On holy chastity

(23) The zeal of those first Fathers regarding holy chastity was such that for many years scandal among the seculars or the Friars was unheard of. Just as the Venerable Father Eusebius of Ancona said, it was amazing that during the time that many came to the Congregation, seculars as well as Religious, and many of them left, unable to persevere with the austerity of life. Also since the poor Friars were so few, it was often necessary to go around alone. Nonetheless by the grace of God one never heard of any scandal against chastity. This is what that Venerable Father said, “By this we know how much God takes care of us, that with the Friars going around alone nonetheless one has never heard any scandal.” When I said to him, “Why is that Father?” he answered, “This comes from their zeal because the Friars have spirit and also because of the austerity of our life. No one comes to our Congregation except those who have the desire to suffer. Know that there is no better way to better purify the Congregation than this: holding firm to the austerity of our life and that the seculars know that there is suffering among us. Because those who come do not come to us unless with the desire to suffer. This good desire sanctifies them and disposes them to suffer much more that we do. However when the Order becomes lax, many will come not in order to suffer but to flee the efforts of the world or in fact to study and become great. This will be our ruin.”

This was the reason that the venerable Fathers determined not to hear the confession of seculars not to accept the care of monasteries because hearing about the ugly things of the world in confession greatly contaminates the minds of the servant of God. Therefore among themselves they kept the practice that the young Friars never speak with secular for ten years and if the houses they never have dealings with the Friars except their Master and the Superior. The result of this was that they we accustomed to mortification. Then later, whatever occupation they had, the never became lax because of the good habit they had acquired.

Such was the cleanliness of their minds that many Friars, no matter how old they were, nonetheless boasted of never having looked at women in the face. No matter how holy the women were, they never wanted the acquaintance of women. In order to better mortify themselves, the young Friars continuously went barefoot and wore a hairshirt. They drank little wine and fasted almost continuously. The mortification of the young Friars was such that when the seculars saw this mortification they were immediately moved to tears out of devotion.