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6 Second, Brother Rufino, to be more certain about this, once while he was rubbing holy father stuck his finger into that wound. Saint Francis, very distressed, let out a loud yell and said: "Oh, may God forgive you, Brother Rufino! Why did you do this?"
7 Third, this same Brother, wishing to see this venerable wound with his bodily eyes, said to Saint Francis with a certain charitable caution: "I ask you, Father, to give me a very great consolation: you give me your tunic and in fatherly charity you take mine." Brother Rufino was doing this so that when Saint Francis undressed, he could see with his own eyes the wound in his side which he had once touched with his hand. And so it was done. Saint Francis, giving in to charity for Brother Rufino, took off his tunic and accepted that of Brother Rufino, and since he was wearing only one tunic, while undressing he could not cover himself in such a way that Brother Rufino could not look at that wound.a Thus by these three pieces of evidence that wound of the saint was fully confirmed.
To the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
XXXVII
BROTHER RUFINO IS ONE OF THREE CHOSEN SOULSb
1 Just as our blessed Lord Jesus Christ says in the Gospel: I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, Jn 10:14 so our blessed Father Francis, as a good shepherd, Jn 10:11 knew by the Lord's inspiration all the merits and virtues of his companions. Moreover, he knew their shortcomings and vices and therefore knew how to provide appropriate remedies for them all: by humiliating the proud; by exalting the humble; by censuring vices and extolling virtues, just as anyone can see in the remarkable revelations which he had concerning that original family of his.
3 I might recall one of many examples: once Saint Francis was staying in a little place with his companions and he spent his time with them speaking of divine matters. Brother Rufino, a man certainly outstanding in his holiness, was not with them at the time of that divine discussion, because he had not yet come out of the woods where he had gone to pray. While Saint Francis continued his holy exhortations and conversations about God with them, Brother
- Thomas of Celano states three times that Rufino saw and touched Francis's wounds, 1C 95, 2C 138, 3C 4. Others also saw the wounds: Elias (1C 95, 2C 138) and witnesses who testified sometime between 1237 and 1250, cf. FA:ED II 770-1.
- There is a parallel between this chapter and ChrXXIVG 46.