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Dear Friends,
The following is an extract from a beautiful book on St. Francis of Assisi, 'Francis - the Journey and the Dream' by Murray Bodo, 1972, St. Anthony Messenger Press, p.39 and 40.
"When Bernard of Quintavalle and the others came to him, Francis rejoiced that his journey had not ended once the Spirit took over his life, but that a new and more exciting Journey had begun, a journey, even now only beginning.
Brother Bernard was, in Francis' eyes, the real founder of the Order of Lesser Brothers, because he was the first wealthy Assisian to sell all his possessions, give them to the poor, and throw himself completely upon the mercy of God. Francis remembered so vividly the night he spent in the home of the wealthy merchant, Bernard of Quintavalle. Bernard, pretending to be asleep, had spent the night watching Francis at prayer, and in the morning had told Francis of his resolve to renounce his possessions and to follow Francis in he footsteps of Christ.
Francis was utterly stunned. Never, in his wildest hopes, had he imagined that God would so quickly answer his prayers for companionship in poverty and pursuit of the Dream. But he did not immediately show his joy and relief to Bernard. Instead, Francis said that they must go together to the bishop's house where there was a poor priest who would say Mass for them. Afterwards they would ask the priest to open the Book of the Gospels three times to see what God would there reveal to them about their future; whether Bernard was to follow Christ as Francis' brother, or not.
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