Never Lose Sight Of The Good Example That We Are To Give To Others

While St. Francis was in Siena for treatment of his eyes, he lived in a cell where an oratory was built after his death out of veneration for him. Lord bonaventure, who had given the brothers the land on which the friary was erected, said to blessed Francis one day: "What do you think of this friary?" The blessed Francis answered: "Do you want me to tell you haw the friaries of the brothers should be built?" "Why certainly," he answered. The saint said to him:

"When the brothers arrive in a city where they do not yet have a residence, and they find someone who wants to give them a piece of land to build a friary with a garden and the necessary space, they must first of all decide that the area is adequate, and not exceed it; they must never lose sight of the holy poverty that we have promised to observe nor of the good example that we are to give to others."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 14