Anthony dies
The sister swept one of the cells and Anthony was placed on the straw. He wanted to die as friar Francis and friar Dominick died. However death did not arrive as quickly as he expected. Anthony`s all of a sudden had become flabby as he had lost a lot of weight or swelling.
Watching Anthony in his last hours of life there were some friars who eventually moved away as soon as sister Helen arrived.
Obviously they understood that sister Helen has something important to discuss with Anthony.
She sat on the ground and with a soft voice said:
"Sister Chiara wrote to me saying that I, even if I am prey of weakness, should guide the convent. She believes that each of us has its thorn of satan and that the more it hurts, the more we should be assigned major duties to control our frailties. What do you think of it, friar?"
"Sister Chiara knows more than I know. She has learned a lot from friar Francis. She must be right. Besides, you sister, have been chosen by friar Francis, and he knew well who he was choosing. In your weak body lives a strong soul."
"And if the difficulties are bigger than anticipated, what should we do, friar Anthony?"
"It won`t be you to resolve them. Jesus says: 'Do not be anxious about the difficulties you anticipate. Nothing happens that I don`t know.' They both fell silent for a little while. In the cell one could hear the heavy and gasping breathing of the sick person.
"Do you know friar" said Helen "that we have among us the daughter of Graziani?"
"I know, and I am very happy for that. I only saw her once from a distance, yet I understood right away that God had project for her. He has also projects for her father. One of these days he will go in the Saracens` land and there he will leave his life in the name of Christ. How many miracles are happening around us, sister Helen! But please tell me, how are things going between that girl and Julia?"
"They love each other as two sisters."
"Therefore we must sing Hosanna. Only God is able to make such extraordinary things. How splendid and joyous is this world that we call terrible and cruel! I was mistaken in my youth. I wanted to hide myself from it. Francis knew better than me..."
As he was lying like this, getting weaker and weaker, almost as the wick of an oil lamp as the oil is finishing, he seemed to see many things that previously he wasn`t able to see. All his anxieties had been silenced, all his problems had disappeared. "It is said" said Helen "that the pontiff doesn't want to agree that we renounce to every thing. What do you think of it, friar?"
"I think that till when he doesn’t decide differently, you should follow sister Chiara`s rule. She wants to maintain the original rule.."
"What if the church demands that we renounce it?"
"God will guide you on how to act. You must be obedient to the ecclesiastical superiors, but you should also guard the treasure that friar Francis has entrusted to you. Can’t we renounce to every thing even though we must live among richness? Sister Helen, do not do as Martha did, that even if she was a great saint, in her heart she was anxious. Jesus loved her very much, yet he had to reproach her."
"As always you are the living Gospel, friar Anthony." she smiled.
"The best thing for me has certainly been that I was able to read the Gospel many times. Its words have thrown away from my memory thousand of useless words. It is useless to remember anything else…"
"You have made many miracles, friar Anthony."
"Miracles? How come you speak about this sister? I don’t remember not even one of them. Only one thing was a miracle, that even if I had to change my way many times, I didn’t move away from the right path. But this was not a miracle of mine. Some people prayed for me, and God has accepted their prayers and guided me on the right path."
"God was with you even when you thought that you were mistaken."
"God is always close to each of us. There is a proverb in my country, which tells that He writes straight on our crooked lines."
"Is your country far, friar Anthony?"
"It is quite far away from here. From where the land finishes and starts the boundless ocean."
"Didn’t you leave anybody there?"
"My brothers and my sisters. May be also the woman that declared her love for me… I know nothing about her and she knows nothing about me. I have even changed my name in order to cancel every trace behind me."
"Why did you do it?"
"I was afraid of surrendering to the temptation of returning..."
"You would not have returned. You were necessary here to maintain the work of friar Francis."
"No, no. There are so many friars worthier than I am. Especially those that followed Francis for many years. I… for a long time was not able to understand him…"
"Yet in the memory of every one you will be the closest to him. I know that he called you
"my lieutenant."
"It was a joke."
"Often the joke is closer to the truth then the words said seriously."
She went out and he remained alone. He felt his life running slowly out of him as the water from a perforated leather bag. The door of the cell was opened and outside there was a small garden. The sun, the golden sun of June, filtered through the leaves of the trees and appeared as a spot on the stoned ground. Two birds entered the cell where Anthony was lying. They flew here and there under the roof of the cell, they were beating their wings. They didn’t appear frightened at all. Heedlessly they were flying up and down, they were pecking in the search for bread crumbs. They were warbling and chirruping as if nothing was happening around them. At a certain moment they placed themselves audaciously on the pallet over Anthony’s feet.
He lay motionless, not to frighten them. Without moving his mouth and without uttering any sound he whispered as he had done to the fish of Rimini.
"My brothers and sisters birds. How beautiful, agile and fast you are! Remember however that you have received these beautiful coloured feathers, these wings so that you can fly this throat so you can sing? He is the Lord of everything. The Creator and the Protector remembers each of you, even the smallest one. Each of you eats from his hand that distributes grace. Oh birds, sing his praise. Speak without stopping about him. Thank him for all the beauty that he has created. Oh what a marvel would that be the world would remember about Him…! What a marvel…!"
Before evening, when sister Helen appeared on the door of the cell, Anthony laid with the head bowed on his arm. His cell was full of small birds, grey and coloured. They were all chirruping. They were flying around the walls, they positioned themselves on the pallet and on Anthony’s shoulders.
"Friar Anthony" she exclaimed from the threshold, speaking louder than the chirruping of the birds,
"Friar Anthony. I have a wonderful news. Who would ever thought of it…? Ezzelino has ordered to free the prisoners. The count of Saint Bonifacio has returned to his wife. The small nephew of the lord of Camposanpiero has returned to his grandfather. Everybody is glad. Friar Anthony…"
She approached the palled but she stopped. Anthony’s eyes were shut, on his face there was an expression of happiness. She understood that the news that she was bringing had already been received by Anthony along with the chirruping of the birds.
Go back to Index
She went out and he remained alone. He felt his life running slowly out of him as the water from a perforated leather bag. The door of the cell was opened and outside there was a small garden. The sun, the golden sun of June, filtered through the leaves of the trees and appeared as a spot on the stoned ground. Two birds entered the cell where Anthony was lying. They flew here and there under the roof of the cell, they were beating their wings. They didn’t appear frightened at all. Heedlessly they were flying up and down, they were pecking in the search for bread crumbs. They were warbling and chirruping as if nothing was happening around them. At a certain moment they placed themselves audaciously on the pallet over Anthony’s feet.
The sister swept one of the cells and Anthony was placed on the straw. He wanted to die as friar Francis and friar Dominick died. However death did not arrive as quickly as he expected. Anthony`s all of a sudden had become flabby as he had lost a lot of weight or swelling.
Go back to Index
Watching Anthony in his last hours of life there were some friars who eventually moved away as soon as sister Helen arrived.
Obviously they understood that sister Helen has something important to discuss with Anthony.
She sat on the ground and with a soft voice said:
"Sister Chiara wrote to me saying that I, even if I am prey of weakness, should guide the convent. She believes that each of us has its thorn of satan and that the more it hurts, the more we should be assigned major duties to control our frailties. What do you think of it, friar?"
"Sister Chiara knows more than I know. She has learned a lot from friar Francis. She must be right. Besides, you sister, have been chosen by friar Francis, and he knew well who he was choosing. In your weak body lives a strong soul."
"And if the difficulties are bigger than anticipated, what should we do, friar Anthony?"
"It won`t be you to resolve them. Jesus says: 'Do not be anxious about the difficulties you anticipate. Nothing happens that I don`t know.' They both fell silent for a little while. In the cell one could hear the heavy and gasping breathing of the sick person.
"Do you know friar" said Helen "that we have among us the daughter of Graziani?"
"I know, and I am very happy for that. I only saw her once from a distance, yet I understood right away that God had project for her. He has also projects for her father. One of these days he will go in the Saracens` land and there he will leave his life in the name of Christ. How many miracles are happening around us, sister Helen! But please tell me, how are things going between that girl and Julia?"
"They love each other as two sisters."
"Therefore we must sing Hosanna. Only God is able to make such extraordinary things. How splendid and joyous is this world that we call terrible and cruel! I was mistaken in my youth. I wanted to hide myself from it. Francis knew better than me..."
As he was lying like this, getting weaker and weaker, almost as the wick of an oil lamp as the oil is finishing, he seemed to see many things that previously he wasn`t able to see. All his anxieties had been silenced, all his problems had disappeared. "It is said" said Helen "that the pontiff doesn't want to agree that we renounce to every thing. What do you think of it, friar?"
"I think that till when he doesn’t decide differently, you should follow sister Chiara`s rule. She wants to maintain the original rule.."
"What if the church demands that we renounce it?"
"God will guide you on how to act. You must be obedient to the ecclesiastical superiors, but you should also guard the treasure that friar Francis has entrusted to you. Can’t we renounce to every thing even though we must live among richness? Sister Helen, do not do as Martha did, that even if she was a great saint, in her heart she was anxious. Jesus loved her very much, yet he had to reproach her."
"As always you are the living Gospel, friar Anthony." she smiled.
"The best thing for me has certainly been that I was able to read the Gospel many times. Its words have thrown away from my memory thousand of useless words. It is useless to remember anything else…"
"You have made many miracles, friar Anthony."
"Miracles? How come you speak about this sister? I don’t remember not even one of them. Only one thing was a miracle, that even if I had to change my way many times, I didn’t move away from the right path. But this was not a miracle of mine. Some people prayed for me, and God has accepted their prayers and guided me on the right path."
"God was with you even when you thought that you were mistaken."
"God is always close to each of us. There is a proverb in my country, which tells that He writes straight on our crooked lines."
"Is your country far, friar Anthony?"
"It is quite far away from here. From where the land finishes and starts the boundless ocean."
"Didn’t you leave anybody there?"
"My brothers and my sisters. May be also the woman that declared her love for me… I know nothing about her and she knows nothing about me. I have even changed my name in order to cancel every trace behind me."
"Why did you do it?"
"I was afraid of surrendering to the temptation of returning..."
"You would not have returned. You were necessary here to maintain the work of friar Francis."
"No, no. There are so many friars worthier than I am. Especially those that followed Francis for many years. I… for a long time was not able to understand him…"
"Yet in the memory of every one you will be the closest to him. I know that he called you
"my lieutenant."
"It was a joke."
"Often the joke is closer to the truth then the words said seriously."
He lay motionless, not to frighten them. Without moving his mouth and without uttering any sound he whispered as he had done to the fish of Rimini.
"My brothers and sisters birds. How beautiful, agile and fast you are! Remember however that you have received these beautiful coloured feathers, these wings so that you can fly this throat so you can sing? He is the Lord of everything. The Creator and the Protector remembers each of you, even the smallest one. Each of you eats from his hand that distributes grace. Oh birds, sing his praise. Speak without stopping about him. Thank him for all the beauty that he has created. Oh what a marvel would that be the world would remember about Him…! What a marvel…!"
Before evening, when sister Helen appeared on the door of the cell, Anthony laid with the head bowed on his arm. His cell was full of small birds, grey and coloured. They were all chirruping. They were flying around the walls, they positioned themselves on the pallet and on Anthony’s shoulders.
"Friar Anthony" she exclaimed from the threshold, speaking louder than the chirruping of the birds,
"Friar Anthony. I have a wonderful news. Who would ever thought of it…? Ezzelino has ordered to free the prisoners. The count of Saint Bonifacio has returned to his wife. The small nephew of the lord of Camposanpiero has returned to his grandfather. Everybody is glad. Friar Anthony…"
She approached the palled but she stopped. Anthony’s eyes were shut, on his face there was an expression of happiness. She understood that the news that she was bringing had already been received by Anthony along with the chirruping of the birds.