Then he lifted his hand as if begging them to be quiet.

After receiving the Viaticum, his one prayer had been to be able to speak with his favourite disciples, and that God would give him words of truth, with the strength to pronounce them.

Now he felt that the Spirit filled his breast.
"Come near to me," he said.
The fair-haired youth, his face stained with silent tears, passed before the others, and knelt beside the bed.

The master placed his hand on the youth's head, and continued: "Remain united." The painful unspoken words wrung their hearts still more cruelly, but each one felt that Benedetto was about to give forth a last flicker of instruction, of counsel, and they all checked their sobs.

Benedetto's voice sounded; amidst the deepest silence: "Pray without ceasing, and teach others to pray without ceasing.