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THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED BROTHER GILES,
COMPANION OF ST FRANCIS
CHAPTER
I
HOW BROTHER GILES,
WITH THREE COMPANIONS WAS RECEIVED INTO THE ORDER OF FRIAR'S MINOR
Inasmuch as the
example of holy men serves to detach the minds of
devout hearers from transitory pleasures, and to excite them to the
desire of eternal salvation, to the honour of God and of his most holy
Mother, our Lady of St Mary, we will say a word concerning the graces
wrought by the Holy Ghost in the soul of our holy brother Giles, who,
even while he wore the secular habit, being touched by the Spirit of
God, began to strive in all his actions to please God alone.
At that time St Francis appeared as a new herald of Christ to give an
example of holy living, of humility, and penance. Then, two years after
his conversion, a man named Bernard, endowed with marvellous prudence
and very rich in temporal goods, with Peter Cattani, was drawn by his
example to the observance of evangelical poverty. By the counsel of St
Francis they distributed all their temporal possessions, for the love
of God, among the poor, arraying themselves, in the glory of patience
and evangelical perfection, with the habit of the Friars Minor; and all
their life did they keep their promise then made with the greatest
fervour and perfection. Eight days after their said conversion and
distribution, Brother Giles, being still in the secular habit, and
seeing the contempt of earthly things manifested by these noble knights
of Assisi, to the great admiration of the whole world, on the Feast of
St George in the year 1209, very early in the morning, as one in
earnest about his salvation, went in great fervour of spirit to the
church of St Gregory, where was the monastery of St Clare. Being
greatly desirous to see St Francis, he went, as soon as he had finished
his prayers, towards the hospital for lepers, where St Francis dwelt
apart in profound humility, with Brother Bernard and Brother Peter
Cattani.
Being come to a crossway, and not knowing which road to take, he prayed
to Christ our precious guide, who led him straight to the hut. And as
he pondered upon the cause of his coming, he met St Francis returning
from the forest, where he had been praying.
Then Brother Giles threw himself at his feet, and besought him to
receive him into his company for the love of God. And St Francis,
beholding the devout countenance of Brother Giles, answered and said:
"Dearest Brother, God hath conferred a great grace upon thee. If the
emperor were to come to Assisi, and propose to make one of its citizens
his knight or private chamberlain, would not such an offer be joyfully
accepted as a great mark of honour and distinction? How much more
shouldst thou rejoice that God has called thee to be his knight and
chosen servant, to observe the perfection of his holy gospel!
Therefore, do thou stand firm in the vocation to which God hath called
thee." And taking him by the hand he raised him up, and bringing him
into the hut, he called Brother Bernard, and said to him: "Almighty God
has sent us a good brother; let us, therefore, rejoice in the Lord, and
eat together in charity." When they had eaten, Brother Francis and this
Giles went to Assisi to obtain some cloth to make him a habit; and by
the way they met a poor woman, who asked an alms for the love of God.
St Francis, not knowing where to find anything for the poor woman,
turned to Brother Giles with an angelic countenance, and said: "For the
love of God, dearest brother, let us give her your mantle." And Brother
Giles obeys with so willing a heart, that the holy father thought he
saw him and his alms received forthwith into heaven, whereat he
experienced an exceeding interior joy. St Francis having procured the
cloth, and caused the habit to be made, received Brother Giles into the
Order, and he became one of the most glorious religious whom the world
has ever seen in the contemplative life. Immediately after his
reception, St Francis went with him into the March of Ancona, singing
with him and greatly praising the Lord of heaven and earth. And he said
to Brother Giles: "My son, this Religion of ours shall be like unto the
fisherman, who casteth his nets into the water, and taketh a great
multitude of fishes, whereof he keepeth the larger, casting the smaller
back into the sea." Brother Giles marvelled at this prophecy, for the
Order at that time numbered only three friars besides St Francis
himself. Moreover, St Francis had not yet begun to preach publicly to
the people, but only admonished men and women as he met with them by
the way, saying, with loving simplicity: "Love God, and fear him, and
do worthy penance for your sins." And Brother Giles would say, in his
turn: "Do this which my spiritual father says to you, for he speaketh
excellently well."
CHAPTER
II
HOW BROTHER GILES
WENT TO ST JAMES THE GREAT
By the permission
of St Francis, Brother Giles went once, in the
process of time, to St James the Great, in Galicia, and in that whole
journey he broke his fast once only because of the great poverty of the
country. And as he went asking alms, and finding none who would give to
him, he came one evening by chance to a barn, where a few beans lay
scattered on the ground. These he gathered up, and supped on them; and
in this barn he passed the night, for he loved to abide in solitary
places remote from the haunts of men, the better to give himself to
watching and prayer. And God so strengthened him by this supper, that
if he had eaten of ever so rich a banquet he could not have been so
well refreshed. Proceeding then upon his way, he met with a poor man,
who asked an alms of him for the love of God. And Brother Giles,
charitable as he was, had nothing to give but the habit he wore. So he
cut the hood from his cloak, and gave it to that poor man for the love
of God, and so journeyed on without a hood for twenty days together.
And as he was returning through Lombardy, a man called to him, to whom
he went willingly, expecting to receive an alms; but when he stretched
out his hand, the man put a pair of dice into it, inviting him to play.
Brother Giles replied very humbly, "God forgive thee, my son." And as
he passed through the world he met with much mockery and insult, and
endured it all in peace.
CHAPTER
III
OF BROTHER GILES'S
MANNER OF LIFE WHEN HE WENT TO THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
Brother Giles, by
the permission of St Francis, went to visit the Holy
Sepulchre of Christ; and being come to the port of Brindisi, he was
obliged to tarry there many days, because there was on ship ready to
sail. So Brother Giles, desiring to live by his labour, got a vessel,
and, filling it with water, he went around the city, crying: "Who wants
water?" And for his labour he received bread, and all things necessary
for the bodily support of himself and his companion. Then he passed
over the sea, and with great devotion visited the Sepulchre of Christ
and the other Holy Places. And as he returned, he abode for some days
in the city of Ancona; and because he was accustomed to live by his
labour, he made baskets of rushes, and sold them, not for money, but
for bread for himself and his companion; and he carried the dead to
their burial for the same wages. And when even this failed him, he
begged at the table of Jesus Christ, asking alms from door to door. And
with so much labour and in poverty, he returned to St Mary of the
Angels.
CHAPTER
IV
HOW BROTHER GILES
PRAISED OBEDIENCE MORE THAN PRAYER
As a brother was
one day praying in his cell, his superior sent him an
obedience to leave his prayer and go out to beg. The friar went
forthwith to Brother Giles, and said to him: "Father, I was at prayer,
and the guardian had bade me go forth to beg; now it seems to me far
better that I should continue praying." Brother Giles answered: "My
son, do you not yet know or understand what prayer is? True prayer is
to do the will of our superior; and it is great pride in him who has
submitted his neck to the yoke of holy obedience to desire to follow
his own will in anything, in order, as he thinks, to perform a work of
greater perfection. The perfectly obedient religious is like a horseman
mounted on a mettlesome steed, which carries him swiftly and fearlessly
on his way; but the disobedient religious, on the contrary, is like a
man seated on a meagre, weak, or vicious horse, who is in danger of
perishing by the way, or of falling into the hands of his enemies. I
tell thee that, though a man were raised to so high a degree of
contemplation as to hold converse with angels, yet were he interrupted
in that colloquy by the voice of obedience, he ought immediately to
leave communing with the angels, and obey the command of his superior."
CHAPTER
V
HOW BROTHER GILES
LIVED BY THE LABOUR OF HIS HANDS
When Brother Giles
was once living in a convent of the Friars Minor at
Rome, he desired, as he had done ever since his entrance into the
Order, to employ himself in manual labour, and thus did he spend his
day. Early in the morning he heard Mass with great devotion: then he
went into a forest about eight miles out of Rome, and bringing home a
great bundle of wood on his back, he sold it for bread and other
provisions. One day as he was bringing home his load of wood, a lady
met him and offered to buy it; so, having agreed with her as to the
price, he carried it to her house. The lady, notwithstanding the
agreement, seeing that he was a religious, gave him much more than she
had promised. Then said Brother Giles: "Good lady, I would not have the
vice of avarice to gain the mastery of me, therefore I will not take
from thee more than we agreed upon." And, instead of taking more than
the stipulated sum, he took but half of it, and went his way, leaving
the lady in great admiration. Brother Giles always showed the life
scrupulous integrity in all his dealings. He helped the labourers to
gather the olives and pluck the grapes. Being one day in the
market-place, he heard a man asking another to help him to beat
walnuts, offering him reward for so doing; but the other excused
himself because the place was far off and difficult to access. Then
Brother Giles said to him: "My friend, if thou wilt give me a part of
the walnuts, I will come with thee to beat them." So the agreement
being made, he went with the man; and first making the sign of the
cross, he climbed the high walnut tree, and in great fear began to
beat. When he had finished beating, he gathered up more for his share
than he knew how to carry; so taking off his habit, and tying the
sleeves and the hood, he made a sack of it, and filling it with
walnuts, he took it upon his back and carried it to Rome, and with
great joy gave the walnuts to the poor for the love of God. When the
corn was reaped, Brother Giles went with other poor persons to gather
the ears of corn; and if any one offered him a handful of grain, he
would say: "Brother, I have no granary wherein to store it, and for the
most part, what I gather I give to the poor for the love of God."
Brother Giles had little leisure to help others at such times, for he
had to fulfill his appointed task, and also to say the canonical hours,
and make his mental prayer. When once he went to the fountain of San
Sisto to fetch water for the monks of that place, a man asked him some
water to drink. Brother Giles answered: "How can I take the vessel half
filled to the monks?" On this the man, being angry, spoke many hard and
reproachful words to Brother Giles, who returned very sorrowful to the
monks. Then borrowing a large vessel, he came back forthwith to the
fountain, and finding the man there, he said: "Take, my friend, and
drink as much as thy soul desireth, and be not angry that it seemed to
me unjust to take a scant measure of water to those holy monks." Then
he, being constrained and conscience-stricken by the charity and
humility of Brother Giles, acknowledged his fault, and from that day
forth held him in great reverence.
CHAPTER
VI
HOW BROTHER GILES
WAS MIRACULOUSLY ASSISTED IN A GREAT NECESSITY WHEN, BY REASON OF A
HEAVY FALL OF SNOW, HE WAS HINDERED FROM GOING OUT TO QUEST
Brother Giles was
once staying in Rome, at the house of a Cardinal,
when Lent was drawing near; and being unable there to enjoy the quiet
of mind which he desired, he said to the Cardinal: "My Father, I pray
you give me permission to go with my companion to spend this Lent in
some solitary place"; and the Cardinal answered him: "Alas! dearest
brother, whither wouldst thou go? This is a time of great scarcity, and
thou art not well accustomed to these desert places; wherefore I
beseech thee remain with me, for I account it a singular grace to be
permitted to provide for thy wants for the love of God." But Brother
Giles being determined to go, went out of Rome to a high mountain,
where there had once been a castle, and where there was now a forsaken
church dedicated to St Lawrence; this he entered with his companion,
remaining there in prayer and meditation. They were not known in the
place, wherefore little reverence or consideration was shown to them,
so that they were in great poverty, and moreover a heavy fall of snow
came on, which lasted many days. They could not leave the church; they
had no food with them, neither was any thing brought them from without;
and thus they remained shut up for three days and three nights.
Brother Giles, seeing that he could earn nothing for his livelihood,
nor go out to beg alms, said to his companion: "My dearest brother, let
us cry aloud to the Lord, that of his loving pity he would provide for
this our extreme necessity; for we have heard how many holy monks,
being in great straits, have called upon God to provide for them in
their need."
So, after their example, these two holy men betook themselves to
prayer, beseeching God with all their hearts to provide a remedy for
their distress; and God, who is all-compassionate, had regard to their
faith, devotion, and simplicity in manner following: A certain man,
casting his eyes upon the church where Brother Giles and his companion
were shut up, said to himself by an inspiration from God: "It may be
that some devout person is doing penance in that church, and by reason
of the snow he can obtain no supply for his wants, and may perhaps die
of hunger." Wherefore, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost he said:
"Of a surety I will go and see if what I imagine be true or no." So
taking bread and a flask of wine, he went his way, and with great
difficulty arrived at the church, where he found Brother Giles and his
companion most devoutly absorbed in prayer; but so wasted were they
with hunger that they looked rather like dead men than living; and he
had great compassion for them, and having warmed and comforted them he
returned and told his neighbours of the extremity and necessity of
these friars, praying and exhorting them, for the love of God, to
provide for their needs.
Many, therefore, after his example, brought them bread and wine for the
love of God, besides other things necessary for food, arranging also
among themselves that, during that whole Lent, all things needful were
provided for them. And Brother Giles, reflecting on the great mercy of
God and the charity of these people, said to his companion: "Dearest
brother, hitherto we have prayed to God to provide for our necessities,
and he has heard us; now it behoveth us to give him thanks, and to pray
for those who have fed us by their alms, and for all Christian people."
And such grace did God grant to the fervour and devotion of Brother
Giles, that many, after his example, forsook this blind world, and many
who had no vocation to religion did most austere penance in their own
homes.
CHAPTER
VII
OF THE DAY OF THE
HOLY BROTHER GILES'S DEATH
On the vigil of St
George, at the hour of Matins, fifty-two years being
now elapsed since he received the habit of St Francis, the soul of
Brother Giles was received by God into the glory of Paradise: to wit,
on the Feast of St George.
CHAPTER
VIII
HOW A HOLY MAN,
BEING IN PRAYER, SAW THE SOUL OF BROTHER GILES PASS TO ETERNAL LIFE
A holy man, who
was praying when Brother Giles passed from this life,
saw his soul, with a multitude of others newly freed from Purgatory,
ascend into heaven; and he beheld Jesus Christ, with a multitude of
angels, going to meet the soul of Brother Giles, and so ascending again
with all those angels and blessed souls, and with the sound of a most
ravishing melody, to heaven.
CHAPTER
IX
HOW, BY THE MERITS
OF BROTHER GILES, THE SOUL OF THE FRIEND OF A FRIAR PREACHER WAS
DELIVERED FROM THE PAINS OF PURGATORY
While Brother
Giles was lying sick, a few days before his death, a
certain friar of St Dominic became sick unto death. Another friar, who
was a friend of his, said to the sick brother: "My brother, I desire,
if God permit, that after thy death thou return to me and tell me in
what state thou art"; and the sick man promised to return if it should
be possible. He died on the same day with Brother Giles, and after his
death, he appeared to the living Friar Preacher, and said: "It is the
will of God that I should fulfill my promise." Then said the living man
to the dead: "How is it with thee?" and the dead answered: "All is
well; for I died on the very day that a holy Friar Minor, named Giles,
passed from this life; to whom for his great sanctity Christ granted
that he should carry with him to holy Paradise all the souls that were
in Purgatory, among whom was I suffering great torment; and now, by the
merits of the holy Brother Giles, I am delivered from them"; and having
said this, he forthwith disappeared; and that friar revealed the vision
to no man. But after a time this same friar fell sick, and immediately
suspecting that God had struck him because he had not revealed the
virtue and the glory of Brother Giles, he sent for the Friars Minor;
and there came to him ten, two by two; and they being gathered together
with the Friars Preachers, he declared to them with great devotion the
aforesaid vision; and, diligent inquiry having been made, it was found
that the two had indeed passed from this life on one and the same day.
CHAPTER
X
HOW GOD GAVE
SPECIAL GRACES TO BROTHER GILES, AND OF THE YEAR OF HIS DEATH
Brother
Bonaventura of Bagnoreggio said of Brother Giles, that God had
given him special graces, not only for himself, but for all those also
who should recommend themselves to him with a devout intention in any
spiritual need. He wrought many miracles, both in his lifetime and
after his death, as appeareth by his legend, and he passed from this
life on the Feast of St George, in the year 1252. He is buried at
Perugia in the convent of the Friars Minor.
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