Privileges obtained by St. Francis from Our Lord
Pope Gregory IX reported that Saint Francis told him during his lifetime that he had obtained three privileges from Our Lord 1:
- The greater the number of Brothers, the more abundant the provisions would become.
- No Brother clothed in the holy habit would come to a bad end (obviously, this applies only to those who strive to live in accordance with it and it does not apply to heretics outside the Church).
- Whoever persecuted the Order would be severely punished by the Lord, his days would be shortened, and his end would be disastrous.
Saint Francis further adds that, on the occasion of receiving his Sacred Stigmata on Mount Alverna, he was granted three additional privileges:
- The profession of his Brothers, or his Order, would last until the end of the world.
- Whoever lived wickedly within his Order would not be able to persevere in it for long.
- Whoever sincerely loved his Order would, through repentance, obtain the Lord’s mercy, no matter how great a sinner he had been.
Bernardino of Colpetrazzo was a Capuchin who died in 1594. In his Chronicles he reports that Jesus Christ appeared to St. Francis in the form of the Crucified and told him that the apostolic life would be preserved in his Order until the Day of Judgment:
Our Lord to St. Francis of Assisi: “… I want the life I and my Apostles led preserved in your Order until the day of Judgement. Then anyone who wants to know what my life was will know it in your Friars who will observe the Rule that I will give you.”
Obviously, those heretical “Friars Minor” of the Vatican II sect or from other groups such as the SSPX are outside the Church and are not true religious.