is the Sovereign Wisdom, came down from heaven to save souls, to
instruct mankind by His example and by His word, to redeem them by His
blood, and to make of this precious blood a bath and a celestial
beverage: all that He had He gave up liberally and without reserve for
our salvation. Now, having bound ourselves to do all things according
to the model given us in His person, it seems more in conformity to
the will of God, that I should give up my own repose in order to labor
for the benefit of others."

After all these reflections, he continued in an anxious state of
uncertainty as to the course he ought to take; and this man, who had
wonderful knowledge through the spirit of prophecy, had no light thrown
on his doubts by prayer: God permitting at that time that he should
not be sensible to the evident proofs he had, that he was called to
the apostolic life.

We have already seen that powerful attractions to a contemplative life
had given rise to similar difficulties arising in his mind. As he
wished in all things to act faithfully and perfectly, his principal
care was to apply himself to the virtues which he knew, by the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to be most agreeable to God.

St. Bonaventure says that this was the ground of his doubt, and he
gives two reasons why God permitted that the Saint should not have
been able to solve the difficulty, the solution of which appeared so
easy. The first is, in order that the heavenly oracles which had
announced that Francis was destined to preach the Gospel, should give
a more exalted idea of the merits of that ministry; to this may be
added, that it was of consequence that it should be known with certainty
that the holy Founder and his disciples were destined by Heaven to