[Brother Elias and Cardinal Hugolino Ask Him
to Accept Medical Help;
He Composes the Canticle Of Brother Sun at San Damiano]
The Bishop of Ostia, who later became the apostolic bishop, seeing how blessed Francis was always severe with his body, and especially because he was rapidly losing his eyesight because he refused to have himself treated, admonished him with great kindness and compassion. He told him: “Brother, you do not do well in not allowing yourself to be helped with your eye disease, for your health and your life are of great value not only to yourself but also to others. If you have compassion for your sick brothers, and have always been and still are merciful to them, you must not be cruel to yourself in such a serious and manifest need and illness. I therefore order you to allow yourself to be helped and treated.”
Likewise, two years before his death, while he was already very sick, especially from the eye disease, he was staying at San Damiano in a little cell made of mats.
The general minister, seeing and considering how tormented he was with the eye disease, ordered him to let himself be treated and helped. He also told him that he wanted to be present when the doctor began the treatment, especially so that he could more effectively arrange for him to be cared for and comforted, since he was suffering a great deal from it. At that time it was very cold, and the weather was not conducive to treatment.
Blessed Francis lay there for more than fifty days, and was unable to bear the light of the sun during the day or the light of a fire at night. He stayed in the dark in the house, inside that little cell. In addition, day and night he had great pains in his eyes so that at night he could scarcely rest or sleep. This was very harmful and was a serious aggravation for his eye disease and his other illnesses.
Sometimes he did want to rest and sleep, but there were many mice in the house and in the little cell made of mats where he was lying, in one part of the house. They were running around him, and even over him, and would not let him sleep. They even disturbed him greatly at the time of prayer. They bothered him not only at night, but also during the day, even climbing up on his table when he was eating, so much so that his companions, and he himself, considered it a temptation of the devil, which it was.
One night as blessed Francis was reflecting on all the troubles he was enduring, he was moved by piety for himself. “Lord,” he said to himself, “make haste to help me in my illnesses, so that I may be able to bear them patiently.” And suddenly he was told in spirit: “Tell me, brother, what if, in exchange for your illnesses and troubles, someone were to give you a treasure? And it would be so great and precious that, even if the whole earth were changed to pure gold, all stones to precious stones, and all water to balsam, you would still judge and hold all these things as nothing, as if they were earth, stones and water, in comparison to the great and precious treasure which was given you. Wouldn’t you greatly rejoice?”
“Lord,” blessed Francis answered, “this treasure would indeed be great, worth seeking, very precious, greatly lovable, and desirable.”
“Then, brother,” he was told, “be glad and rejoice in your illnesses and troubles, because as of now, you are as secure as if you were already in my kingdom.”
The next morning on rising, he said to his companions: “If the emperor were to give a whole kingdom to one of his servants, shouldn’t he greatly rejoice? But, what if it were the whole empire, wouldn’t he rejoice even more?” And he said to them: “I must rejoice greatly in my illnesses and troubles and be consoled in the Lord, giving thanks always to God the Father, to His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit for such a great grace and blessing. In His mercy He has given me, His unworthy little servant still living in the flesh, the promise of His kingdom.
“Therefore for His praise, for our consolation and for the edification of our neighbor, I want to write a new Praise of the Lord for his creatures, which we use every day, and without which we cannot live. Through them the human race greatly offends the Creator, and every day we are ungrateful for such great graces, because we do not praise, as we should, our Creator and the Giver of all good.”
Sitting down, he began to meditate and then said: “Most High, all-powerful, good Lord.” He composed a melody for these words and taught it to his companions so they could repeat it. For his spirit was then in such sweetness and consolation, that he wanted to send for Brother Pacifico, who in the world was called “The King of Verses,” and was a very courtly master of singers. He wanted to give him a few good and spiritual brothers to go through the world preaching and praising God.
He said that he wanted one of them who knew how to preach, first to preach to the people. After the sermon, they were to sing the Praises of the Lord as minstrels of the Lord. After the praises, he wanted the preacher to tell the people: “We are minstrels of the Lord, and this is what we want as payment: that you live in true penance.”
He used to say: “What are the servants of God if not His minstrels, who must move people’s hearts and lift them up to spiritual joy?” And he said this especially to the Lesser Brothers, who had been given to the people for their salvation.
The Praises of the Lord that he composed, that is, “Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,” he called “The Canticle of Brother Sun,” who is more beautiful than all other creatures and can be most closely compared to God.
He used to say: “At dawn, when the sun rises, everyone should praise God, who created it, because through it the eyes are lighted by day. And in the evening, when it becomes night, everyone should praise God for another creature, Brother Fire, because through it the eyes are lighted at night.”
He said: “For we are all like blind people, and the Lord lights up our eyes through these two creatures. Because of this, we must always praise the glorious Creator for these and for His other creatures which we use every day.”
He did this and continued to do this gladly, whether he was healthy or sick. And he encouraged others to praise the Lord. Indeed, when his illness grew more serious, he himself began to say the Praises of the Lord, and afterwards had his companions sing it, so that in reflecting on the praise of the Lord, he could forget the sharpness of his pains and illnesses. He did this until the day of his death.
OFS Ongoing 