The Little Flowers of Saint Francis chronicles the miracles of the Order of Friars Minor. As enjoyable as it is to read about the wondrous miracles in the book, Little Flowers scarcely provides the common man with any hope. Contrary to the Gospel, the book indirectly tells the layman purgatory—hellfire—is seemingly his unavoidable destiny.
The friars are described as the most pious men of their generation. Their piety astonished cardinals, bishops, and even the Pope. Saint Francis specifically, successfully preached to birds, made pacts with wolves, and inspired Saint Dominic to adopt a life of poverty. In all their works, the friars exemplified a genuine and undeniable love for God. While their lifestyle is unattainable for most Christians, everyone should extol them as exemplary role models.
What is strange is that in chapter 38, James Della Massa had a vision. In the vision, all the friars hung as branches on a tree. Jesus Christ then gave Saint Francis a chalice filled with eternal life, but most of them refused the chalice and were carried away by demons into hell. There is an issue with this chapter. At its core, the vision proclaims most of the friars were going to hell. That is problematic for the common man reading the book. The reader would have inevitably looked at their pious lives with wonder, but it would have been discouraging to see that despite their remarkable works, they were still headed to hell. That would only discourage the reader regarding the state of his own soul. He could not dedicate his entire life to constant prayer like the monks. He could not embrace a lifestyle of beggary. He could not cast out demons, perform miracles, or have divine visions from God. Yet chapter 38 seems to indicate that even the fervent monks were headed to hell. Hearing of devout monks who were seemingly the most righteous men alive going to hell would have discouraged the medieval listener. Frankly, it is even discouraging to the modern reader. The book should have stressed why they went to hell. According to the Bible, those who truly believe Jesus Christ died for their sins and confess and repent will inherit eternal life. Eternal life is not unattainable to the layman. If the majority of friars did not inherit eternal life, as described in chapter 38, their faith was counterfeit and purely external just like the Pharisees.
Thankfully, the beloved reader may rest assured that their salvation is not a product of works but of faith. Salvation is only a gracious gift of God. “For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Asher Sisneros 