About some tribulations that the poor Congregation suffered from evil spirits

424 Tribulations caused by the devil 425 Some young men who were possessed 426 Another kind of tribulation 427 Exhortation to live in penance

(424) Since it was attacked by the devil visibly and invisibly and by wicked men, the Lord God wanted everyone to know that this holy Reform was his work. The enemy of human nature never failed to attack it in different ways and at different times. Among these times, the Congregation was attacked visibly after it had recovered from the persecutions and infamies it received because of the departure of Ochino. At that time he made a last effort to knock it down by using his members. However, since God had preserved the Congregation and the Prelates of Holy Church embraced it again as something good, the devil did not fail to assault them again.

(425) This is what it was. He put into the hearts of some young men to join to the Congregation. He possessed these young men although they did not know it. When they had made profession with sudden fury they disclosed themselves so that they confused and turned upside down a great part of the Congregation, but more in the Province of Saint Francis than anywhere else. The possessed young men were of such a number that they infected almost all the houses. They caused there such great terror with their cries and hostile noises, a terror which did not even leave them when saying the Office, disturbing all the spiritual things. It was no longer possible to be able to live there. They threw them out of cells and out of windows. The demons even threw them at the possessed. They sat them in filth and in closets. They struck them with stones and bound them. Often while they were eating nails or pins were found in their mouths. Furthermore they carried some of them twenty, forty, fifty miles through the air. It was continuously necessary to guard them day and night and often, on the one hand, the devil pulled at them to take them off and on the other hand pulled at the one taking care of them. In those houses where there were the possessed it was not possible to do any good because of the loud noises that were heard and because of the great mental anguish they caused. This beating lasted about four or five years. Then all of a sudden they calmed down.

(426) Also he did not fail to raise up another temptation for he put into the hearts of some women that they pretend to be men. Since he could not terrify us with the possessed young men, he sought with all his wicked cunning to defame the poor Congregation with women. For he often tried to introduced women into the friaries. Among the others was the friary at Monte Malbi. The devil often brought a woman there in the middle of the night. She knocked on the door. Brother Albert Naplitano was the porter, a man of more than seventy years. On going to the door he saw the woman clearly. However he did not know how to discern whether it was the enemy appearing to him in that shape or whether it was a woman. Because it was the middle of the night the holy old man was very frightened. However, making the sign of the cross he immediately locked the door. Nor did he want to hear what that woman was saying to him. The same happened at the old friary in Florence where the holy old Brother Angelo da Castello was the porter. There was a knock at the door in the middle of the night. When he went he found a woman there who was crawling on the ground. He knew clearly that the woman had been truly instigated by the devil. The holy man gave her a severe rebuke. She didn’t want to leave so he picked up a stick to hit her. Frightened, she fled off.

What happened at the friary of Saint Joseph in Foligno was no less. The venerable Father Rufino dal Borgo was the guardian. Late one evening there was very fast knocking at the door. When the porter went to the door he found a woman dressed as a Capuchin. The porter thought it was a young man and went straight away to the Guardian. He said that there was a young man at the door waiting for him. When he went and looked into the face of the young man, because the habit was loose he knew from her shape that the young man was a woman. When he asked what she wanted, she said to him, “Father, I want to do penance for my sins. I am a great sinner. I want to serve God in this Order.” The holy old man Brother Rufino replied, “If you say that you are a great sinful woman you are telling the truth. However if you say you are a sinner this is not true. Because ‘sinner’ is a name given to a man. And you, if I am not deceived, you are a woman and have dared to dress as a man and what is more taken the habit of a Religious. Therefore you are excommunicated you poor wretch.” With great insistence she denied that she was a woman. However, finally convinced by many good arguments she confessed that such a great contrition came upon her to do penance for her sins. Within her the spirit said to her, “Go off to join the Capuchins because they are all holy and pretend to be a man. They will receive you just as the Monks received Saint Marina and Saint Eufrosina and you will become holy. Therefore I sewed this habit myself and put this cowl on my head.” After giving her some good encouragement he had some good women called who were in the Villa of Vignoli near the Friary. Only the cowl was removed and he had her given a veil which she put on her head. That night she stayed with those good women and in the morning she returned to her house.

Greater was the case that happened in Amelia. In a monastery there were two good and holy virgins. As they were reading a book of the holy Fathers about saint Ufrosina who became a nun, the holy virgins began to say to one another, “We will gain nothing in this monastery. We dress well and eat better. Being comfortable does not lead to paradise whereas suffering and doing penance for the love of God does.” This discussion lasted between them many days. Finally they decided to procure secular clothes and to dress as young men and become Capuchins. As they thought about it, so it seemed that the infernal enemy would have all their plans succeed. Our Lord God permitted this in order to draw from it the greater good of the one to whom it happened later. Therefore these poor girls had decided. Using certain excuses that they wanted to make certain representations, they got men’s clothes from their relatives. They put a hat on and left the monastery to go to become Capuchins.

Because the poor girls were under a kind of well-intended deception, the Lord did not permit that any evil befall them. They arrived at our friary in Narni where the Guardian was the good, old Brother John of Narni. He was a gentleman and highly honoured person. As a judicious man, as soon as they presented before him saying that they wanted to become Capuchins, he began to suspect that they were women. Questioning them with great appropriateness that good Father became aware of their simplicity. Because it was night it did not seem to him that he could send them away because the it was an alpine place in the woods and along way from ordinary dwellings. They could have easily come to some precipice since they were simple girls and little experienced. He decided to shut them in a room apart. Having them locked away, without saying to any Friar that they were there, he set out on the journey straight away. With great haste he went in person to the city of Amelia. As secretly as he could he made the matter known to the Lord Vicar of the Bishop and to the older and maturer relatives. When heard this they sent for girls quite early and brought them back to the monastery. Nothing could be done to stop this from spreading in public because the nuns made a great outcry when they couldn’t find the girls. When the Monsignor saw their simplicity and how God had preserved them, he didn’t want to give them any penance. However he did not want it to be an occasion for the other nuns to come out, not because of simplicity but because of diabolical temptation under the appearance of doing good. Therefore to deter the others and to partly punish their negligence of the girls he had them walled in within the monastery. They stayed that way until one of them died. Although she would have been asked if she wanted to come out from that jail, the other girl didn’t want to leave there. This was because they had experienced there what they desired- penance, which they felt they could do little of while living with their other sisters; and holy contemplation. For in the midst of those afflictions and corrections the poor girls clung to Jesus Christ in such a way – dedicating themselves to fasts, discipline and other afflictions – they died on the sweet and pleasant bed of holy contemplation.

(427) Thus we see how many ways that the poor Congregation of Capuchins had persecuted by the enemy of human nature. The Lord Jesus Christ has freed us from all these. May it please His Majesty now that we may not be tempted more than ever by another more subtle temptation under the appearance of good. This temptation is to abandon the pristine rigour of silence, fasts, strict and continuous prayer in order to dedicate ourselves completely to study, thinking that it must to be very profitable when we have left good works in order to learn how to speak well. Hence while we think we must have benefited our neighbour and to have enlightened everyone what our Seraphic Father Saint Francis says never occurs to us. He says that his Friars who abandon the spirit of holy prayer and devotion to give themselves completely to vain studies, while thinking they are enlightening their neighbour, they will become inwardly darkened, blinded by sensuality, vainglory and pride. Outwardly they will cast their neighbour into darkness by their bad example.

May that infinite goodness that has freed us from the first temptations deign to free us by his mercy from these recent ones. May he give us the grace to remain within the Reform that was a return to that first form and way of living that our Seraphic Father and all his first companions gave us. Therefore we disfigure ourselves when we come to distance ourselves from that first form. This was the work of the Capuchin Reform, to take up again the way of life that our Father Saint Francis led. He founded his Order on most high poverty and contempt for the world and in continuous prayer and devotion. Amen.