How St.Francis and his brethren were speaking of God, and Christ appeared to them (14)

In the beginning of the Order, when St.Francis and his companions were assembled one day in a place, and talking about Christ, the Saint in the fervour of his spirit commanded one of them in the name of God to open his lips and speak of God as the Holy Spirit inspired him.

The friar obeyed the command and spoke most marvellously. St.Francis then imposed silence upon him and commanded another friar to speak, the which obeyed and discoursed on God with great subtlety, until St.Francis bade him be silent also. And he commanded a third to speak to God. And he likewise began to speak so profoundly of the divine mysteries that St.Francis knew without doubt that he, like the other two, spoke by the Holy Spirit. This was also demonstrated by an unmistakable sign, for as they were thus discoursing, Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared in their midst in the shape of a beautiful youth. Blessing them all, He filled them with such sweetness that they were rapt in ecstasy and lay as men dead, feeling nothing pertaining to this world.

When they then returned to themselves, St.Francis said to them: "My dearest brothers, let us thank God, who has seen fit to reveal the treasures of divine wisdom through the mouths of simpletons, for it is God who opens the mouths of thedumb and makes the tongues of the simple to speak most wisely." Praised be He, Amen.