At Celano in the winter time,
when Francis had a cloth folded like a mantle which a certain friend of the
friars had lent to him, there came to him an old woman seeking alms. Who forthwith loosed the cloak from his neck,
and though it belonged to another, gave it to the poor old woman, saying, “Go
and make a tunic for yourself, because you need it enough.” The old woman laughed, astonished, I know not
from fear or joy, took the cloth from his hands, and lest delay should bring
about a danger of his taking it back, ran very swiftly and fell upon the cloth
with her scissors. But when she found
the cloth was not large enough for a tunic, she came back to the first kindness
of the holy Father, pointing out to him that the cloth was not large enough for
a tunic. The saint turned his eyes to
his fellow who wore such another cloth on his back and said to him, “Listen to
what this poor woman says. For the love
of God let us bear the cold and give that cloth to the poor woman that her
tunic may be finished.” And so as he
gave, so did his fellow. Thus both of
them remained bare that the poor woman might be clothed.
-Mirror of Perfection Section III, Chapter 29
I know of people who surrendered the shoes off of
their feet so another may not be shoeless.
This is not because they had shoes at home, but because the need of the
other was so great. While we should not,
as Francis, make a habit of giving away that which was not ours, still we
should consider our own possessions so lightly as to meet the need of the other. This is not so that we would be in want while
the other be clothed, but because we can rely on the provision of the Lord to
grant us more. We need not worry, God
will provide with abundance.
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