The Little Flowers and the Life of St. Francis, with the...

was built, said unto him: “Father, how seemeth it unto thee of this place?” And the Blessed Francis saith unto him: “Wouldst thou that I tell thee how the places of the brethren ought to be built?” He made answer: “Yes, Father.” And the Blessed Francis said: “When the brethren go to any city where they have no place, and find any man willing to give them so much land, as that they may build them a place and have therein a garden and all things necessary, they ought to consider first of all how much land will be enough for them, looking always to the poverty and the good example that in all things we are bound to show forth.”

But this he said, for that he was minded the brethren should in no wise, neither in houses, nor churches, nor gardens, nor in nought else whereof they had the use, trespass beyond the bounds of poverty, nor hold no places whatsoever by right of ownership, but should sojourn therein as pilgrims and strangers; wherefore he would not that the brethren should be lodged together in the places in large numbers, for that it seemed to him a hard thing for poverty to be observed in a great multitude. And this was his intention from the beginning of his conversion even to the end, that poverty should in all things be throughly observed.

“When, therefore, the brethren have considered the land necessary for the place, they ought to go to the Bishop of the city and say unto him: ‘Such an one is fain to give us so much land for the love of God and for the salvation of his soul, to the end that we may build us a place therein; wherefore, first of all, we have recourse to you as father and lord of souls unto all the flock committed unto you, and of all our brethren that shall sojourn in this place, inasmuch as we desire to build therein with God’s blessing and yours.’”

But this he said for that the harvest of souls which the brethren would fain garner, they do the better gather in through being at peace with the clergy, winning them over even as the people, rather than by scandalising them, albeit they might thereby win over the people. He saith, moreover: “The Lord hath called us unto the succor of His faith and of the clergy and prelates of the Holy Roman Church. And therefore are we bound, as far as possible, always to love them and honor and reverence them. For we be called brethren Minor, for that, as in name, so in example, we ought to be humble beyond other men of this world. And seeing that from the beginning of my conversion the Lord hath put His word into the mouth of the Bishop of Assisi, that he should give me counsel, and be of good comfort unto me in the service of Christ; on this account, and on account of many other things excellent that I do pay regard unto in the Prelates, I am fain to love and venerate, not the Bishops alone, but the poorer clergy also, and to hold them for my lords.

“Thereafter, when they have received a blessing from the Bishop, let them go and make a great trench be driven around the compass of the land they have received for building the place, and thereby let them set a good hedge for a wall, as a mark of holy poverty and humility. After that, let them make be built poor houses of mud and stud, and sundry little cells, wherein at times the brethren may pray and work for greater decency and for the avoiding of sloth. And let them make build little churches, for they ought not to have great churches built, neither for the sake of preaching to the people nor upon no other occasion, for the humility is the greater and the example the better when they go to other churches to preach. And if at any time prelates and clerics, either regular or secular, shall come unto their places, the sorry houses, the little cells, and the small churches will preach to them, and more will they be edified by these things than they would be by words.” Moreover, saith he, “Many a time do the brethren have great buildings made, breaking thereby our holy poverty, giving occasion of mischievous whispers, and setting a bad example unto many, whensoever by reason of the offer of a better or holier place, or the object of gathering together a greater congregation of folk, they do leave their old places and buildings through covetousness and avarice, and destroy them to make others great and excessive, so that they which did there give alms, and others that see these things, are scandalized and troubled thereat.

For these reasons it is better for the brethren to make their buildings little and sorry, observing their profession and giving a good example to their neighbors, than for them to act against their promise and give to others an evil example. For if it were that the brethren should still build their houses of the sorriest, albeit they should leave a sorry site when a site more decent were offered, the scandal would be the less.”