The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi by Brother Ugolino CHAPTER II OF FAITH

All those things which can be thought with the heart, or spoken with the tongue, or seen with the eyes, or felt with the hands, are as nothing in comparison with those which we can neither think, nor see, nor touch. All the saints and wise men who have passed away, and all those who are now in this present life, and all those who shall come after us, - all those who have spoken or written, or shall speak or write of God, - shall never be able to show forth so much of him as a grain of millet in comparison with the whole extent of heaven and earth; nay, a thousand thousand times less. For all that is written of God is but as the lisping prattle of a mother to her babe, who could not understand her words did she speak after any other manner. Brother Giles said once to a secular judge: "Dost thou believe that the gifts of God are great?" And the judge said: "I believe it." To which Brother Giles replied: "I will show thee that thou dost not truly believe it." And then he said to him: "What is the value of thy worldly possessions?" The judge answered: "Perhaps about a thousand pounds." Then Brother Giles said: "Wouldst thou give this property to thine for ten thousand pounds?" The judge answered, with hesitation: "Assuredly, I would do so willingly." Then Brother Giles said: "It is a thing most certain that all the possessions of this world are nothing worth in comparison with heavenly things; wherefore, then, givest thou not these possessions of thine to Christ, that thou mayst purchase riches celestial and eternal?" Then the judge, being wise with the foolish wisdom of the world, made answer to the pure and simple Brother Giles: "Dost thou believe, Brother Giles, that there is any man whose outward acts accord perfectly with the measure of his internal belief?" Brother Giles replied: "Listen, my beloved: it is most certain that all the saints have truly striven to carry into effect, to the utmost extent of their power, all that they knew and understood to be the will of God; and those things which they were unable to effect in external act, they fulfilled by the holy desire of their will, which supplied their defect of power to perform the action." Said Brother Giles again: "If any man had perfect faith, he would soon arrive at perfection, and attain to a full assurance of his salvation. What harm or what injury could any temporal adversity in this present life do to the man who, with firm faith, looketh forward to that eternal and supreme and most perfect blessedness? And what can any prosperity, or temporal good in this world avail the wretched man who looketh forward to eternal woe! Nevertheless, let no man, how sinful soever he be, despair, so long as he liveth, of the infinite mercy of God; inasmuch as there is not a tree in the world so twisted and knotted and gnarled but may be fashioned and polished and beautiful by the hand of man; so likewise there is no man in this world so wicked and so sinful but God can convert him, and adorn him with singular graces and many gifts of virtue."