sobota, 25 lipca 2026

18

“Another time, after his return from overseas, he went to Celano to preach; and a certain knight invited him to dinner with humble devotion and with great insistence. So he came to the knight's home, and the whole family rejoiced at the coming of the poor guests. Before they took any food, the saint offered prayers and praise to God as was his custom, standing with his eyes raised to heaven. When he finished his prayer, he called his kind host aside and confidentially told him: "Look, brother host, conquered by your prayers, I have entered your house to eat. Now heed my warnings quickly because you will not dine here but elsewhere. Confess your sins right now, contrite with the sorrow of true repentance; and let nothing remain in you that you do not reveal in a true confession. The Lord will reward you today because you have received his poor with such devotion. "The man heeded the saint's words at once; and laying bare all of his sins in confession to Francis's companion, he put his house in order and did everything in his power to prepare for death. At length they went to the table; and while the others began to eat, suddenly their host breathed forth his spirit, carried away by sudden death as the man of God had foretold. So it happened that in recompense for the kindness of his hospitality "he received a prophet's reward because he had received a prophet," according to the word of Truth (Matt. 10:41). Through the holy man's prophecy, that devout knight prepared himself for a sudden death so that, protected by the armor of repentance, he escaped perpetual damnation and entered into the eternal dwellings.”

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