Chariot Of Fire

While St. Francis and his companions were still loving in a hut near Assisi, Francis went to Assisi one Saturday because he was to preach as usual in the cathedral the following morning. There he spent the night praying in a shelter in the garden belonging to the canons of the cathedral, as was his cuastom. In person he separated from the fr4iars, but then about midnight, as some of them were praying and others slept, a fiery chariot of extraordinary brilliance came in the door of the hut and turned here and there three times about the room. It was surmounted by a globe of light which looked like the sun and lit up the darkness. Those who were awake were dumbfounded, while the others woke up terrified; they could feel the light penetrating their hearts just as it lit up the room, and their consciences were laid bare to one another by the force of the brightness. As they read one another's hearts, they all realized simultaneously that their father who was absent from them in person was present with them in spirit under the appearance of this vision.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Major Life
CHAPTER IV