CHAPTER XLVI.

How Christ appeared to him under the form of a Seraph, and taught him how to suffer.

ONCE upon a time, when the Servitor had turned to God with great fervour, beseeching Him to instruct him how to suffer, there appeared to him in a vision a likeness of Christ upon the cross in the form of a Seraph:—and the Seraph had six wings:—with two he covered his head, with two his feet, and with two he flew. On the two lowest wings was written, “Receive sufferings willingly;” on the two middle wings, “Bear sufferings patiently;” and on 240the two highest wings, “Learn to suffer after Christ’s pattern.”

He told this vision of love to one of his intimate friends, who was a very holy person. The answer which he received was:—Be assured that God has once more prepared for you new sufferings, which you will have to suffer. He asked what kind of sufferings these might be. He was answered:—You will be raised to the dignity of a prelate, in order that those who are disaffected to you may be the better able to strike you, and may humble you so much the more deeply. Therefore stablish yourself in patience, as has been shown you under the figure of the Seraph. He fetched a sigh, and looked out for the coming of a new storm; and so in truth it came to pass as the holy person had foretold him.

It happened at this time that there were several years of scarcity, and no one gave alms of bread or wine to the convent in which he then was; so that the convent fell greatly into debt. The brothers resolved in common to elect the Servitor prior during the great scarcity, not withstanding his sorrow and repugnance; for he well understood that herein new sufferings were prepared for him.

On the first day he caused the bell to be rung for chapter, and he exhorted the community to call upon the dear St. Dominic, inasmuch as he had promised his brothers that if they called upon him when they were in need, he would, with God’s permission, come and help them. Now there were two of the brothers sitting side by side in the chapter, one of whom whispered to the other very scornfully:—See what a foolish man this prior is, that he bids us turn to God in our need. Does he fancy that God will open heaven, and send us down meat and drink? The other answered:—He is not the only fool. We are all fools for having made him prior, though we knew well beforehand that he is quite ignorant about earthly things, and does nothing but gape upwards continually to heaven. Many a contemptuous judgment of this kind was passed upon him. When morning came, he ordered a mass of St. Dominic to be sung, that the saint might provide for them what they needed. Now, while he was standing in the choir deep sunk in thought, the porter came and called him out to a rich canon, who was his particular friend. The canon said to him:—Dear sir, you have no experience in temporal things; 242but I have been inwardly admonished by God last night to help you in His stead, and accordingly I have brought you twenty pounds weight of Constance pennies for a beginning. Put your trust in God. He will not forsake you. The Servitor was filled with joy, and, taking the money, ordered wine and corn to be bought with it. Moreover, God and St. Dominic so helped him during the whole time that he was prior, that the convent never wanted for provisions of any kind; and besides this, he paid off all the debt.

The above-mentioned canon, when he lay upon his death-bed, made large bequests for his soul’s health to various objects towards which he had a devotion. Afterwards he sent for the Servitor, who was then prior, and intrusted him with a considerable number of florins, bidding him distribute them in other places among poor friends of God who had worn out their strength in austere exercises. The Servitor was reluctant to undertake this, for he feared that he would have to suffer for it afterwards, as in fact happened. At last he was over-persuaded to take the money, and he went out into the neighbouring country and distributed the sum, as he had promised, here 243and there where he believed that it would be most beneficial to the donor’s soul; and he took proper receipts for it, and gave account of it all to his superiors. A heavy tribulation, however, fell upon him in consequence of this.

The canon had an ill-conditioned natural son, who, after squandering away what his father had given him, abandoned himself to profligate and ruinous courses. This man was very anxious to obtain possession of the money in question, and, as he could not succeed in this, he sent word to the Servitor, under a solemn oath, that wherever he fell in with him he would kill him. No one could appease this man’s enmity, however often the attempt was made. Nothing would do but he must kill him. The poor Servitor was for a long time in anguish and distress, and he did not venture to travel about from place to place, for fear of being murdered by the reprobate man. He used to lift up his eyes to God, and with many sighs exclaim:—Alas, O God! what miser able kind of death hast Thou ordained for me! His distress was all the greater because a short time before a brother of good repute had been cruelly murdered in another town for the same sort of thing. The poor Servitor found no one 244who had the will or the courage to undertake to shield him from the ferocity of this savage man. So he betook himself to the sovereign Lord of all, who set him free from his persecutor, and cut short his young and vigorous life by death.

To these afflictions was added another bitter suffering. There was a certain ecclesiastical community which had received great gifts from the canon. But this did not satisfy them, and they all fell upon the brother with great indignation because he would not let all the abovementioned money come to them. He was sadly insulted on this account, and they accused him before seculars and ecclesiastics, and the slanderous tale, making him out guilty by a perversion of the facts, was carried far and wide throughout the country, and he had to bear the loss of his good name among men for things in which he was guiltless in the eyes of God.

At this time the deceased canon appeared to him in a vision, clothed in a beautiful green vestment worked all over with red roses. He told the Servitor that it was well with him in the other world; and he entreated him to bear patiently the great wrong which was being done him, for that God would make it all up to him abundantly. The Servitor asked him what 245his beautiful vestment signified. He answered:—The red roses on the green ground represent your patient suffering, with which you have richly clothed me; and for this God will clothe you with Himself everlastingly.