And blessed Francis rejoiced, seeing them so happy and cheerful. From then on each of them more willingly asked permission to go for alms.

At that time, when Blessed Francis was with his brothers whom he had then, he was of such purity that, from that time, that hour when the Lord revealed to him that he and his brothers should live according to the form of the holy Gospel, he desired and strove to observe it to the letter during his whole lifetime.

Therefore he told the brother who did the cooking for the brothers, that when he wanted the brothers to eat beans, he should not put them in warm water in the evening for the next day, as people usually do. This was so the brothers would observe the words of the holy Gospel: "Do not be concerned about tomorrow." ^{Mt 6:34} So that brother used to put them in water to soften after the brothers said matins.

Because of this, for a long time many brothers observed this in a great many places where they stayed on their own, especially in cities. They did not want to collect or receive more alms than were enough for them for one day.

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One time when blessed Francis was at Rivo Torto,^a a certain spiritual brother, an elder in religion, was staying there. He was very weak and getting sicker, toward whom the father was moved to piety. The brothers back then, sick and healthy, with enthusiasm and patience took poverty for abundance. They did not take medicines in their illnesses, but more willingly did what was contrary to the body. Blessed Francis said to himself: "If that brother would eat some grapes early in the morning, I believe it would help him."

One day, therefore, he secretly got up early in the morning, and called that brother and took him into the vineyard which is near that place. He chose a vine that had grapes that were good and ready for eating. Sitting down with that brother next to the vine, he began to chew on some grapes so that the brother would not be ashamed to eat alone, and while they were eating them, that brother praised the Lord God. As long as he lived, he always recalled among the brothers, with great devotion and flowing tears, the mercy the holy father had done to him.

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²Et gaudebat inde beatus Franciscus, cernens illos ita ilares et iocundos; ³et exinde petebat unusquisque licentiam libentius eundi pro helemosina.

⁴Eodem tempore cum esset beatus Franciscus cum fratribus suis, quos tunc habebat, tante puritatis erat, quod ab illo tempore, hora qua ei Dominus revelavit, ut deberet vivere, ipse et fratres sui, secundum formam sancti Evangelii, ad litteram voluit illud et studuit observare toto tempore vite sue;

⁵unde prohibuit fratri, qui faciebat fratribus coquinam, ut, cum vellet dare fratribus legumina ad manducandum, non micteret in sero in aqua calida, sicut est consuetum, pro alio die, ut observarent fratres illud verbum sancti Evangelii: « Nolite solliciti esse de crastino ». ⁶Et ita frater ille, postquam fratres dixerant matutinum, mictebat illa ad mollificandum.

⁷Quapropter etiam per longum tempus multi fratres in pluribus locis ubi per se morabantur, et maxime in civitatibus hoc observaverunt nolentes plures helemosinas acquirere vel accipere, nisi quot sufficerent eis per unum diem.

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¹Quodam tempore, cum esset beatus Franciscus apud Rigum Tortum, quidam frater spiritualis et antiquus in religione manebat ibi, qui erat valde debilis et infirmitius, super quo pater pietate motus est. ²Sed quia fratres tunc infirmi et sani et alacritate et patientia et paupertate pro habundantia utebantur et in suis infirmitatibus medicinis non utebantur, sed magis, que erant contraria corpori, libentius faciebant, dixit ad seipsum beatus Franciscus : ³« Si frater iste summo mane manducaret de uvis, credo, quod prodesset illi ».

⁴Et ideo surrexit quadam die summo mane secreto et vocavit fratrem illum et duxit illum in vineam, que erat iuxta locum, et elegit quandam vitem, in qua erant bone et sane uve ad manducandum, ⁵et sedens cum illo fratre iuxta vitem a cepit de uvis manducare, ut non verecundaretur ille frater solus comedere, ⁶et manducantibus illis laudavit Dominum Deum frater ille. ⁷Et illius misericordie, quam fecit propter eum sanctus pater, toto tempore, dum vixit, cum magna devotione et lacrimarum effusione recordatus est inter fratres.