[67]
[HIS VISITORS TRAMPLE A PRIEST'S VINEYARD IN RIETI
AND IT IS MIRACULOUSLY RESTORED]

Because of the disease of his eyes, blessed Francis at that time was staying in the church of San Fabiano near the same city, where there was a poor secular priest. At that time the Lord Pope Honorius and other cardinals were in the same city. Many of the cardinals and other great clerics, because of the reverence and devotion they had for the holy father, used to visit him almost every day.

That church had a small vineyard next to the house where blessed Francis was staying. There was one door to the house through which nearly all those who visited him passed into the vineyard, especially because the grapes were ripe at that time, and the place was pleasant for resting.

And it came about that for that reason almost the entire vineyard was ruined. For some picked the grapes and ate them there, while others picked them and carried them off, and still others trampled them underfoot.

The priest began to be offended and upset. "I lost my vintage for this year!" he said. "Even though it's small, I got enough wine from it to take care of my needs!"

When blessed Francis heard of this, he had him called and said to him: "Do not be disturbed or offended any longer. We can't do anything about it. But trust in the Lord, because for me, His little servant, He can restore your loss. But, tell me, how many measures of wine did you get when your vineyard was at its best?"

"Thirteen measures, father," the priest responded.

"Don't be sad over this any more," blessed Francis told him, "and don't say anything offensive to anyone because of it, or argue with anyone about it. Trust the Lord and my words, and if you get less than twenty measures of wine, I will make it up to you."

The priest calmed down and kept quiet. And it happened by divine dispensation that he obtained twenty measures and no less, just as blessed Francis had told him. Those who heard about it, as well as the priest himself, were amazed. They considered it a great miracle due to the merits of blessed Francis, especially because not only was it devastated, but even if it had been full of grapes and no one had taken any, it still seemed impossible to the priest and the others to get twenty measures of wine from it.

We who were with him bear witness that whenever he used to say: "This is the way it is . . . or this is the way it will be . . .", it always

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¹Eodem tempore mansit beatus Franciscus pro infirmitate oculorum apud ecclesiam Sancti Fabiani, que est prope eandem civitatem, in qua erat pauper sacerdos secularis. ²Nam illo tempore erat dominus papa Honorius cum aliis cardinalibus apud eandem civitatem. ³Unde quamplures ex cardinalibus et aliis ex magnis clericis, ob reverentiam et devotionem quam habebant in sancto patre, fere cotidie visitabant ipsum.

⁴Habebat autem illa ecclesia parvam vineam que erat iuxta domum ubi rnanebat beatus Franciscus in qua domo erat ostium unum per quod intrabant in illam vineam fere omnes qui visitabant ipsum, maxime quia illo tempore erant mature uve, et erat amenus locus ad quiescendum.

⁵Et factum est quod propter illam occasionem fere tota dissiparetur vinea. ⁶Nam alii colligebant uvas et comedebant ibi, alii colligebant et portabant, alii pedibus conculcabant.

⁷Quapropter sacerdos ille cepit scandalizari et perturbari sic dicens: « Perdidi hoc anno vineam meam. Licet enim sit parva, tantum vinum recolligebam ex ea, quod sufficiebat necessitati mee ».

⁸Quo audito beatus Franciscus fecit ipsum vocari coram se et dixit ei: « Noli amplius conturbari nec scandalizari, quia non possumus aliud facere. ⁹Sed confide in Domino, quoniam ipse pro me servulo suo potest tibi damnum restituere. ¹⁰Sed dic michi: quot salmas habuisti quando plures habuisti de vinea tua? ».

Respondit sacerdos et dixit ei: « Pater, tredecim salmas ».

¹¹Dixit ad eum beatus Franciscus: « Ne contristeris in te amodo, neque inde alicui verbum iniuriosum dixeris, et ne facias inde querimoniam cum aliquo, et habeas fidem in Domino, et in verbis meis, et si salmas vini habueris minus quam .XX. ego tibi faciam adimpleri ».

¹²Et exinde acquievit sacerdos et siluit. Et factum es. divina dispensatione, quod .xx. salmas habuit, non minus, sicut dixerat ei beatus Franciscus. ¹³Et admiratus est inde valde sacerdos ille, et omnes alii hoc audientes, considerans magnum esse miraculum, meritis beati Francisci, maxime quia non solum devastata, sed si fuisset plena uvis et aliquis non minuisset ex ea, videbatur illi sacerdoti et aliis impossibile habere exinde .xx. salmas vini.

¹⁴Unde nos qui fuimus cum illo testimonium perhibemus de ipso quod semper quando dicebat: « Sic est, vel erit », ita fiebat;