Foreword

St. Peter de Alcantara

No tongue can express the greatness of the love which Jesus Christ bears to our souls. He did not wish that between Him and His servants there should be any other pledge than himself, to keep alive the remembrance of Him.

- Saint Peter of Alcantara

The life of St. Peter de Alcantara was an ideal life of penance. He suffered great tribulations to conserve the Rule of St. Francis with severe integrity. His life of reparation was so proverbial in the Franciscan Order that he lived practically on bread and water alone, even during his illnesses. He devised a sort of harness to keep him upright on his seat during the short hour and a half of sleep which he took every day, for forty years. His sackcloth habit and a cloak were his only garments; he never covered his head or feet. In the bitter winter he would open the door and window of his four-and-a-half-feet cell in order that, by closing them again, he might be grateful for the shelter of his cell. Among those whom he guided to perfection were Saint Teresa of Avila, St. Francis de Sales and St. John of the Cross He was often seen prostrated before a large crucifix, shedding torrents of tears. So overpowering were his meditations that he was often seen in levitation.

Once the King went to visit St. Peter and he was nowhere... finally, there he was, about 50 meters high in the sky, and the King waiting... when he finally came down all he was saying was "He Incarnated, He Incarnated, He Incarnated".

Saint Peter died at the age of sixty-three, repeating with the Psalmist, “I rejoiced when it was said unto me, let us go unto the house of the Lord!” The date was October 18, 1562; he was kneeling in prayer.