Francis, had an eschatological meaning: it was a transit either to God or away from God. What Saint Francis says in these few verses is a condensed version of what, in the two recensions of his letters to the men and women of penance, he says so urgently: we must die reconciled to God and the church so that the Evil One may not “snatch us away” for all eternity. In that final month of his life there is a charming moment in which the human side of Francis shines forth clearly. He had a deep friendship