. These
are the Children of Wrath; they will not hear thee, because they will
not hear Me. Their Hearts have become stubborn and unbelieving; they
have departed and gone away, but they have not rejected thee without
rejecting Me. For thou hast {Jer. xiii. 21.} taught them against thee,
and instructed them against thine own Head, for if they had never
received thee, they would never have been made rich. They pretended to
love thee, so that having received thy Benefits, they might depart from
thee. Wherefore under adverse Temptation they have turned away, and
having laid {Jer. viii. 5.} hold on Lying, they would not return. Do
not again believe those that speak thee fair, for they despise thee and
seek thy Life. Do not offer Prayers or Hymns for them, for I will not
hear thee: I have cast them off because they have despised Me.
XX
HOW THE LADY POVERTY SHOWED THE BLESSED FRANCIS THE PERFECT WALK IN
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE.
{Prov. iv. 25.} Lo! then, dear Brothers, I have told you a long story,
so that your eyes may behold where you go, and that you may see what
you should do. It is perilous to look back and attempt to deceive God.
Remember Lot’s wife, and do not believe every Spirit. But I have {Luke
xvii. 32, and 1 John iv. 1.} confidence in you, dearest Brothers, for
I see better Things in you than in any others, and you are nearer to
Salvation. You seem to have abandoned Everything, and to have freed
yourselves from all Burdens. And the best proof is this, that you
have ascended this Mountain, which it is given to so few to do. But
I tell you, dear Friends, that the Wickedness of many others hath
made me suspicious of the Virtues of the Good, for I have too oft had
experience of ravening Wolves in Sheeps’ Clothing.
I desire that each one of you should become a Follower {Heb. vi. 12.}
of the Saints, who by Faith and Patience have come into my Inheritance.
But because I dread lest the Fate of others should overtake you, I give
you this salutary Counsel: that you should not in the Beginning aim
at the Higher and more Hidden Things, but that, setting Christ before
you, you should little by little come to the Highest. Take heed lest,
when the dung of Poverty has been laid about your Roots, you should
after all be found barren, for then there will remain nothing but the
Axe. Do not trust entirely to the Love which you now have, for Man is
more prone to Evil than to Good, and the Soul easily returns to former
Habits, even though it may long have been separated from them. I know
that with your great Fervour all Things seem easy to you. But remember
what is written: Behold they that serve Him {Job iv. 18.} are not
steadfast, and in His Angels He found Wickedness. At first it will seem
sweet to you to bear Anything, but after awhile, lulled in Security,
you will become careless of the Blessings you have received. You will
imagine that you can return to Him whenever you wish, and find the old
consolation. But the Spirit of Negligence, once admitted, is not so
easily got rid of. Your Heart will turn after other Things, but Reason
will call you to return to the Former Things. Lapsed into Sloth and
Idleness, Words of Excuse will rise easily to your Lips: We cannot be
strong as we were in the Beginning, and now the Times are changed; not
knowing that it is written: When a Man hath come to {Eccli. xvii. 6.}
his End then would he make a Beginning. For a voice will always dwell
in your Hearts, saying: To-morrow, and To-morrow, we will return to the
former Man, for it was better with us then than it is now. Behold, I
have foretold you many Things, my Brothers, and many other things have
I {John xvi. 12.} to say unto you, which ye cannot bear now. But the
Hour cometh when I shall {John xvi. 25.} speak to you plainly of All
Things.
XXI
HOW THE BLESSED FRANCIS MADE ANSWER TO THE LADY POVERTY
And when my Lady had made an end of speaking, the Blessed Francis,
with his Companions, fell upon his Face, giving Thanks to God, and
said: Thy Sayings, O Lady, are well-pleasing unto us, nor in ought that
thou hast said can we find any Fault. All that we have {3 Kings x. 6.}
heard in our Land concerning thy Words and thy Wisdom, is most true;
nay, far greater is thy Wisdom than the Fame thereof. Blessed are thy
Servants and Disciples, who dwell forever with thee and hear thy Words
of Wisdom. May the Lord thy God, to Whom thou wast pleasing from all
Eternity, be forever blessed, Who loved thee and made thee Queen, that
thou mightest execute Judgment and Mercy on thy Servants. O how good
and how sweet is {Wisdom xii. 1.} thy Spirit, chastising the Erring,
and admonishing Sinners. Behold, O Lady, by the Love wherewith the
Eternal King did love thee, by the Love wherewith thou didst love Him,
we beseech thee do not despise our petition, but deal with us according
to thy Mercy {Wisdom xvii. 1.} and Loving-kindness. Great are thy
Works, and beyond the Tongue of man to tell, wherefore undisciplined
Souls fly from thee, for thou walkest alone in rocky Places, terrible
{Cant. vi. 3.} as an Army set in Array,[26] and Fools cannot dwell
with thee. But we are thy servants and {Ps. xcix. 2.} the Sheep of thy
Pasture Forever, and Forever and Ever, have we sworn and {Ps. cxviii.
106.} determined to keep the Judgments of thy Justice.
XXII
HOW THE LADY POVERTY GAVE HER CONSENT
At these Words my Lady Poverty was deeply moved, and as her Property is
{Collect from the Litany of the Saints.} to have Mercy and spare, she
could restrain herself no longer, but having speedily embraced them,
and given to each the Kiss of Peace, she said: Behold, my Brothers and
my Sons, I will come with you, because I know that through you I shall
win many more.
XXIII
HOW THE BLESSED FRANCIS THANKED GOD FOR THE CONSENT OF
THE LADY POVERTY
But the Blessed Francis, beside himself for joy, began to praise
Almighty God with a loud Voice, for that He had not abandoned those who
trusted in Him, saying: Bless the Lord, all ye {Tob. xiii. 10.} His
Elect, keep Days of Rejoicing, and give Glory {Ps. cv. 1.} unto Him,
for He is Good and His Mercy endureth Forever. And coming down from the
Mountain they brought my Lady Poverty to the Place where they dwelt.
And it was about the Sixth Hour.
XXIV
OF THE SOJOURN OF MY LADY POVERTY WITH THE BROTHERS
And when the Brothers had made all Things ready, they urged the Lady
Poverty to eat with them. But she said unto them: Show me first your
Oratory, the Cloister and Chapter House, the Refectory, Kitchen,
Dormitory, and Stables, your fine Seats and polished Tables and noble
Houses. For I see none of these Things, and yet I do see that you are
blithe and cheerful, abounding in Joy, filled with Consolation, as if
you expected all these Things to be supplied to you at will. But they
made answer and said: O Lady and Queen, we thy Servants are weary with
the long Journey, and thou in coming with us hast endured not a little.
Therefore, if it please thee, let us eat first, and thus refreshed, we
will do thy Bidding. And my Lady answered: It pleaseth me well. But
first bring Water that we may wash our Hands, and a Cloth wherewith to
dry them. And they brought forth a broken earthenware Vessel--for they
had no sound one--full of Water. And having poured the Water on her
hands they searched on all sides for a Cloth. But when none could be
found, one of the Brethren offered the Habit he wore, that therewith my
Lady might wipe her Hands. And giving Thanks she took it, magnifying
God with all her Heart Who had given her such Men as Companions.
And after this they led her to the Place where the Table was made
ready. But she looked round about, and seeing Nothing save three
or four Crusts of Barley-bread laid upon the Grass, she marvelled
exceedingly within herself, saying: Who ever saw the {Wisdom xii. 13,
18, 19.} Like in the Generations of Old? Blessed art Thou, O Lord God,
Who hast care of All, for Thy Power is at hand when Thou wilt, and Thou
hast taught Thy People, that by such Works they may please Thee. And
thus they sat a while giving Thanks to God for all His Gifts. Then my
Lady Poverty commanded them to bring in Dishes the Food which they had
cooked. But they fetched a Basin full of cold Water, that all might
dip their Bread therein, for here was there no abundance of Dishes or
superfluity of Cooks. My Lady Poverty then begged that she might at
least have some uncooked savoury Herbs, but having neither Garden nor
Gardener, the Brethren gathered some wild Herbs in the Wood, and placed
them before her. Who said: Bring me a little Salt, that I may savour
these Herbs, for they are bitter. But they answered her: Then must thou
tarry a while, Lady, until we go into the City to obtain it, if haply
there should be any one who would give us some. Then she asked them,
saying: Fetch hither a Knife that I may trim these Herbs, and cut the
Bread, which verily is hard and dry. Who answered: O Lady, we have no
Smith to make us knives. For the present, use thy Teeth in the place of
a Knife, and afterwards we will provide. Whereupon she said: Have you a
little Wine? To which they answered: No, Lady, we have no Wine, for the
necessaries of {Eccli. xxix. 28.} Man’s Life are Bread and Water, and
it is not good for thee to drink Wine, for the Spouse of Christ should
shun Wine as Poison.
And when they were satisfied, rejoicing more in the Nobility of Want
than if they had had an Abundance of All Things, they blessed the Lord,
in Whose Sight they had found such Favour, and led my Lady Poverty to a
Place where she might sleep, for she was weary. And she lay down upon
the bare ground. And when she asked for a Pillow, they straightway
brought her a Stone, and laid it under her Head. So after she had
slept for a brief space in Peace, she arose and asked the Brothers
to show her their Cloister. And they, leading her to the Summit of a
Hill, showed her the wide World, saying: This is our Cloister, O Lady
Poverty. Thereupon she bade them all sit down together, and opening her
Mouth she began to speak unto them Words of Life, saying:
XXV
HOW MY LADY POVERTY BLESSED THE BROTHERS, EXHORTING THEM TO PERSEVERE
IN THE GRACE WHICH THEY HAD RECEIVED
Blessed are you, my Sons, of the Lord who made Heaven and Earth, who
have received me into your House with such Fulness of Charity that
it seems to me as if, being with you, I had to-day been in Paradise.
Wherefore I am full of Joy and abound in Consolation, and I ask pardon
of you for having so long delayed my Coming. Verily the Lord is with
you, {Gen. xxviii. 16.} and I knew it not. Behold, what I longed for
I see, what {Antiphon at the Benedictus in the Feast of St Agnes.} I
desired I hold, for I am joined to them that are a type upon Earth of
Him to Whom I am espoused in Heaven. The Lord bless your Fortitude,
{Deut. xxxiii. 11.} and receive the Work of your Hands. I pray and
most earnestly beseech you, as most dear Sons, to persevere in those
Things which you have begun by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost, not
abandoning your Perfection as is the Custom with some, but avoiding
all the Snares of Darkness, strive ever after Things more Perfect.
Most high is your Perfection, above Man and the Strength of Man, and
it excels in its Brightness the Perfection of your Forefathers. Have
no Doubt or Fear concerning the Kingdom of Heaven, for you already
hold the Earnest of Future {Eph. i. 14.} Inheritance and a Pledge of
{2 Cor. v. 5.} the Spirit, being sealed with the Seal of the Glory of
Christ, and are like in all things, by His Grace, to that first Company
of Disciples which He gathered about Him when He came into the World.
For that which they did when He was with them, you have done not seeing
Him, and you need not fear to say: Behold we {Matt. xix. 27.} have left
all Things and have followed Thee.
Let not the Greatness of the Fight, nor the Magnitude of the Labour
hinder you, for Great shall be your Reward. {Heb. x. 35.} Looking
unto the Author and {Heb. xii. 2.} Finisher of All Good Things, Our
Lord Jesus Christ, Who having Joy set before Him, endured the Cross,
despising the Shame, hold fast to the {Heb. x. 23.} Confession of your
Hope, without wavering. Run with Charity to the Fight that is before
you; run, too, with Patience which is most necessary to you, that by
so doing the Will of God you may receive the Promise. For God is able
by His Holy Grace to bring to a happy Consummation, the Work which
is above your Strength, because He is faithful to His Promises. Let
nothing be found in you pleasing to the {Eph. ii. 2.} Spirit of the
Children of Unbelief, let there be no Doubt or Hesitation, lest in
working their Wickedness against you, they convict you of Consent.
For it is a proud Spirit, but {Isa. xvi. 6.} its Pride and Arrogancy
are greater than its Strength. This Spirit is exceeding wrath with
you, and it will turn against you all the Arms of its Cunning. It will
seek to pour out the Venom of its Malice upon you, like one who in
fighting had thought all his Enemies vanquished, and now rages to see
you looking down upon him. All the Inhabitants of Heaven, O dearest
Brothers, rejoice exceedingly in your Conversion, and have sung a new
Song before the Face of the Eternal King. The Angels rejoice because
of you, for through you many shall continue Virgins, they shall be
resplendent in Chastity, and shall fill the empty places in the City on
High, where Virgins are established in especial Glory, for those that
neither marry {Matt. xxii. 30.} nor are given in Marriage are like the
Angels in Heaven. The Apostles exult at seeing their Life renewed, and
their Doctrine preached, and because you show an Example of the Highest
Sanctity. And the Martyrs exult, waiting to see their Constancy in
the Shedding of Blood made manifest in you also. The Confessors dance
before the Lord, knowing that their Victory in the Face of the Enemy
is often to be repeated in you. The Virgins who follow the Lamb {Rev.
xiv. 4.} whithersoever He goeth, likewise rejoice, knowing that by you
many will be daily added to their Number. The Whole Court of Heaven is
filled with Joy, for daily shall they keep the Festival of some new
Inhabitant, and because they shall be continually incensed with the
Odour of Holy Prayers ascending from this Valley of Tears.
{Rom. xii. 1.} Therefore, I beseech you, dear Brothers, by the Mercy of
God, for which you have made yourselves thus Poor, carry out that which
you have come to do, for which you left the Rivers of Babylon. Receive
in all Humility the Grace which has been given you, use it worthily in
All Things, and always for the Praise, Honour, and Glory of Him Who
died for you, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, liveth and reigneth, Victorious and Glorious, Eternal God, World
without End,
AMEN
HERE ENDETH THE TREATISE CONCERNING THE LADY POVERTY AND OUR SERAPHIC
FATHER, THE BLESSED FRANCIS.
This Work was done in the Month of July, after the Death of the Blessed
Francis, in the Year One thousand two hundred and twenty-seven after
the Incarnation of OUR LORD and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST.
ON THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EVANGELICAL POVERTY
BY
FATHER CUTHBERT, O.S.F.C.
THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EVANGELICAL POVERTY
“This is the sublimity of most high Poverty which has made you,
beloved brethren, heirs and kings of the Kingdom of Heaven.”[27] Thus
wrote St Francis of Assisi when he gave his disciples the Rule which
obliged them to “serve the Lord in poverty and humility.” It is easy to
recognise in these words the note of exultation and achievement which
made St Francis the most inspiring personality in Mediæval Christendom,
and which gives to his name, even to-day, a singular power over the
imagination of the Christian World. Clad in his peasant’s dress, and
with no possessions of his own in the world save his soul and body,[28]
he is nevertheless the man rich in all things that are of vital
interest, the clear spiritual vision, the perfect joy, the encompassing
sympathy, which gathers all palpitating life into its own. Francis
_lived_, if ever a man lived. His was the liberty of soul which finds
the joy of life in all Creation.