Apr 10, 2025 Written by 
Aforisma

Love to the end

Love to the end

The Passion of the Lord narrated by the evangelist John, brings to our attention the arrest and betrayal of the Son of God, his being brought before the high priests Annas and Caiaphas.

The latter uttered that crude expression:

«It is fitting that one man should die for the people» (Jn 18:14).

He is then led to Pilate's praetorium where he is handed over to the chief priests and guards to be crucified.

Drama of Love of our God for the man He loves!

 

Francis spent Good Friday uniting himself to the Lord's Passion, identifying with it.

Fasting, consistent with what Jesus says in the Gospel [when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast] was certainly observed on that day by all the brothers and sisters of San Damiano.

In the Regola non bollata (1221), Francis expresses himself thus:

"The holy Lent, on the other hand, which begins on the Epiphany and lasts uninterruptedly for forty days, that which the Lord consecrated with his holy fast, those who voluntarily fast it may be blessed by the Lord, and those who do not want to may not be obliged. But the other, until the Lord's Resurrection, let them fast.

At other times they should not be obliged to fast, except on Fridays" (FF 84).

So too Clare and her sisters were faithful to the fast, especially the Mother:

"As long as he was in health, in fact, he fasted on bread and water during the Great Lent and the Lent of Saint Martin the bishop, enjoying only on Sundays a little wine, if he had any [...]" (FF 3194).

The sisters, concerned for her health, deplored with tears those daily deaths to which she subjected herself, until Francis ordered her not to let a day pass without eating at least an ounce and a half of bread.

The union with the Passion of Christ was lived first of all interiorly, but the body also mourned for the Spouse betrayed, vilified and killed for the salvation of many.

Francis mourned the Lord's Passion, filling the woods with tears and groans, while Clare, in the monastery, took part in Christ's martyrdom with her whole self in continuous prayer.

In the Vita seconda of Celano, regarding the last moments of the Poverello's life, the following is reported:

"He spent the few days remaining to him in a hymn of praise, inviting his beloved companions* to praise Christ with him. He then, as he was able, burst into this psalm:

"With my voice I cried out to the Lord, with my voice I asked the Lord for help".

She also invited all creatures to the praise of God, and with certain verses, which she had once composed, she exhorted them to divine love. Even death, terrible and hateful to all, exhorted praise, and going to her joyfully, invited her to be his guest:

'Welcome, my sister death!' " (FF 809).

And again:

"She then turned to the doctor*: 'Take courage, Brother Doctor, tell me that death is imminent: for me it will be the door of life!'

And to the brothers:

"When you see me reduced to the extreme, lay me down naked on the earth, as you saw me the day before yesterday, and after I am dead, let me lie like this for as long as it takes me to comfortably walk a mile".

Finally his hour came, and all the mysteries of Christ having been fulfilled in him, he happily flew away to God" (FF 810).

Clare, in love with her Lord and a little plant of the Seraphic Father, also spent Holy Thursday and the whole of Friday among the wounds of Christ:

"All that night and for the whole of the following day she remained as if absorbed, so out of herself that, with her eyes absent, always fixed on a single vision, she seemed to be nailed to Christ and completely insensible.

Return to her several times a familiar daughter, to see if by chance she desires anything, and always find her motionless in the same position' (FF 3217).

Love for Christ crucified was for Clare and Francis the source of every reason for living, of every gesture made in the sign of the cross, which blossomed on Easter morning.

 

* Brother Angelo and Brother Leo.

* The doctor: Bongiovanni, a native of Arezzo according to various sources, or perhaps of Assisi, son of Marangone Cristiano.

 

 

Good Friday «Passion of the Lord» (Jn 18:1-19:42)

79 Last modified on Thursday, 10 April 2025 06:25
Rate this item
(3 votes)
Teresa Girolami

Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Latest from Teresa Girolami

Previous
« Poisonous exchange
back to top
The Church keeps watch. And the world keeps watch. The hour of Christ's victory over death is the greatest hour in history (John Paul II)
Veglia la Chiesa. E veglia il mondo. L’ora della vittoria di Cristo sulla morte è l’ora più grande della storia (Giovanni Paolo II)
Before the Cross of Jesus, we apprehend in a way that we can almost touch with our hands how much we are eternally loved; before the Cross we feel that we are “children” and not “things” or “objects” [Pope Francis, via Crucis at the Colosseum 2014]
Di fronte alla Croce di Gesù, vediamo quasi fino a toccare con le mani quanto siamo amati eternamente; di fronte alla Croce ci sentiamo “figli” e non “cose” o “oggetti” [Papa Francesco, via Crucis al Colosseo 2014]
The devotional and external purifications purify man ritually but leave him as he is replaced by a new bathing (Pope Benedict)
Al posto delle purificazioni cultuali ed esterne, che purificano l’uomo ritualmente, lasciandolo tuttavia così com’è, subentra il bagno nuovo (Papa Benedetto)
If, on the one hand, the liturgy of these days makes us offer a hymn of thanksgiving to the Lord, conqueror of death, at the same time it asks us to eliminate from our lives all that prevents us from conforming ourselves to him (John Paul II)
La liturgia di questi giorni, se da un lato ci fa elevare al Signore, vincitore della morte, un inno di ringraziamento, ci chiede, al tempo stesso, di eliminare dalla nostra vita tutto ciò che ci impedisce di conformarci a lui (Giovanni Paolo II)
The school of faith is not a triumphal march but a journey marked daily by suffering and love, trials and faithfulness. Peter, who promised absolute fidelity, knew the bitterness and humiliation of denial:  the arrogant man learns the costly lesson of humility (Pope Benedict)
La scuola della fede non è una marcia trionfale, ma un cammino cosparso di sofferenze e di amore, di prove e di fedeltà da rinnovare ogni giorno. Pietro che aveva promesso fedeltà assoluta, conosce l’amarezza e l’umiliazione del rinnegamento: lo spavaldo apprende a sue spese l’umiltà (Papa Benedetto)
We are here touching the heart of the problem. In Holy Scripture and according to the evangelical categories, "alms" means in the first place an interior gift. It means the attitude of opening "to the other" (John Paul II)
Qui tocchiamo il nucleo centrale del problema. Nella Sacra Scrittura e secondo le categorie evangeliche, “elemosina” significa anzitutto dono interiore. Significa l’atteggiamento di apertura “verso l’altro” (Giovanni Paolo II)
Jesus shows us how to face moments of difficulty and the most insidious of temptations by preserving in our hearts a peace that is neither detachment nor superhuman impassivity (Pope Francis)
Gesù ci mostra come affrontare i momenti difficili e le tentazioni più insidiose, custodendo nel cuore una pace che non è distacco, non è impassibilità o superomismo (Papa Francesco)
If, in his prophecy about the shepherd, Ezekiel was aiming to restore unity among the dispersed tribes of Israel (cf. Ez 34: 22-24), here it is a question not only of the unification of a dispersed Israel but of the unification of all the children of God, of humanity - of the Church of Jews and of pagans [Pope Benedict]
Se Ezechiele nella sua profezia sul pastore aveva di mira il ripristino dell'unità tra le tribù disperse d'Israele (cfr Ez 34, 22-24), si tratta ora non solo più dell'unificazione dell'Israele disperso, ma dell'unificazione di tutti i figli di Dio, dell'umanità - della Chiesa di giudei e di pagani [Papa Benedetto]

Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 1 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 2 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 3 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 4 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 5 Dialogo e Solstizio I fiammiferi di Maria

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.