How the adversaries thought they would impede our Congregation so that at least it wouldn’t grow very much

249 The Observants wants to impede the Capuchin Reform 250 Prohibitions made against Observant Friars crossing over to the Capuchins 251 The miracles perform by the Capuchins and the help of some illustrious persons watch over their way 252 Bernadine of Colpetrazzo invited to become a Capuchin 253 Numerous vocations

(249) The lax Friars are the ones who have impugned our Congregation with all their cleverness. They realised that they could no longer stop it. Rather everything they did resulted in their dishonour and, by the grace of God, the benefit and increase of the Congregation. Through the industry and will of their major Superior they all met together and consulted. They said, “Until this point we have attacked our own Reform and have played the game of the Capuchins. For even though we impeded them, the many good Friars who desired the Reform, and often asked us the obedience to go there, have joined the Capuchins. Therefore it is better that we make known everywhere that we wish to support the Reform. Otherwise we will be stripped of all the good Friars. Let us obtain a Bull in their favour. We can handle them that way.

Therefore it was ordered that a Bull be obtained from His Holiness. It was obtained with great support. The order was given on the part of His Holiness and the General that in all the Provinces that Provincial Ministers exhort the good Friars to be calm for the order was already given that the Reform be carried out completely. On the visitations the Ministers exhorted to the true observance of the Rule those Friars who wanted to reform and how it was necessary for them to be deprived of all the privileges which the Order enjoys. They depicted the Reform as very harsh. They did this to frighten them so that not many would go to it. They demonstrated by this that for those who had the wish to leave it was not necessary to go to the Capuchins. A short while later they wrote down all those who wanted to go. This was no small obstacle. With great boldness they preached against those who had left and those who wanted to the Capuchins. They reviled them saying that they had no brains and that they were hypocrites and unstable. They said that the Capuchins did everything just to live in their own way and that His Holiness had promised to uproot them and dispose of them. They also said the Capuchins were damned because they were excommunicated and that they were the cause of such obvious travail to the Order.

(250) When the visitations were over the order was given that in all the Provinces that the poorest and most remote friaries in each Province be assigned to them, friaries which are suitable to contemplation and the true observance of poverty. But it pleased the Lord God that this little alchemy be made known when it came to the touchstone for the Ministers impeded many of those who were written down. The Ministers said that they wanted to make use of those Friars. They removed many of those who had already gone to the Reform in order to make use of them in the Friaries of the community. They were angry and despairing of even being able to obtain their Reform. This was the reason that the desire in their hearts to become Capuchins was ignited even more. Once they (the Superiors) saw that they could not continue in this way they had recourse to His Holiness and obtained a Brief that was full of lightning against those who would go to the Capuchins.

This Brief lasted two years. However, Fra Ludovico had recourse to His Beatitude and said to His Holiness that he was stopping many poor fellows who wanted to observe the Rule but could not. His Holiness answered, “All that I have done has been done to put an end to the squabbles. It is not my will to stop anyone who wants to do good. Go therefore. Remain silent and do not speak. Nor do I want you to repeat this to anyone. I give you permission to receive the better ones carefully. From a distance have them transfer from one Province to another with the great discretion. In this way I provide for those for whom I have granted the Bull, leaving it in place, and I provide also for those who want to do good.”

Fra Ludovico departed and received many of these, though secretly. They came to him indirectly. The adversaries were very angry and redoubled their complaints that the Capuchins were excommunicated because they did not observe the Brief of His Holiness. This was providential. Because the Capuchins were keen, if there had not been this impediment, they would have made a bundle of every kind of herb, as the saying goes. In this way, thanks to the prudence of His Holiness, many outstanding men were received. I have this from the mouth of the Very Reverend Father Francis of Iesi himself. He was one of those who came at that time. There was not shortage of those who said that a holy man had been rapt in paradise but didn’t see any Capuchins there. From this they argued that all those who died in that state went to hell. With these scare tactics they tried to keep Friars from going to the Capuchins, especially the simple ones.

Also they gave to understand that during the General Chapter the Capuchins would be completely uprooted. So they tried in every way to prevent the Congregation from going ahead.

(251) It pleased the Lord God to demonstrate how much the Congregation pleased him when he began to make those holy men, the first Capuchins, shine with miracles, thus making known their holiness everywhere. This was the way that fended off all the blows when the adversaries saw all these miracles. Then a great schism occurred between them. The same thing happened to them as it did to the Scribes and Pharisees when our Lord enlightened the man born blind. “This man is not from God because he doesn’t observe the Sabbath.” However the blind man shut their mouths with this reasoning. He said, “It has never been heard of in the world that one has enlightened a man born blind. If this man was not from God, how could he have opened my eyes? We all know that God does not listen to sinners.” This is what happened among the Friars. The lax ones said that the Capuchins were excommunicated and were damned and died as enemies of God. The simple ones replied, “If it is as you say, how is it possible that the perform miracles to which so many true witnesses have testified and which is known all over the world? God does not bear witness to falsehood but to truth. Therefore it is certain that they are servants of God and true observers of the Rule of Saint Francis.

Our Lord God wanted to help us also by putting into the hearts of many very worthy and important persons that they should support the poor Congregation. So during this time the Most Illustrious Lord Camillo Orsino undertook our protection. Together with the Most Illustrious Lord Ascanio Colonna they supported us very much with His Holiness. They did so much so that His Holiness granted them the Bull, as was said in its place. When the adversaries found themselves opposed by these persons, they were disconcerted. They obtained a Brief that knocked down the one the adversaries got in order that none of their Friars could come to the Capuchins except under the pain of excommunication. This was judged impious and against the sacred canons. They didn’t want anyone impeded who wanted to go to a more perfect life. Although His Holiness had given the adversaries the Brief to settle them as we said above, he secretly gave permission to be received. When the door was open, those who had desired to come to the Reform for such a long time sprang everywhere like unchained lions. It was a bunch of many flowers that adorned the little garden of the poor Congregation of Capuchins.

(252) At that time I was in the friary of Saint Anthony of Pissignano, a castle in the realm of Spoleto. Two Friars came and one of them called me aside and said to me in secret, “Do you want to join the Capuchins?” However, because I was young I had little understanding of such matters. I answered him, “I don’t want to come to the Capuchins without the obedience.” He replied to me, “You simple fellow, everyone knows that you are naïve. Can’t you see that the door to paradise is open and that this is the time that our Lord God by his mercy has given us the opportunity to observe our profession just like Saint Francis and his companions observed it? Blessed will be the one who knows how to accept this beautiful gift given him by God. I want to go there since God is inviting me.” I can’t remember his name but I do remember the place he came from, Gualdo di Nocera and that he was a lay Friar. That servant of God left and entered the Capuchins and died after eight months. It was revealed to a holy man that God received him into heaven without tasting the pangs of purgatory.

(253) There would not be a tongue able to describe with what fervour those first servants of God came to the Congregation even though they were aware of the extreme suffering experienced there because there were no friaries to shelter from the cold or from the rain. Many of them stayed in abandoned Churches. This was the case at Saint Valentine’s in Foligno and many other places. Many of them stayed in caves and shacks as best they could. With all this the desire they had for the perfect observance of the Rule was such that they seemed like Seraphim alight with the love of God. When they spoke with seculars they warmed them all in the love of God like glowing embers. To those Friars it seemed as though they weren’t suffering at all. The contentment they had from being in most high poverty amid so many persecutions made the harshness of their life easy for them. Such was the wonder of the world to see those servants of God so hammered, going here and there seeking out some refuge that conformed to their desire. On top of all this they had no shortage of persecutions, however as the Scripture says, “For him night is like day”. The darkness of the persecutions and extreme suffering were not such that the daylight of the Holy Spirit did not always inflame them to suffer even more for the love of Christ.

Some seculars also came. It seemed that according to everyone’s opinion they must have had greater spirit because they had not been influenced by the lax Order. Nevertheless the Lord God concurred with those holy Religious very much because they had desired the perfect observance of the Rule so much that there was never one of those who came from the world whose holiness they could equal. It was miraculous that they could adjust so easily to so much suffering after being used to being so comfortable before. They all said, “This is thanks to God.” Amen.