“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, Who is the day through whom You give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour; of You, Most High, he bears the likeness.

No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.

For it is in giving that we receive.

Pure, holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh.

If a superior give any order to one who is under him which is against that man’s conscience, although he do not obey it yet he shall not be dismissed.

We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather, we must be simple, humble and pure.

It is not fitting, when one is in God’s service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.

If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.

Grant me the treasure of sublime poverty: permit the distinctive sign of our order to be that it does not possess anything of its own beneath the sun, for the glory of your name, and that it have no other patrimony than begging.

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens, you have made them bright, precious and fair.

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.

Great and glorious God, and Thou Lord Jesus, I pray you shed abroad your light in the darkness of my mind. Be found of me, Lord, so that in all things I may act only in accordance with Thy holy will.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.