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On one of the occasions when St. Francis was suffering because of his eyes, the protector of his order, Cardinal Ugolino, wrote to Francis out of love, telling him to come to Rieti to see a physician. Francis received the letter and went first to San Damiano to see St. Clare, the devout bride of Christ; he wanted to see her before he left for Rieti.
At San Damiano, his eyes became worse. The first night he spent there, he could not see a thing. And so Clare had a cell prepared for him, using reeds and straw, a place where he could be alone and rest. Francis ended up staying there for fifty days in great pain. He was also disturbed by the mice that infested the place. Soon he came to realize that the Lord was punishing him for his past sins. He reached out to God in thankfulness and praise, saying, “I deserve this, Lord, and then some. Good Shepherd, you have shown your mercy in the past; now, help your little lamb have the strength to remain by your side no matter what comes!”
A voice came to Francis from heaven, saying, “Answer me this: If the earth were entirely golden, and the oceans of the earth were balsam, and the mountains were all precious gems, would you still be able to conceive of a treasure more valuable than these? And if that most valuable treasure were given to you as an illness, would you be happy about it?”
“I am not worthy of such a thing,” Francis replied.
The voice continued: “Then rejoice, brother, because I am keeping this treasure—it is eternal life—as yours, and your current illness is but a pledge of that gift.”
At this word, Francis jumped for joy and called for his companion. “Let’s get going to Rieti, to see the cardinal!”
When they were approaching Rieti, a crowd of people wanting to meet him began to gather. They were so numerous that Francis wanted to avoid the city, and so they stopped at a church about two miles outside of town. But soon, the people knew what they had done, and they came there to see the saint camping out in a vineyard nearby that was owned by the priest of the little church. It was grape-harvesting time, and all of the grapes were sure to be ruined under the feet, or eaten by the hands, of those throngs of people. When the priest viewed the damage, he regretted ever allowing Francis to enter his church. These thoughts were revealed to Francis by the Spirit of God.
So Francis asked the priest to come and see him. “Father,” he said, “how much wine does your vineyard produce in a good year?”
“Twelve measures,” he answered.
“Then please,” Francis said, “be patient with these people and allow them to stay. Allow them to take whatever they need. And I promise, for the love of God, that your vineyard will produce twenty measures this year.”
The priest listened to this promise of Francis and allowed the people to eat whatever they chose. It was a wonderful sight—the vineyard being stripped and ruined by the throngs, for Francis saw that God was doing great things in the souls of the people. Many of them were going away drunken with love for God, turning away from the things of the world, and discovering more heavenly desires.
When all was done, only a few bunches of grapes were left on the vines. But still, the priest ordered that the remaining grapes be gathered and pressed and, as Francis had said, twenty measures resulted that year.
[#19 of 53]