"The False Poor" and "Greed Calls Herself Foresight"

The titles of this entry are in quotations because they are not mine.  They are captions that are part of "THE SACRED EXHANGE BETWEEN SAINT FRANCIS AND LADY POVERTY (1237-1239)" in the book entitled Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volume I, The Saint.  The passage, The False Poor,  is quoted below [1]:

The False Poor

     Then there arose among us some who were not of [our company], certain children of Belial, speaking vanities, doing wicked things.  They called themselves poor when they were not,  and they spurned and maligned me whom the glorious men about whom I have already spoken had loved with their whole heart.  They followed the path of Balaam of Bosor who loved the reward of wickedness,  men corrupt in mind, deprived of truth, supposing their quests to be one of piety.  They were men who took up the habit of holy religion but did not put on the new man  and only covered over the old.  They detracted from their elders and sniped in secret about the life and conduct of those who founded their holy way of life.  They call them undiscerning, merciless, and cruel.  They accused me, whom they had respected, of being lazy, crude, depraved, uncultured, lifeless, and dead.   It was my rival who did this with the greatest zeal---my rival who, putting on a lamb's clothing, hid the voracity of a wolf with the cunning of a fox.  [Emphasis  original.]

Based on my reading, the speaker in the above quoted passage was not Saint Francis of Assisi but Lady Poverty, and the rival Lady Poverty referred to was not any particular brother, but Greed.  In a later passage, Greed Calls Herself Foresight,  Greed responded [2]:

Greed Calls Herself Foresight

     "Meanwhile that savage enemy of mine, seeing this, began to become violently angry and  to grind her teeth.  Distressed at such grief of heart,  she said: 'What shall I do?  Behold the whole world has gone after her.  I will assume the name 'Foresight,' "she said, 'and I will speak to their heart, if only they will listen and acquiesce.'
     "She did this, addressing them in humble words: 'Why do you stand all day idle,  without providing for your future?  What does it profit you to have the necessities of life while you abstain from luxuries?  For you could work out your salvation and that of others with great peace and leisure if everything you needed were readily available.  While you have time,  provide for yourselves and your offspring, for people will withdraw their hand from their initial generosity and from their customary gifts.  It would be good to remain always as you are, but you cannot always achieve that since daily the Lord adds to your number.  Since [the Lord] says  "It is more blessed to give than to receive,"  wouldn't it be acceptable to God if you had something to give to the needy and were mindful of the poor?  [Emphasis  original.]

If Saint Francis of Assisi had envisioned his order to be lived in the spirit of Lady Poverty, I believe that his vision has not lasted.  Rather, I think that his order is governed more by Lady Foresight, the rival of Lady Poverty, than Lady Poverty herself.  And if this pope thinks he is taking after Francis of Assisi, he should think again.  I doubt very much that he would be one of the lesser brothers who would prepare a banquet for Lady Poverty, as described below, and join her:

The Banquet of Poverty with the Brothers

     After they had prepared everything, they persuaded her to eat with them.  But she said: "First show me your oratory, chapter room, enclosure, refectory, kitchen, dormitory and stable; your beautiful chairs, polished tables and large houses.  I do not see any of these.  I only notice that you are cheerful and happy, overflowing with joy, filled with consolation, as if you expect that everything will be given to you at your request."
     ....

     Then they led her to where they had prepared the table.  When they had led her there, she saw that there was nothing more than three or four crusts of barley or bran bread set upon the grass.  She was greatly astonished and said to herself: " Who has ever seen in past generations  such things as these!  Blessed are you, Lord God, Who cares for all things!  Everything is possible when you wish.  You have taught your people to please you through such deeds."  They then sat down together, thanking God for all His gifts.
      Lady Poverty gave the order to bring the cooked food on dishes.  Behold a single dish was brought filled with cold water for all of them to dip bread.  There was neither an abundance of dishes nor a variety of cooked foods.
      She asked that at least uncooked, aromatic herbs be brought to her.  Since they did not have a gardener and knew nothing of a garden, however, they gathered wild herbs in the woods and placed them before her.
     "Bring me a little salt," she said, "to season the herbs for they are bitter."  "Wait, Lady," they responded.  "We will go to town for some.  If they are offered to us, we will bring them to you."
      ....

     "Is there a little wine among you?"  "Our Lady, we have no wine," they responded.  "At the beginning of human life there was only bread and water.  It is not good for you to drink wine because Christ's spouse must avoid wine like poison."
     .... 
  
     She even asked for a pillow for her head.  They immediately brought a stone and placed it under her head.
     After enjoying a very quiet and healthy sleep, she quickly arose and asked to  be shown the enclosure.  Taking her to a certain hill, they showed her all the world they could see and said: "This, Lady, is our enclosure." [Emphasis original.] [3]

[1] Armstrong, Regis J. O.F.M. Cap. et.al. Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volume I, The Saint. Page 542. New York: New York City Press, 2000.
[2] Ibid., page 545.
[3] Ibid., pages 551-2.