Admonition XVIII: Compassion for a neighbour
Francis repeats the words of our Lord: In everything do to others as you would have them do to you [Mt 7:12]. We see a striking example of this in Francis' life. What he wanted for himself was to be left free in the Church to try and live the Gospels in a literal way. He wanted this because he believed that this was precisely what God was asking him to do. But, as has been noted, the Church was reluctant to give approval to such a way of life and even many of his companions tried to get him to adopt one of the older, approved Rules for religious life. The Church did finally give approval to Francis' Rule and so he was then free to shape the way of life for the Order. When Brother Leo was troubled, Francis wrote a letter to him in which he said: 'In whatever way it seems better to you to please the Lord God and to follow His footprint and poverty, do it with the blessing of the Lord God and my obedience'. Just as Francis was left free by the Church to live in the way he believed God was instructing him to live, so Francis gave this same freedom to Brother Leo; Francis supported Leo in the way he had wanted to be supported and trusted. Francis adds that a servant is blessed when the servant gives back to God every good that the Lord has given. The God who cares and provides for us has given us everything we have. So when someone is weak and troubled we know that the Lord cares for the person and we are to help this person as we would want to be helped ourselves. This is what Francis did for Brother Leo.
