The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi - + Saints' Works

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THE WRITINGS OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI which he considered to be the most important duties of their administration. Its similarity with "A Letter to Clerics" [EpCler I] will be easily noticed. This letter was written sometime after March, 1220 A.D., when St. Francis returned from his trip to the Holy Land, and before Pope Honorius III granted the Friars the privilege of having chapels for the Blessed Sacrament in their own friaries, in 1224 A.D.. 88 To all 89 the custodes of the Friars Minor, to whom these letters will have come, Friar Francis, your servant and tiny (brother) in the Lord God, (wishes) salvation with new signs 90 in Heaven and on Earth, which are great and most excellent before God and reputed least by many religious and other men. I beg you more than from my very self, in so far as when it is fitting and you have seen that it is expedient, that you supplicate the clerics humbly, that they ought to venerate the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Names and His written words, which sanctify the Body, above all things. · That they ought to regard the chalices, the corporals, the ornaments of the altar and all things which pertain to the Sacrifice, as precious. · And if in any place the Most Holy Body of the Lord has been very poorly placed, by the mandate of the Church, that He be put in a precious place by them and sealed up and with great veneration borne about and with discretion ministered unto others. · That even the Names and written words of the Lord, wherever they be found in unclean places, be gathered together and that they ought to be placed together in a honorable place. · And in all the preaching, which you do, you are to warn the people concerning penance, 91 and that no one can be saved, except him who receives the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord (cf. Jn 6:54), · and, when He is sacrificed by a priest upon the altar and borne about in any region, 92 that all nations, upon bended knees, are to render praise, glory and honor to the Lord God living and true. · And you are to announce and preach about His praise in such a way, that at every hour and when the bells are struck, 93 praise and thanks may always be returned to the Omnipotent God by all people throughout the earth. And, to whomever of my friar custodes this writing has come and (who) have both copied it and kept (a copy) with them and on behalf of the friars, who have the office of preaching and the custody of the friars, (and who) have made copies and have preached all the things, which are 88 cf. K. Esser, p. 206. 89 lit. universis, "to each and every." This Latin word is used again in the last sentence of the following paragraph. 90 The Latin word here, signum, can also mean "the seal" of wax on a letter or a "constellation" of stars. In Catholic theology, the word is also used to refer to the Sacraments. Hence, perhaps, St. Francis' usage of the term to introduce this letter. It may be, however, that this refers to some recent celestial phenomena, widely seen, such as a comet, nova or meteor shower, to which St. Francis is dramatically contrasting the Most Blessed Sacrament. On a possible scriptural allusion see Acts 2:19. On the use of "salvation" immediately prior to this, see fn. 68. 91 As Christ did: "For unless you do penance, you shall likewise perish." (Lk 13:3; cf. also Ez 18:30; Mt 3:2; 4:17; Act 2:32; 17:30; Apoc 2:5,16; 3:3,19). 92 i.e. when the priest brought Viaticum to the dying; eucharistic processions, as well as the Feast of Corpus Christi, had not yet been established in St. Francis' lifetime. 93 i.e. at the moment of the consecration at Mass, when the church bells would be rung to announce the Mystery to the people in town and countryside. K. Esser sees this desire of St. Francis implemented later in the pious practice of the Angelus, which was soon to arise in the Order, cf. K. Esser, p. 211. Page - 36
THE WRITINGS OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI contained in this writing, until the end; 94 let them know that they have the blessing of the Lord God and of myself. · And let those things be for them a true and holy obedience. Amen. The Second Letter to the Custodes [EpCust II] This second version of the "Letter to the Custodes" was preserved in a Spanish translation at Saragossa, made while John Parenti was the first Minister provincial of Spain (1227-1232 A.D.). The Latin text was reconstructed from this by Luke Wadding, O.F.M. in the 16th Century. K. Esser dates this version to the same period as that of the first, namely, shortly after March, 1220 A.D.. 95 To all the custodes of the Friars Minor, to whom these letters will have come, Friar Francis, the least of the servants of God, (wishes) salvation 96 and holy peace in the Lord. Know, that in the sight of God there are certain things exceedingly high and sublime, which are sometimes reputed among men as vile and abject; · and there are others dear and notable among men, which before God are held as the most vile and abject. · I beg you before the Lord Our God, as much as I can, to give those letters, which treat of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord, to bishops and other clerics; · and to retain with (your) memory, those (practices) which we have recommended to you concerning these (Mysteries). · Of the other letters, which I am sending you, to give them to magistrates, 97 consuls, and rulers, and regarding those things which it 98 contains, in order to publish the praises of God among the peoples and in the streets, immediately make many copies, · and with great diligence distribute these to those, to whom they ought to be given. 94 For an explanation of this phrase, see fn. 84. 95 cf. K. Esser, pp. 207-9. 96 cf. fn. 68. 97 Fr. Luke Wadding, O.F.M., when translating this word from the Spanish, wrote gubernatoribus, which K. Esser takes as signifying a mistranslation into the Spanish of the original potestatibus (Italian: "podestà," mayor); cf. K. Esser, p. 208. 98 A reference to the parchment containing these writings. Page - 37
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