The humble servant of Christ, St. Francis, at the
beginning of his conversion when he had already gathered many companions and
received them in the Order, was placed in great agony of doubt as to what he
should do: whether to give himself only to continual prayer or to preach sometimes.
He wanted very much to know which of these would please our Lord Jesus Christ
most. And as the holy humility that was in him did not allow him to trust in
himself or in his own prayers, he humbly turned to others in order to know God’s
will in this matter.
So he called Brother Masseo and said to him, “Dear
Brother, go to Sister Clare and tell her on my behalf to pray devoutly to God,
with one of her more spiritual companions, that He may deign to show me what is
best: either that I preach sometimes or that I devote myself only to prayer.
And then go also to Brother Silvester, who is staying on Mount Subasio, and
tell him the same thing.” This was the Lord Silvester who had seen a cross of
gold issuing from the mouth of St. Francis which extended in length to heaven
and in width to the ends of the world. And this Brother Silvester was so devout
and holy that God immediately granted or revealed to him whatever he asked in
prayer. The Holy Spirit had made him remarkably deserving of divine
communications, and he had conversed with God many times. And, therefore, St.
Francis was very devoted to him and had great faith in him.
Brother Masseo went and, as St. Francis had ordered him,
gave the message first to St. Clare and then to Brother Silvester. When the
latter received it, he immediately set himself to praying. And while praying,
he quickly had God’s answer. He went out at once to Brother Masseo and said: “The Lord says you are to tell Brother Francis this: that God has not called him
to this state only on his own account, but that he may reap a harvest of souls
and that many may be saved through him.” After this Brother Masseo went back to
St. Clare to know what she had received from God. And, she answered that both
she and her companion had had the very same answer from God as Brother
Silvester.
Brother Masseo therefore returned to St. Francis. And the
saint received him with great charity; he washed his feet and prepared a meal
for him. And after he had eaten, St. Francis called Brother Masseo into the
woods. And there he knelt down before Brother Masseo, and baring his head and
crossing his arms, St. Francis asked him: “What does my Lord Jesus Christ order
me to do?” Brother Masseo replied that Christ had answered both Brother
Silvester and Sister Clare and her companion and revealed that “He wants you to
go about the world preaching, because God did not call you for yourself alone,
but also for the salvation of others.”
And then the hand of the Lord came over St. Francis. As
soon as he heard this answer and thereby knew the will of Christ, he got to his
feet, all aflame with divine power and said to Brother Masseo with great
fervor, “So let’s go – in the name of the Lord!” And he took as companions
Brother Masseo and Brother Angelo, holy men. And he set out like a bolt of
lightning in this spiritual ardor, not paying any attention to the road or
path. (taken from the book “Devotional
Classics, selected readings for individuals and groups, edited by Richard J.
Foster and James Bryan Smith, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993)
Prayer: The
Prayer, by St. Ignatius of Loyola
Teach us, good
Lord,
to serve you as
you deserve,to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will.
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