Francis had a great love of the Gospels. The Franciscan charism is, after all, to live the Holy Gospel. At La Verna, Francis asked a friar companion to open the book of the Gospels three times, because Francis knew that by doing so, God’s will would be revealed to him. The Gospels were opened three times, and each time it opened at the Passion. Bonaventure goes on to tell us that:
“…Francis understood that he must become like Christ in the distress and the agony of His Passion before he left the world, just as he had been like Him in all that he did during his life.”