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

1. In the outskirts of Rome, there was a nobleman named Rudolph, whose wife was devoted unto God and oft received as her guests the Brothers Minor, alike from the virtue of hospitality, and from her veneration and love for the Blessed Francis. One night, the warder of the castle, who slept on the topmost tower, was lying upon an heap of wood that had been placed on the very edge of the wall, and, their fastenings becoming undone, fell on to the palace roof, and thence on to the ground. At the sound of the fall, the whole household was aroused, and, when they heard of the warder’s fall, the lord and lady of the castle hastened unto the spot, with the Brethren. He, indeed, who had fallen from the height, was wrapt in so deep a sleep as that he was awakened neither by the continued falling of the beams, nor by the tumult of the household that ran together with shouts. At last he was roused by their hands dragging and pushing him, whereupon he began to complain that they had cut him off from a sweet repose, declaring that he had been sleeping sweetly in the arms of the Blessed Francis. When he had been instructed of others concerning his own fall, and saw himself on the ground, whereas he had lain on the topmost tower, he was astounded that that had befallen him which he had no whit perceived, and promised, in the presence of all, that he would become a penitent by reason of his reverence for God and for the Blessed Francis.

2. In the town of Pofi, that is situated in Campania, a certain priest named Thomas approached the mill of the church that he might repair it. But as he walked heedlessly along the bank of the canal, where a deep whirlpool was flowing with a great inrush of water, he fell suddenly, and was entangled in the nail-studded wheel, whose motion turned the mill. He lay thus encumbered with the wood, and the rush of drowning the waters fell on his face, as he was prostrate, so that he could not cry aloud, howbeit, in his heart, he piteously called upon Saint Francis. Thus for a long space he lay there, and his companions, having now utterly despaired of his life, turned the mill forcibly in the opposite direction, and the priest, thus cast forth, was hurled about, gasping, in the flood of water. And lo! a certain Brother Minor, clad in a white tunic and girt with a rope, with great gentleness took him by the arm, and drew him forth from the river, saying: “I am Francis, upon whom thou hast called.” Then he, thus delivered, was greatly astonied, and would fain have kissed his footprints, and ran hither and thither in his anxiety, enquiring of his companions: “ Where is he? Whither hath the Saint departed? Which way took he?” But they, trembling, fell prostrate on the ground, exalting the glorious marvels of the great God, and the virtues and merits of His humble servant.

3. Certain youths of Borgo di Celano went forth into some fields to cut hay; now in these fields there was hidden an ancient well, whose mouth was overshadowed by green grasses, and it held water to a depth of about four paces. As the youths separated, and went singly about the meadow, one of them fell by accident into the well. The deep pit swallowed his body, but his spirit and mind rose on high to seek the intercession of the Blessed Francis, and, even as he fell, he cried with faith and trust: “Saint Francis, aid me!’’ The others went hither and thither, as the lad was not to be found, seeking him with shouts, and tears, and searching all round. Discovering at length that he had fallen into the well, they returned in haste unto Borgo, with lamentations, to tell what had befallen and to seek for help. But as they returned, bringing with them a great crowd of men, one of whom they let down by a rope into the well, they beheld the lad sitting on the surface of the water, having suffered no injury whatsoever. When he had been drawn forth from the well, the youth said unto all that stood by: “As I fell of a sudden, I invoked the protection of the Blessed Francis, and he at once, even as I fell, stood by me in bodily presence, and, stretching out his hand, gently laid hold on me, nor ever left me until, you also aiding, he drew me forth from the well.”

4. In the church of the Blessed Francis, at Assisi, the lord Bishop of Ostia,—he that was afterward the Chief Pontiff, Alexander,—was preaching in the presence of the Roman Curia, when an heavy and great stone, that had been left through negligence over the lofty stone pulpit, was pushed out of place by excessive pressure, and fell on the head of a certain woman. As all the bystanders deemed her already quite dead, and that her head had been quite shattered, they covered her with the cloak that she was wearing, so that, the sermon ended, her pitiable body might be borne forth from the church. Howbeit, the woman had committed herself in faith unto the Blessed Francis, before whose altar she lay. And lo! the preaching ended, she rose up in the presence of all so sound as that no trace of injury from might be seen upon her. Yea, what is more marvellous, she having for a long time past until that very hour suffered from an almost incessant headache, was from thence utterly freed from trouble of any disease, as she herself afterward bare witness.

5. At Corneto, at the founding of a bell in the place of the Brethren, certain devout men had come together, and a boy of eight years, named Bartholomew, was bringing a gift for the Brethren that were at work. Lo! on a sudden a strong wind arose, and shook the house, so that the great, heavy door in the gateway fell upon the little boy with such a mighty crash as that all believed one on whom such an immense weight had fallen must needs be crushed by the deadly concussion. For he lay so completely buried beneath the fallen weight as that nothing of him could be seen from without. All the bystanders ran unto the spot, invoking the powerful right hand of the Blessed Francis. Yea, his father too, whose limbs had become stiff so that he was unable to stir for grief, committed his son with prayers and cries unto Saint Francis. At length the deadly weight was raised from above the boy, and behold, he whom they had believed to be dead, was seen rejoicing, as though roused from sleep, and with no trace of any injury upon him. Accordingly, when he was fourteen years of age, he became a Brother Minor, and was afterward a learned and renowned preacher in the Order.

6. The men of Lentino had quarried from the mountain an immense stone, that was to be laid upon the altar in a church of the Blessed Francis that was then about to be consecrated. Now about forty men were striving to place the stone on a cart, and, while they were putting forth their strength again and again, the stone fell upon one man, and buried him as in a tomb. Perturbed in mind, and knowing not what to do, the greater part of the men departed in despair. Howbeit, ten remained, and they with lamentable cries called upon Saint Francis, imploring him not to suffer a man to meet with such an horrible death while in his service; and at last, regaining courage, they removed the stone with such ease as that none could doubt the power of Francis had come unto their aid. The man rose up sound in all his limbs, and had, moreover, recovered the clear sight of his eyes, that had been dim afore, so that thus it might be given unto all to know of what mighty efficacy are the merits of the Blessed Francis in cases beyond hope.

7. A like thing befell at San Severino in the March of Ancona. Whileas an immense stone, that had been brought from Constantinople for the church of the Blessed Francis, was being dragged along by the strength of many, it slipped on a sudden, and fell upon one of them that were dragging it. Albeit he was believed to be not only dead, but also utterly ground to pieces, nevertheless, the Blessed Francis coming unto his aid and raising the stone, he leapt forth from the weight of the stone that had lain upon him well and sound, free from all injury.

8. A citizen of Gaeta, named Bartholomew, had toiled much in the building of a certain church of the Blessed Francis, when a beam, that had not been firmly fixed, fell crashing on his head, and sorely injuring him. Feeling that death was coming upon him, and being a man faithful and religious, he besought the Last Sacrament from a Brother. The Brother, deeming him about to die, lest he might not be able to bring It in time, set before him the words of the Blessed Augustine, saying unto Him: “Believe, and thou hast eaten.” On the following night, the Blessed Francis appeared unto him with eleven Brethren, carrying a lamb in his bosom, and approached his couch, and called him by name, saying: “Bartholomew, fear not, for the enemy shall not prevail against thee, who was minded to hinder thee in my service. This is the Lamb, Whom thou didst ask to be given unto thee, and Whom by reason of thy good desire thou hast received, by Whose might moreover thou shalt gain health of both the inner and the outer man.” With these words, he laid his hands upon the wounds, and bade him return unto the work that he had begun. The man, rising very early in the morning, appeared unscathed and rejoicing unto those who had left him half dead, filling them with marvel and amaze, and thus he stirred up their minds, alike by his own ensample, and the miracle wrote by the Saint, unto veneration and love for the blessed Father.

9. A man named Nicholas, of the town of Ceperano, fell on a day into the hands of his cruel enemies. They, with brutal ferocity, inflicted wound upon wound upon him, not ceasing to rage against the ill-fated man until they deemed him either dead, or on the point of death. Howbeit, this Nicholas had cried with a loud voice, so soon as the first wounds were dealt him, “Saint Francis, succour me! Saint Francis, aid me! “Many folk at a distance heard these cries, albeit they were not able to bring him succour. At length he was carried home, all covered with his own blood, howbeit, he confidently maintained that he should not see death by reason of those wounds, and that he even felt no pain therefrom, forasmuch as that Saint Francis had succoured him, and had obtained from the Lord that he might show his repentance. That which ensued confirmed his words, for, when the blood was washed off, he stood up forthwith unscathed, contrary unto all men’s expectation.

10. The son of a nobleman in the town of San Gimignano was labouring under a sore sickness, and, despairing of ever regaining his health, was brought down unto extremities. For there flowed from his eyes a stream of blood, such as is wont to gush forth when a vein in the arm is cut, and, as other sure signs of approaching death were seen in the rest of his body, he was given up for dead, nay more, as through weakness of spirit and of vital force he had lost the power of feeling and of movement, he seemed to have already quitted the body. Yet, while his kinsfolk and friends were assembling together to bewail him, as is the custom, and were treating only of his burial, his father, who trusted in the Lord, ran with hurried steps unto the church of the Blessed Francis in that town, put a rope round his neck, and threw himself on the ground in the deepest humility; lying thus, he vowed vows and offered up many prayers, and merited by his sighs and groanings to have Saint Francis as his advocate with Christ. Then the father returned at once unto his son, and, finding him restored unto health, changed his mourning into rejoicing.

11. A like miracle was wrought of the Lord, by the merits of His Saint, on a damsel in a town of Catalonia, called Tamarid, and on another in Ancona; these twain were through exceeding sore sickness nigh their last breath, when the Blessed Francis, who had been invoked with faith by their parents, restored them forthwith unto entire health.

12. A clerk at Vico Bianco, Matthew by name, having drunk of a deadly poison, was so weighed down thereby as that he lost all power of speech, and could but await his last end. A priest exhorted him to confess unto him, but could not avail to wring one word from him. Nevertheless, in his heart he was humbly beseeching Christ that, through the merits of the Blessed Francis, He would deign to snatch him from the jaws of death, and speedily, as,—strengthened by the Lord,—he uttered the name of the Blessed Francis with faith and devotion, he vomited forth the poison, as they who were present bear witness, and returned thanks unto his deliverer.