Third reflection

Of the third reflection on the most holy Stigmata

Coming to the third reflection, to wit, on the seraphic vision and the imprinting of the most holy

Stigmata, ye must needs know, that as the time of the feast of the most holy Cross drew near, in the month of September, one night Brother Leo went to the wonted place and at the wonted hour for to say Matins with S. Francis; and when he said Domine, labia mea aperies from the bridge-head as was his wont, and S. Francis made no answer. Brother Leo did not go back again, as S. Francis had given him commandment; but with a good and holy intention, he crossed the bridge and entered softly into his cell, and not finding him, he thought that he might be praying somewhere in the wood: wherefore he came out again, and by the light of the moon went softly searching through the wood: and at last he heard the voice of S. Francis, and, drawing near, saw him on his knees in prayer, with face and hands raised up to Heaven; and in fervour of spirit he was saying: ” Who art thou, O most sweet my God? What am I, most vile worm and Thine unprofitable servant? " And these selfsame words he said again and again, and spake no word beside. For the which cause Brother Leo, marvelling thereat, lifted up his eyes unto heaven; and as he looked, he saw coming down from heaven a torch of flame exceeding beautiful and bright, which, descending, rested on the head of S. Francis: and out of the flame there came a voice that spake with S. Francis, but Brother Leo could not understand the words. Hearing this, and deeming himself unworthy to stand so close to the holy place where that wondrous apparition was revealed, and fearing moreover to offend S. Francis and disturb him in his contemplation, if i8o THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF perchance he should perceive him, he softly drew back, and standing afar off, waited to see the end: and gazing with eyes fixed, he saw S. Francis stretch out his hands three times to the flame: and at the last after long space of time he saw the flame return to heaven. So, gladdened by the vision, he softly turned away for to go to his cell again. And as he was going softly, deeming himself unseen, S. Francis was aware of him by the rustling of the leaves beneath his feet, and bade him wait for him, and not to move. Then Brother Leo, obedient, stood still and waited with such fear that, as he afterwards told his companions, at that moment he would rather that the earth had swallowed him up than wait for S. Francis, who he thought would be displeased with him: for with great diligence he took heed not to offend his father, lest for his fault S. Francis might deprive him of his company. Then S. Francis coming up to him, asked him: ', Who art thou? " And Brother Leo all trembling answered: ”I am Brother Leo, my father.” And S. Francis said unto him: '* Wherefore art thou come hither, brother little sheep? have I not told thee not to come watching me? Tell me by holy obedience whether thou hast seen or heard aught.” Replied Brother Leo: " Father, I heard thee speak and say several times: Who art thou, O most sweet my God? What am I, most vile worm and Thine unprofitable servant? " Then Brother Leo, kneeling down before S. Francis, confessed the fault of disobedience that he had committed against his bidding, and besought his pardon with many tears. And thereafter he devoutly prayed him to interpret unto him the words that he had heard, and to tell him what were those that he had not understood. Then S. Francis seeing that God had revealed unto the humble Brother Leo, or had permitted him to hear and see certain things, for his simplicity and purity's sake, deigned to reveal and interpret unto him that which he had asked; and he spake thus: " Know, brother little sheep of Jesu Christ, that when I spake the words that thou didst hear, then were shown to my soul two lights, the one of the knowledge and understanding of myself, the other of the knowledge and understanding of the Creator. When I said: Who art thou, O most sweet my God, then was I in a light of contemplation, in the which I saw the abyss of the infinite goodness and wisdom and power of God, and when I said. What am I., I was in a light of contemplation in the which I saw the lamentable depth of my own vileness and misery; and therefore I said: Who art thou, Lord of infinite goodness and wisdom, that dost deign to visit me, that am a vile worm and abominable? And in the flame that thou sawest, was God: who spake in such manner unto me, even as in old time He had spoken unto Moses. And among the other things that he said unto me. He asked me to give Him three gifts; and I answered Him: My Lord, I am wholly Thine: Thou knowest well, that I have naught else save the tunic and the cord and the hose, and even these three things are thine; what then can I offer and give unto Thy Majesty, Then God said unto me: Search in thy bosom and give me what thou findest there.

So I searched and found a ball of gold; and I offered it to God; and so did I three times, as God three times gave me commandment: and then I kneeled down three times, and blessed and gave thanks unto God, that had given me what to offer unto Him. And straightway it was given me to understand, that the meaning of these three offerings was holy obedience, most high poverty, and glorious chastity, the which God by His grace hath granted me to observe so perfectly that in naught doth my conscience reprove me. And even as thou didst see me put my hands into my bosom and offer to God these three virtues signified under the form of the three balls of gold, which God had put into my bosom; even so hath God given me virtue within my soul, that for all the benefits and all the graces that He hath granted me of His most holy goodness, I alway praise and magnify Him with my heart and lips. These are the words that thou didst hear when I lifted up my hand three times, as thou sawest. But take heed, brother little sheep, that thou come not watching me, and return to thy cell with the blessing of God, and do thou have a tender care of me; for a few days hence God will do so great things in this mountain that all the world will marvel; sith He will perform certain new things, the which He hath never done unto any creature in this world.” And said these words, he bade him bring the book of the Gospels; for God had put it into his soul that by the opening of the book of the Gospels three times, it would be revealed to him what it was the will of God to do with him. And when the book was Sa ■.tetta /ìiiiliiii,toii Afaf,aziiie THK MAkkIAOK OV S. IKANCIS TO l'OVERTY (Chantilly: t/ (il so List «/ llliistrcitions) brought, S. Francis threw himself on his knees in prayer: when he had done praying, he let open the book three times by the hand of Brother Leo, in the name of the most holy Trinity; and as it pleased the divine providence, on each of those three times there appeared before him the passion of Christ. For the which cause it was given him to understand that even as he had followed Christ in the acts of his life, so ought he to follow Him and be conformed to Him in His afflictions and sorrows and in His passion, before he passed away from this life. And from that time forth, S. Francis began more plenteously to taste and feel the sweetness of divine contemplation and of the divine visitings. Among the which he had one that was an immediate preparation for the imprinting of the most holy Stigmata, and it was after this manner. On the day before the feast of the most holy Cross, in the month of September, as S. Francis was praying in secret in his cell, there appeared unto him the Angel of God, and bespake him in the name of God: ” I am come to comfort and admonish thee, that thou make thyself ready and set thyself in order, humbly with all patience to receive whatsoever God will give to thee and work in thee." Replied S. Francis: " I am ready to endure with patience all things whatsoever my Lord may will to do unto me: " and this said, the angel was away. So the next day came, to wit, the day of the most holy Cross: and early in the morning before dawn, S. Francis fell on his knees in prayer in front of the entrance to his cell, and turning his face towards the East, prayed in this manner: " Oh my Lord Jesu Christ, I pray Thee grant me two graces, before I die: the first, that in my life-time I may feel in my soul and in my body, so far as may be, the pain that Thou, sweet Lord, didst bear in the hour of Thy most bitter passion; the second is, that I may feel in my heart, as far as may be, that exceeding love, wherewith Thou, O Son of God, wast kindled to willingly endure such agony for us sinners." And as he thus continued a long time in prayer, he came to know that God would hear him and that as far as was possible for the mere creature, so far would it be granted him to feel the things aforesaid. Having this promise, S. Francis began with exceeding great devotion to contemplate the passion of Christ and His infinite love: and the fervour of devotion so grew in him that he was altogether transformed into Jesu through love and pity. And as he was thuswise set on fire in this contemplation, on that same morn he saw descend from heaven a Seraph with six wings resplendent and aflame, and as with swift flight the Seraph drew nigh unto S. Francis, so that he could discern him, he clearly saw that he bore in him the image of a man crucified: and his wings were in such guise displayed, that two wings were spread above his head, two were spread out to fly, and the other twain covered all his body. Seeing this, S. Francis was sore adread, and was filled at once with joy and grief and marvel. He felt exceeding joy at the gracious look of Christ, who appeared to him so lovingly, and gazed on him so graciously: but on the other hand, seeing him crucified upon the cross, he felt immeasurable grief for pity's sake. Therewith, he marvelled much at so amazing and unwonted a vision, knowing full well that the weakness of the Passion agreeth not with the immortality of the seraphic spirit. And as he thus marvelled, it was revealed by Him that appeared to him: that by divine providence this vision had been shown in such form, to the end that he might understand that not by the martyrdom of the body, but by the enkindling of his mind, must he needs be wholly transformed into the express image of Christ Crucified, in that wondrous apparition. Then the whole mount of Alvernia appeared as though it burned with brightshining flames, that lit up all the mountains and valleys round as though it had been the sun upon the earth; whereby the shepherds, that were keeping watch in those parts, seeing the mountain aflame and so great a light around, had exceeding great fear, according as they afterwards told unto the brothers, declaring that this flame rested upon the mount of Alvernia for the space of an hour and more. In like manner, at the bright shining of this light, which through the windows lit up the hostels of the country round, certain muleteers that were going into Romagna, arose, believing that the day had dawned, and saddled and laded their beasts: and going on their way, they saw the said light die out and the material sun arise. In the said seraphic apparition, Christ, the which appeared to him, spake to S. Francis certain high and secret things, the which S. Francis in his life-time desired not to reveal to any man: but after his life was done, he did reveal them, as is set forth below; and the words were these: " Knowest thou," said Christ, ” what it is that I have done unto thee? I have given thee the Stigmata, that are the signs of my passion, to the end that thou mayest be my standard-bearer. And even as on the day of my death I descended into hell and brought out thence all the souls that I found there by virtue of these my Stigmata: even so do I grant to thee that every year on the day of thy death thou shalt go to Purgatory, and in virtue of thy Stigmata shalt bring out thence all the souls of thy three Orders, to wit, Minors, Sisters and Continents, and likewise others that shall have had a great devotion unto thee, and shalt lead them unto the glory of Paradise, to the end that thou mayest be conformed to me in death, as thou art in life." Then this marvellous vision vanishing away, after long space and secret converse, left in the heart of S. Francis an exceeding ardour and flame of love divine: and in his flesh a marvellous image and copy of the passion of Christ. For straightway in the hands and feet of S. Francis began to appear the marks of the nails, in such wise as he had seen them in the body of Jesu Christ, the Crucified, the which had shown Himself to him in the likeness of a seraph: ami thus his hands and feet appeared to be pierced through the middle with nails, and the heads of them were in the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet outside the flesh, and their points came out on the back of his hands and of his feet, so that they seemed bent back and rivetted in such fashion that under the bend and rivetting, which all stood out above the flesh, might easily be put a finger of the hand, as in a ring: and the heads of the nails were round and black. Likewise in the right side appeared an image of a wound made by a lance, unhealed, and red and bleeding, the which afterwards ofttimes dropped blood from the sacred breast of S. Francis, and stained with blood his tunic and his hose. Wherefore his companions before they knew it of his own lips, perceiving nevertheless that he uncovered not his hands and feet, and that he could not put the soles of his feet to the ground; and afterwards finding his tunic and his hose all stained with blood, what time they washed them, knew of a surety that in his hands and feet and likewise in his side he bore the express image and similitude of our Lord Jesu Christ Crucified. And albeit he sought carefully to hide and to conceal those glorious and most holy Stigmata, so clearly imprinted on his flesh: and sith on the other hand he saw that he could ill conceal them from his own familiar friends: yet feared to spread abroad the secrets of God, he stood in much doubt if best it were to reveal the seraphic vision, the imprinting of the most holy Stigmata. At length through the pricking of conscience, he called unto him certain of his companions that were his more familiar friends, and setting forth unto them his doubt in general terms, without making mention of the actual fact, he asked their counsel. Now among these brothers there was one of great sanctity, whose name was Brother Illuminato: he being truly illumined of God, understanding that S. Francis must needs have seen some marvellous thing, answered him: ” Brother Francis, know that not for thyself alone, but also for others” sake, hath God at sundry times revealed to thee His holy mysteries; wherefore thou hast good reason for to fear, that, if thou keep secret what God hath shown thee for the benefit of others, thou mayest be held worthy of blame." Then S. Francis moved by these words, with exceeding great fear told unto them all the manner and the form of the vision set forth above; adding that Christ, the which had appeared to him, had given him certain things that he would never tell, so long as he lived. And albeit those most holy wounds, inasmuch as Christ had imprinted them, gave to his heart exceeding joy: nathless to his flesh and the senses of his body, they gave pain unbearable. So that, constrained by necessity, he chose out Brother Leo, as above the rest the most simple and most pure, and to him he revealed the whole, and suffered him to see and touch those holy wounds, and sw,athe them in bands to assuage the pain, and to receive the blood that trickled from the said wounds; the which bands, in time of sickness, he suffered him to change often, and even every day, save from Thursday evening until Saturday morning; because during that time he would not that the pain of the passion of Christ, which he bore in his body, should a whit be lessened by any human medicine or remedy; for at that time our Saviour Jesu Christ had been for our sakes taken and was crucified, dead and buried. It befell on a time that as Brother Leo was changing the bandage of the wound in the side, S. Francis, for the pain that he felt when the blood-stained bandages were loosed.

e o me Canto franaci e Ko riacuctn: CcCHmatc mCulmonte ciclUuDiia S. FRANCIS KKCKIVKS THK SIKiMATA (A/ter Codcx l.aiircii.,inito (idchiidito cxiì: e/ l'ìi'/mc, />. ini) laid his hand upon the breast of Brother Leo; and at the touch of those holy hands, Brother Leo felt such sweetness of devotion in his heart, that he well-nigh fell upon the ground half-dead. And at the last, touching this third reflection, S. Francis having ended the forty days” fast of S. Michael the Archangel, set himself by divine revelation to return to S. Mary of the Angels. Wherefore he called unto him Brother Masseo and Brother Angelo; and after many words and holy admonishments, commended that holy mountain into their charge with what earnestness he might, saying that as for himself it behoved him with Brother Leo to return to S. Mary of the Angels. And this said, he took leave of them and blessed them in the name of Jesu Crucified, and yielding to their prayers, he stretched out to them his most holy hands adorned with those glorious and sacred Stigmata, to see, to touch, and kiss: and so leaving them comforted, he departed from them and went down from the holy mountain.