Greater Pleasure To The Lord And The Blessed Virgin

Another time, when St. Francis was staying at St. Mary of the Portiuncula, a poor woman whose two sons were in the Order came to the friary to ask blessed Francis for an alms; for, that year she had nothing to live on. Blessed Francis said to Brother Peter Catanii who at that time was minister general: "Can we find something for our mother?" (For he said that the mother of a brother was his mother and the mother of all brothers of the Order.) Brother Peter answered: "We have nothing in the house we can give her, especially in view of the fact that we would have to give her a rather sizable alms to carry her through. However, there is a New Testament in the church from which we read the lessons at ains." In those days, the brothers had no brevaries and only a few psalters. Blessed Francis answered: "Give our mother the New Testament; she will sell it to take care of her needs. I firmly believe that we will give greater pleasure to the Lord and to the Blessed Virgin his mother by giving it to her than by reading it." And so they gave it to her.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia 56