It relates with great beauty and realism the crisis of St. Francis of Assisi. He went through a strong darkness when some Friars Minor grew so much that it was no longer possible to maintain in everyone the same spirit of poverty and humility of the foundational charism. Those were hard months.
The book is a classic of spiritual literature that penetrates into the simplicity of the Gospel. At its core, poverty is a self-emptying to make room for God. Wisdom is the evangelical authenticity of those who have nothing but find everything in God. The path to peace is adoration. It is a work for reflection, for meditation, for listening to God.
It is a testimony of the Franciscan spirit that can be applied to all Christians and is very appropriate for our times. The style is simple, profound, poetic, intense and brief. It has been translated into several languages. The author (1921-2016), a Franciscan, is a French writer who was ordained a priest in 1948. He was a prisoner in a concentration camp during World War II.