Part 2 (2/2)
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SAINT'S LIFE--HER CHILDHOOD AND EARLY PIETY
(Illustration)
There have been saints whose histories strike us as particularly beautiful, not only as possessing the beauty which always belongs to sanctity, whether exhibited in an aged servant of God, who for threescore years and more has borne the heat and burden of the day, or in the youth who has offered up theof his life to His Maker, and yielded it into His hands before twenty su like St Louis, or a beggar like Benedict Labre, or a royal lady like St Elizabeth of Hungary; but also as uniting--in the circumstances of their lives, in the places they inhabited, and the epochs when they appeared in the world, , and calculated to attract the attention of the historian and the ian and the devout In this class of saints may well be included Francesca Roious order of the Oblates of Tor di Specchi She was the irls, the exa to the very pattern drawn by St Paul; she was beautiful, courageous, and full of wisdoht up: Rome was the place of her birth, and the scene of her labours; her horeat city, in the heart of the Trastevere; her life was full of trials and hair-breadth escapes, and strange reverses; her hidden life was marvellous in the extreme: visions of terror and of beauty followed her all her days; favours such as were never granted to any other saint were vouchsafed to her; the world of spirits was continually thrown open to her sight; and yet, in her daily conduct, her character and her ways, minute details of which have reached us, there is a siifted, touching in one so highly favoured
Troubled and ere the times she lived in; perhaps if one had to point out a period in which a Catholic Christian would rather not have had his lot cast,--one in which there was s, he would na of the fifteenth War was raging all over Europe; Italy was torn by inward dissensions, by the rival factions of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines So savage was the spirit hich their conflicts were carried on, that barbarism seemed once more about to overspread that fair land, and the Church itself was afflicted not only by the outward persecutions which strengthen its vitality, though for a while they may appear to cripple its action, but by trials of a far deeper and reat nu those who, in appearance and even in intention, remained faithful to the Holy See The successors of St Peter had renon, and the Eternal City presented the aspect of one vast battle-field, on which daily and hourly conflicts were occurring The Colonnas, the Orsinis, the Savellis, were every instant engaged in struggles which deluged the streets with blood, and cut off ers were also continually invading the heritage of the Church, and desecrated Roes scarcely less deplorable than those of the Huns and the Vandals In the capital of the Christian world, ruins of recent date lay side by side with the relics of past ages; the churches were sacked, burned, and destroyed; the solitary and indestructible basilicas stood ale and gloom; and the eyes of the people of Rome istfully directed towards that tutelary pohich has ever been to thenal of war and ofthe Pontificate of Urban VI, in the year 1384, that Francesca was born at Ro to the expression of the raphers Her father's name was Paul Bussa; her mother's Jacobella de' Roffredeschi; they were both of noble and even illustrious descent, and closely allied to the Orsinis, the Savellis, and the Mellinis On the day of her birth she was carried to the church of Santa Agnese, in the Piazza Navona, and there baptised Little could the worshi+ppers whoon their bereaved and distracted city, have guessed in what for was bestowed, and that that little babe, a few hours old, was to prove a most powerful instrument in the hands of God for the extinction of schism, the revival of piety, and the return of peace
From her infancy, Francesca was not like other children Her mother, when she held her in her arms or hushed her to sleep on her knee, had always an involuntary feeling of reverence for her little daughter; it was as if an angel of God, not an earthly child, had been lent her; a heavenly expression shone in her eyes, and the calm serenity of her infant features struck all who approached her with admiration Francesca learned to read at the saht to utter were the sacred names of Jesus and Mary; at her in, and during the whole course of her life she never omitted that practice
At two or three years old she had the sense and intelligence of a grown-up person; an extraordinary piety revealed itself in all her words and actions She never played like other children; but when left to herself would often retire into silent corners of her father's palace, and kneeling down, join her little hands in prayer; and lifting up her infant heart to God, would read a devout book, or repeat hyin, her own dear mother as she used to call her Silence appeared to be the delight of this young child--the deepest reserve and e of six years the practices of the saints were already fas, or sweets of any description, and lived on plainly boiled vegetables and bread The necessity of eating at all see but pure water Then also had begun her unwearied study of the lives of holy woin martyrs who have shed their blood for the love of Jesus Christ
The Sacrament of Confirmation, which she received at that tinese, the same in which she had been baptised, filled her with ardour to show her love for her Lord by every iinable means, even those the most painful to the flesh
Herevery day soences were to be gained, and she also frequented the stations with affectionate assiduity For in that troubled epoch, as in the earliest times of the Church, as now, as always, on certain days, in certain places, the relics of apostles, of martyrs, and of confessors were exhibited to the faithful, often on the very spot where they had finished their course with joy, having kept their faith and won their crown The devotion of ”the stations,” as it is perfor links with the past that it is possible to conceive To pass along the street, so often trod by holy feet in former and in latter days, and seek the church appointed for that day's station; to approach some time-worn basilica, or ancient sanctuary, without the city walls lorious works of Alna, that land-sea, so beautiful in its broad expanse and its desolate grandeur, at the purple hills with their golden lights and their deep-blue shadows, and the arched sky telling so vividly the glory of its Maker; and then slowly lifting the heavy curtain that stands between that vision of earthly beauty, and the shrine where countless generations have cohs, the sweet-s strewn upon the uneven, ti in adoration before the Lord in His tabernacle, to thank Him for the wonders that He has worked in His saints,--for the beauty of the world of grace, of which that of the visible world is but the type and the shadow; and then hts upon the altars point the way, and invoke the assistance, the prayers of the saints whose relics are there displayed;--all this is one of those rare enjoyination, and which the devout Christian can find in no place but Rome
It was these ”stations” that Francesca's hter with her Sometimes she went to some church in the heart of the city; sometimes to soars (so we find it ated at the doors, and clahts burned upon the altars, and the sweet s serirl's attention never wandered; and on her return home she ont to repeat what she had heard with unction and delight
Her mother's favourite church was that of Santa Maria Nuova; in our day more frequently called that of San Francesca Romana It stands in the Toro Romano, close to the ruins of the ancient Temple of Peace It was served at that time by the Benedictine monks of Mount Olivet; and to one of them, Don Antonio di Monte Savello, Jacobella de' Roffredeschi intrusted the spiritual direction of her daughter He was aand piety, and continued her director for five and thirty years Every Wednesday the little maiden came to him for confession She consulted hiious exercises, and her studies, and exactly obeyed his s Often she tried for his perreater austerities; and such was her fervour, and the plain indications of God's designs upon her, that he occasionally allowed her to perforht have been considered in ordinary cases too severe for her tender age At other tiether; and she submitted cheerfully to his commands, without a word of reain at his desire, with the equanimity of one ell knew that the spirit of perfect obedience is more acceptable to God than any works of devotion
”A celestial brightness, a more eternal beauty, Shone on her face, and encircled her form, when after confession Homeward serenely she walked, with God's benediction upon her
When she had passed, it seefellow: _Evangeline_]
Francesca's daily life was as perfect as a child's could be No untrue words sullied her pure lips; no gross thought dwelt in her h a sweet se of eleven, her life was one long continual prayer Every little action was perfors she deplored with anguish; every stain on the pure mirror of her conscience was instantly washed away by tears It was not long before it pleased God to vouchsafe to her extraordinary graces Her early and alion onderful Every day she meditated on the Incarnation and the Passion of Jesus Christ; and her devotion to the Blessed Virgin increased in proportion to her love for our Lord Her face flushed with delight, and a seraphic expression beas of Jesus, and the glories of Mary From the little oratory where she held secret communion with heaven, she went out into the world with the most ardent desire to serve the poor, to console the afflicted, to do good to all The affection of her young heart found vent in numerous works of charity; and Francesca's name, and Francesca's sweet voice, and Francesca's fair face, were even then to n of hope,--a pledge that God was still ast them as of yore, and His Spirit at work in the hearts of men
CHAPTER II
FRANCESCA'S EARLY INCLINATION FOR THE CLOISTER--BY HER FATHER'S DESIRE SHE MARRIES LORENZO PONZIANO--HER MARRIED LIFE--HER ILLNESS AND MIRACULOUS CURE
Fro of the words, her greatest desire had been to enter a convent; but with that spirit of hued to her, she had kept her desire concealed in her heart, and had manifested it to none but God and her director Don Antonio encouraged her to persevere in this silence, and to prove her own resolution by secretly adhering to the rules, and practising the austerities of one of the strictest religious orders She gladly assented to this, and persevered in it for a considerable tirew her inclination to forsake the world, and to hold communion with God alone in the solitude of the cloister; with that God whose love had already driven from her heart all care for comfort, for pleasure, and for self But not so ser was she to sit in silence at the feet of her Lord, with no other thought than to live on the words, which fell froh she concealed as much as possible the peculiarities of her ether escape the notice of her parents; and they soon questioned her on the subject When she inforious life, her father chose to consider her vocation as a childish fancy, and infore to Lorenzo Ponziano, a young nobleman of illustrious birth, and not less eminent for his virtues and for his talents than frost his ancestors St Paulianus, pope and martyr; his mother was a Mellini; and his eldest brother Paluzzo had hter of the noble house of Santo Croce Francesca's heart sank within her at this announce on her knees she implored her father to alter his determination, and allow her to follohat she believed to be the will of God in her regard She went even so far as to protest that nothing should induce her to consent to this e; torrents of tears fell froed her request But it was all in vain that she wept and prayed Paul Bussa turned a deaf ear to her pleadings; declared that his as pledged, that nothing should ever persuade hihter, she should sub him thus immovable, Francesca rose from her knees, withdrew in silence fro into her little oratory, prostrated herself before the crucifix, and asked counsel of Him at whose feet she wished to live and to die; and ihty Power, and raise obstacles to the projected thened by prayer, she was inspired to seek direction froan of the divine will to her, and hurrying to Santa Maria Nuova, she requested to see Don Antonio Savello
Kindly and gently the good priest spoke to his afflicted penitent He proested some devotions to be used by herself for that purpose Then, seeing her countenance assume a calmer expression, he endeavoured to prepare her mind for what he doubtless already kneas the will of God, and the true, though in one so ular vocation of Francesca ”If your parents persist in their resolution (he said), take it, n that God expects of you this sacrifice Offer up to Hiious life He will accept the will for the deed; and you will obtain at once the reward of that wish, and the peculiar graces attached to the sacrae God's ways are not as our ways, Francesca When St Mary Magdalene had sent for the Lord Jesus Christ to come and heal her brother, it was no doubt a severe trial to her that He caht succeeded each other, and that He tarried on the way, and sent no e or token of His love But when her brother rose from the dead, when the shroud fell froth, she understood the mystery, and adored the divine wisdom of that delay God indeed asks of you your heart, Francesca; but He also claims your whole self as an oblation, and therefore your will that He may mould it into entire conforhter, and piety may be fervent, and virtues eminent, and yet the smallest leaven of self-love or self-will may ruin the whole Why do you weep, Francesca? That God's will is not acco but sin can mar the first, and in this your trial there is not the least shade of sin As to your oill, bend, break, annihilate it, ood pleasure, the sill of God; submit yourself to His Providence Lay down your wishes as an oblation on His altar; give up that highest place which you had justly coveted; take the lower one which He now appoints you; and if you cannot be His spouse, be His loving and faithful servant”
Francesca went home, and awaited in silence her father's further cole was a painful one She prayed night and day, watched and fasted When Paul Bussa renewed his injunctions, she gently gave her assent, begged hiave no outward signs of the suffering within, all the greater that it ca, and that others deemed that to be happiness which cost her so many secret tears
The fae,--the bride was so rich, so beautiful, and so virtuous; there was not a young man in Rome who did not look with envy on Lorenzo, and wish himself in his stead
There was no end to the banquets, the festivities, the s, which took place on the occasion; and in the s Francesca left her father's palace for that of the Ponziani It stood in the heart of the Trastevere, close to the Yellow River, though not quite upon it, in the vicinity of the Ponte Rotto, in a street that runs parallel with the Tiber It is a well-known spot; and on the 9th of March, the Festival of St Francesca, the people of Rohbourhood flock to it in crowds Thethat has been raised on the foundation of the old palace is the Casa dei Esercizii Pii, for the young s to break the chain of sin, the youth beset by so te hiher paths of virtue, another who is in doubt as to the particular line of life to which he is called, may come, and leave behind them for three, or five, or ten days, as it itations, and, free for the ti from temporal cares, the wants of the body provided for, and the mind at rest, may commune with God and their own souls Here they listen daily, nay hourly, to the instructions of devout priests, who, in the natius, place before the dom of God Resolutions are thus taken, conversions often effected, good purposes strengthened in a hich often seems little short of miraculous The h ain returns to the world, a mark has been stamped upon it not easily effaced