Treasure (1 of 2)

One day they arrived in a town famished, and in accordance with the Rule, went to beg for bread for he love of God, Saint Fancis going along one street and Brother Masseo along another. But because Saint Francis was undistinguished in appearance and short of stature, and was therefore considered a poor, miserable little man by those who did not know him, he collected nothing but a few morsels and crusts of dry bread. But Brother Masseo, who was a tall and handsome man, was given good large pieces and even whole loaves.

When they had ended begging, the met again outside the town to eat at a place where there was a beautiful spring, and beside it a fine broad rock, on which each laid the alms he had received.

And when Saint Francis saw that the pieces of bread obtained by Brother Masseo were far better and larger than his own, he was filled with great joy, and said,
"O Brother Masseo, we are not worthy of so great a treasure!" And when he had repeated these words many times,

Brother Masseo replied, "Dearest father, how can one call this treasure, when we are so poor, and lack so many things we need? We have no cloth, no knife, no dish, no bowl, no house, no table, and no man or woman to wait on us."

Then Saint Francis answered:
“And that is what I call a great treasure, where nothing has been provided by human labour, but everything has been given by divine Providence, as we can see clearly in the bread that we have collected, in this fair table of stone, and in this spring of clear water. So I would have us pray God that he will cause us to love with all our hearts this treasure of Holy Poverty who is so noble that God himself is her servant.”


Taken from Eerdman’s Book of Christian Classics – A Treasury of Christian Writing through the Centuries., compiled by Veronica Zundel. Original text taken from “The Counsels” by Francis of Assisi.