Admonition XXI: The frivolous and talkative person

Everybody finds it irksome to listen to advice when it is clear that the one giving advice has no knowledge of the matter under discussion. This was never true of Francis. In this Admonition he says: 'Blessed is the servant who, when he speaks, does not disclose everything about himself'. If anyone could have disclosed something about himself, it was Francis whose gifts included the wonder of the stigmata. Yet we are told he kept the stigmata secret for as long as possible. His biographer says of him: 'He hid those marks carefully from strangers, and concealed them cautiously from people close to him, so that even the brothers at his side for a long time did not know about them'. In this also Francis had in mind a warning our Lord gave. The Lord spoke strongly against people who displayed heir good deeds when he said they have already received their reward. In the same way Francis chides those who do not hold in their hearts the good things the Lord reveals to them, but under the guise of a reward wish to reveal them with their words. Like our Lord, Francis says that they have received their reward and that the listeners carry away little fruit. No one could say that Francis had not put this into practice. As has been noted several times already Francis was conscious of his sins rather than wanting to boast of graces he had received.