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

life and conversation in the holy place of S. Mary of the Angels, as in the head and mother of the whole Religion, intending and willing that this place should be the pattern and example of humility and poverty and every Gospel perfection unto all other places, and that the brethren therein abiding ought ever to be, beyond the rest of the brethren, circumspect and solicitous in doing and avoiding all such things as pertain unto a perfect observance of the Rule.

Whence on a time, for the avoiding of idleness that is the root of all evil, and especially in a Religious, on a certain day he made ordinance that after meat, the brethren together with himself should forthwith exercise them in some work, lest the good that they had gained in time of prayer should be wholly or in part wasted in vain and idle words whereunto a man after meat is mostly disposed.

Moreover he made ordinance and commanded the same to be firmly observed, that if any of the brethren doing nothing or at work on anything should utter any idle word among the brethren, he should be bound to say onePater Noster, praising God at the beginning and at the end of the prayer, but so nevertheless, that if haply conscious of his lapse, he should first have blamed himself for that he had committed, he should say thePater Noster for his own soul with theLaudes Dominoas aforesaid, but if it were that he should be first reproved thereof by one of the brethren, he should be bound to say thePater Nosterfor the soul of the brother so reproving him. But in case he that was reproved did excuse himself and would not say thePater Noster, he should in like manner be bound to say twoPater Nosters for the soul of the brother that did reprove him. But if on his own or another’s witness it shall be proven true that he did speak that idle word, he shall say the said Laudes Deoat the beginning and end of the prayer loud enough to be heard or understood of all the brethren standing by, the which brethren whilst that he sayeth the same shall hold their peace and hearken thereunto. But in case any brother listening and hearing a brother speak an idle word shall hold his peace and shall not reprove him, let him in like manner be held to say one Pater Nosterwith theLaudes Deofor the soul of him that speaketh the idle word.