St. Francis on Mercy, from A Letter to a Minister

St Francis of Assisi and a skull

St Francis of Assisi, by Francisco de ZurbaránCC BY-SA 4.0, Link

And in this I want you to know, if you love the Lord and myself, … that there be no friar in the world, who will have sinned, as much as one can sin, who, after he has seen your eyes, will never leave without your mercy, if he seeks mercy. And if he does not seek mercy, you are to ask from him if he wants mercy. And if he would sin a thousand times before your eyes, love him more than me for this, that you draw him to the Lord; and you will always pity such ones.