LETTER #5

Somasca, December 30, 1536

To Giovanni Battista Scaini in Salo'

1 Dear beloved brother in Christ. The peace of the Lord be with you. 2 Through sir Francesco I have received your letter and seen what you write. 3 You need not worry because you collected little in the begging, for the Lord, who says that first we must seek the kingdom of God, will provide opportunely. 4 The collectors of alms were sent there only for giving you an opportunity for merit. Therefore, having you done what you could, the Lord will be satisfied with you because for Him, who is the most benign, good will compensates for the lack of success. 5 As far as sending again for begging next year, only God knows what will happen then. I think I could be well anointed with the last anointment by that time. Therefore, I would not need to ask for oil to anoint throats. 6 Regarding the collected one, I leave it to you and, once you have sent it to Brescia, we will see how to use it. 7 We will not forget to remember you in our prayers. You too pray to God that He may answer them and grant you the grace to understand His will in your tribulations and to follow it. Probably, His Majesty wants something from you, but you do not want to listen to. 8 Keep well and pray to God for me and remember me to sir Stefano.