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

THE WRITINGS OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
road. · And when the necessity has arisen, let them go about for alms. · And let them not be
ashamed but rather let them remember, that Our Lord Jesus "Christ, the Son of the living God"
(Jn 11:27) Omnipotent, "set" His "face like flint" 396 (Is 50:7), nor was He ashamed; · and He was
poor and a guest and lived by alms, He and the Blessed Virgin and His disciples. · And when
men shame them and are not willing to give them alms, let them return thanks to God on that
account; that because of (this) shame they shall receive great honor before the tribunal of Our
Lord Jesus Christ. · And let them know, that shame is imputed not to those who suffer it, but to
those who bring it upon (others). · And alms are the inheritance and justice, which are owed to
the poor, (and) which Our Lord Jesus Christ acquired for us. · And the friars, who labor in
acquiring these, shall have a great wage and will make those (who) grant (these) profit and
acquire (merit); because all things that men leave in the world will perish, but because of the
charity and alms, which they give, they shall have a reward from the Lord.
And let one without fear 397 manifest to the other his own need, so that (the latter) may
find for him what is necessary and minister (it to him). · And let him love (dilectio) and nourish
his brother, as a mother loves and nourishes her son (cf. 1 Th 2:7), in the manner 398 that God
bestows the grace upon him. · And "let him who does not eat, not judge him (who is) eating"
(Rm 14:3b).
And whenever necessity has overtaken them, let it be licit for all the friars, wherever they
have been, to use all foods, 399 which men can eat, just as the Lord says of David, who "ate the
bread of proposition" (cf. Mt 12,4), "which was not licit to eat except for the priests" (Mk 2:26). ·
And let them remember, what the Lord says: "Attend moreover to yourselves lest perchance your
hearts grow heavy with stupor and drunkenness and the cares of this life and there overtake" you
"that unexpected day; · for like a trap it shall spring upon all, who sit upon the face" of the globe
"of the earth" (cf. Lk 21:34-35). · Also in the same manner, in times of manifest necessity let all
the friars do concerning their needs, as the Lord bestows the grace upon them, because 'necessity
has no law.' 400
Chapter X
On the sick friars
If any of the friars has fallen into infirmity, wherever he has been, let the other friars not
send him away, 401 rather let one or very many of the friars, if it is necessary, be appointed to
396 lit. petram durissimam, "the hardest rock," a thing fit to be struck.
397 cf. RegB VI,9.
398 The succinct Latin phrase in quibus, translated here as "in the manner" may also be translated
"in those (things) that," "in regard to those whom", "at those (times) that", "in those (cases) that."
399 During times of fast, the friars abstained from eating meat, lard, fruit and other rich foods.
400 Normally the friars could only conduct their affairs with the permission of their superiors, in
accord with their vows of obedience and poverty. St. Francis here explicitly grants a
dispensation, as necessity demands. However, this dispensation is dropped from the Regula
Bullata [RegB] because it is a general principle in ecclesiastical law, and thus need not be
mentioned in a rule. On this principle see Decretum Gratiani, P. II. C. q. 1 the gloss before c. 40;
William of St. Thierry Commentatio ex Bernardo 33: PL 184,433; and compare St. Bernard,
Liber de praecepto et dispensatione, ch. 5; PL 182,867.
401 It was and still is the custom in many religious orders to dismiss a member who becomes too
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