Chapter X. Of the wailing of the ladies at S. Damian; and how S. Francis was buried with praise and glory

116. His brethren therefore and sons who had come together with all the multitude of people from the neighbouring towns, rejoicing to be present at such a solemnity, spent the whole night on which the holy father died in praising God, so that for the sweetness of the songs of joy and the brightness of the lights it seemed to be a vigil of angels. And in the morning the people of Assis¹ with the whole of the clergy assembled, and took the sacred body from the place where he had died and brought it with honour into the city with hymns and praises and blare of trumpets. All carried boughs of olive and other trees, performing the sacred obsequies with solemnity; and with many lights and with loud-sounding voices they discharged the duty of praise. And when, as the sons bore their father and the flock followed their shepherd hastening to the Shepherd of all, they reached the place where he himself had planted the Religion and Order of Sacred Virgins and Poor Ladies, and laid him in the church of S. Damian, wherein his said daughters dwelt whom he had won to the Lord, a little window was opened through which the Handmaids of Christ are wont at the appointed time to partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's Body. The coffin also was opened wherein lay hid a treasure of super-celestial virtues, wherein he was being borne by few who was wont to bear many. And lo! the Lady Clara, who was indeed illustrious (clara) through her holy merits and was the mother of the rest and the first plant of this holy Order, came with her daughters to look upon the father that spake not to them, and would not return to them, for he was hastening elsewhither. 117. And as they looked upon him with repeated sighs, with deep groaning and with many tears, they began to cry with choked voices: "Father, father, what shall we do? Why forsakest thou us in our misery, or to whom dost thou leave us in our desolation? Why didst thou not send us before rejoicing to the place whither thou art going — us whom thou leavest thus grieving here? What dost thou bid us to do, shut up thus in this prison — us whom thou art determined nevermore to visit as thou wast wont to do? With thee all our consolation departs and no such solace is left to us, buried in the world! Who shall comfort us in such poverty — poverty not less of merit than of [temporal] things? O father of the poor! lover of Poverty! who shall succour us in temptation, O thou who hast known countless temptations, thou cautious trier of temptations? Who shall comfort us troubled ones in our tribulation, thou our helper in exceeding great tribulations which came upon us? O most bitter separation, O disastrous forsaking! O Death too dreadful who art slaughtering thousands of sons and daughters bereft of such a father while thou hastenest to remove past recall him through whom any zealous efforts of ours have chiefly prospered!"

But virginal bashfulness restrained their much weeping: and indeed it was very incongruous to wail for one over whose passing hence the angel army hovered in throngs, while the fellow-citizens of the Saints and they of God's household rejoiced. And so those Ladies, divided between sorrow and joy, kissed his radiant hands adorned with most precious gems and flashing with pearls: J and when he was taken away the door was shut which shall nevermore be opened to such woe.

O what was the grief of all over the woeful and piteous wailing of these Ladies! How great especially were the lamentations of the sorrowing sons! And their peculiar grief was shared by all, so that scarce any one could refrain from weeping while the angels of peace were bitterly weeping.

118. At length when all the multitude had reached the city they laid the most holy body with great rejoicing and exultation in a hallowed place — thenceforward still more hallowed — where to the glory of the Supreme Almighty God he illumines the world by a multiplication of new miracles, even as he has wonderfully enlightened it hitherto by the doctrine of his holy preaching. Thanks be to God. Amen.

See, most holy and blessed father, I have accompanied thee with praises due and worthy though insufficient, and have written a narrative, such as it is, of thy exploits. Grant therefore to me a miserable man so worthily to follow thee now that in mercy I may deserve to overtake thee hereafter. Remember, O tender father, the poor sons, to whom, after thee their one and only solace, scarce any comfort is left. For though thou, the first and best portion of them, be mingled with choirs of angels, and placed among the Apostles on a throne of glory, they nevertheless are lying in mire and dirt, shut up in a dark prison, and crying mournfully to thee thus: "Present, father, before Jesus Christ, the Son of the Supreme Father, his sacred wounds, and show forth the tokens of the Cross in side, feet and hands, that He may deign in mercy to display His own wounds to the Father, Who for this will indeed ever be favourable to us in our misery. Amen."

Footnotes

1. See above, I., 96. ↩