may be no seeming contradiction between the two, that he received
instructions from Jesus Christ only because he was inspired by Him,
but that he communicated with the bishop on the points on which he had
been inspired; and we may be the more assured of this, as we shall see
hereafter that this prelate had his confidence, and that there is
reason to think that he was his spiritual Father.

The servant of God, walking and meditating one day out of Assisi, near
the church of St. Damian, which was very old and falling into ruin,
was moved by the Holy Spirit to enter it to pray. There, prostrated
before the crucifix, he repeated three times the following beautiful
words, which gave him great interior consolation, and which he
subsequently made frequent use of: "Great God, full of glory, and Thou,
my Lord Jesus Christ! I entreat you to enlighten me and to dispel the
darkness of my mind, to give me a pure faith, a firm hope, and an
ardent charity. Let me have a perfect knowledge of Thee, O God! so
that I may in all things by guided by Thy light, and act in conformity
to Thy will." He cast his eyes, filled with tears, upon the crucifix,
when a voice came forth from it, and he heard distinctly these words
repeated three times, not interiorly, but loudly pronounced: "Francis,
go and repair my house, which thou seest is falling into ruin." So
wonderful a voice, in a place where he was alone, alarmed him greatly,
but he felt immediately the salutary effects of it, and he was
transported with joy.

The sense of these words chiefly related to the state of the Church
which Jesus Christ had purchased at the price of His blood, which the
holy man was to repair in all its defects by his ministry and the
labors of his disciples, according to the explanation which the Holy
Spirit gave to him of them subsequently, which he communicated to his