Now there came upon a time a doubt to Francis as to whether Our Lord Jesus wished him to give himself to preaching or entirely to prayer. For he himself doubted as to his gifts of preaching, seeing that he spoke always in homely words, and had not the eloquence of Saint Dominic, that eager Hound of the Lord, whose words flowed forth like torrents of sweet water.
So he sent to his holy friend, the Lady Clare, to ask that she should pray God to show him what was best for him to do; and to the gentle Brother Silvester, who had so often spoken with God, that he should ask the same.
And both these saintly people sent back the same message, which Francis received, kneeling humbly in the wood, with his arms stretched out in the form of the Cross. And the message was this:
"Let Francis go into the world to preach, seeing that God has not chosen him for himself alone, but also for the salvation of others."
Then at once Francis arose, saying: "Let us go, in the name of God." And Brothers Masseo and Agnolo went with him, not knowing whither he went.
And presently he came to a certain village, where he began to preach. But the swallows were building at that time, and they made so much noise with their twittering that the voice of Francis was drowned.
So he turned to the birds and said to them:
"My little sisters, hold you your peace until I have finished preaching, and then you shall have your turn."
And at once all the swallows obeyed him and perched about the roofs and windows to listen to his words.
And Francis preached with such fervour that all the people were minded to leave that village and go forth and follow him. But he would not allow this, saying: "Do nothing in haste, and I will tell you what you must do for the salvation of your souls."
It was on this occasion that Francis thought of establishing his Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Saint Francis, wherein those yet living in the world might bring forth good works for the salvation of their souls.
Now when he had departed thence, he came upon a long and lonely road, and, passing along this in great fervour of soul, he lifted up his eyes and saw many trees bordering the way, and in the branches thereof a great flock of little birds, and in a field hard by another flock upon the ground.
At this the Saint was greatly surprised and said to his companions:
"Wait for me a little while in the road, and I will go preach to my sisters the birds."
And he entered the field and began to preach to them. And behold! All the birds that were in the branches of the trees came round him, and they all kept silence as long as Francis spoke. And though he moved among them and touched them with his cloak, yet not one of them moved. Nor, when he had finished preaching would they depart, until he had given them his blessing. And this was the substance of his sermon to the birds: -
"My little sisters, you ought always to praise God, for He has given you the power to fly whither you will, and soft raiment of feathers to cover you. You may thank Him also for the world of air, which He has given over to you, and for this, that you neither sow nor reap your food. For God Himself feeds you and has given you the sweet brooks for your drink, and the mountains and valleys for your refuge, and the tall trees wherein to make your nests.
"Therefore, my little sisters, beware of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to please the good God."
Then, when he ceased speaking, all the birds opened their beaks and stretched out their necks, and, fluttering their wings, they bowed their heads to the earth, showing what great pleasure the words of the Saint brought to them. And Francis rejoiced with them, praising their beauty and their tameness and their attention to his words; and in them he devoutly praised God.
Then he made the Sign of the Cross over them all, and gave them leave to depart; and immediately all the birds rose into the sky and broke out into wonderful song. And some flew to the north, some to the south, some to the east, and some to the west, all singing as they went. And by this they showed that as Francis, Standard-Bearer of Christ, had preached to them, so should he in days to come preach to the four quarters of the world.
- text taken from A Little Book of Saint Francis and His Brethren, by Ethel Mary Wilmot-Buxton