May 28, 2025 Written by 

Unity is worth more than any other good

In the concluding part of chapter seventeen of John, Jesus repeatedly returns to the theme of unity, asking the Father for his own that «all the people may be One» (Jn 17:21).

Francis had always cherished the milestone value of unity, of concord with both his brothers and fellow citizens.

There is a passage in the Sources, in the Second Life of Celano, which highlights how the Poor Man, while preaching to the people of Perugia, predicts civil war and praises concord.

"A few days later the Father came down from the aforesaid cell and addressing the brothers present said in a voice of tears:

"The Perugini have done much harm to their neighbours* and their hearts have grown proud, but to their ignominy. For God's vengeance draws near and he already has the sword in his hand".

He waited a few days, then in fervour of spirit, headed for Perugia.

The friars could deduce with all certainty that he had had a vision in his cell.

Having arrived in Perugia, he began to speak to the people who had gathered.

And as the knights prevented the Word of God from being heard, jousting, according to custom, and performing shows of arms, the Saint, greatly grieved, apostrophised them:

"O wretched and foolish men, who reflect not and fear not the punishment of God!

But listen to what the Lord is announcing to you through this poor man.

The Lord has raised you above those around you, and for this you should be more benevolent towards your neighbour and more grateful to God.

And instead, ungrateful for so much benefit, you attack your neighbours with weapons in your fist, kill them and plunder them.

Well, I say to you:

you shall not get away with it! The Lord to your greater punishment will bring you to ruin with a fratricidal war, which will see you rise up against one another.

You will be taught out of indignation, for you have learned nothing from benevolence.

Shortly afterwards strife broke out*: people took up arms against their neighbours, the commoners raged against the knights and these, in turn, against the people:

Such was the atrocity and slaughter, that even the neighbours, who had also been harmed, felt pity.

Punishment well deserved! They had turned away from the One and Supreme God: it was inevitable that not even among them would unity remain.

There can be no stronger bond for a state than a convinced love for God, united to a sincere faith without hypocrisy' (FF 622).

And in the Canticle of the Creatures here is a very significant expression, which ties in well with what has been said:

«beati quelli ke trovarà ne le Tue sanctissime voluntati, / ka la morte seconda no ‘L farrà male» (FF 263).

[Blessed are those whom Thou wilt find in Thy holy will,/ so that the second death will do them no harm].

Francis worked concretely so that the Unity, for which Christ had died on the cross, might dwell among his sons and daughters.

 

* It was fought between Assisi and Perugia on several occasions from 1202 to 1209.

Francis seems here to hint at his imprisonment.

* The civil strife flared up several times: in 1214, in 1217 and finally in 1223-1225, and ended with the exile of the nobles.

 

 

Thursday of the 7th wk. in Easter  (Jn 17:20-26)

64 Last modified on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 13:36
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".

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This is to say that Jesus has put himself on the level of Peter, rather than Peter on Jesus' level! It is exactly this divine conformity that gives hope to the Disciple, who experienced the pain of infidelity. From here is born the trust that makes him able to follow [Christ] to the end: «This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God. And after this he said to him, "Follow me"» (Pope Benedict)
Verrebbe da dire che Gesù si è adeguato a Pietro, piuttosto che Pietro a Gesù! E’ proprio questo adeguamento divino a dare speranza al discepolo, che ha conosciuto la sofferenza dell’infedeltà. Da qui nasce la fiducia che lo rende capace della sequela fino alla fine: «Questo disse per indicare con quale morte egli avrebbe glorificato Dio. E detto questo aggiunse: “Seguimi”» (Papa Benedetto)
Unity is not made with glue [...] The great prayer of Jesus is to «resemble» the Father (Pope Francis)
L’Unità non si fa con la colla […] La grande preghiera di Gesù» è quella di «assomigliare» al Padre (Papa Francesco)
Divisions among Christians, while they wound the Church, wound Christ; and divided, we cause a wound to Christ: the Church is indeed the body of which Christ is the Head (Pope Francis)
Le divisioni tra i cristiani, mentre feriscono la Chiesa, feriscono Cristo, e noi divisi provochiamo una ferita a Cristo: la Chiesa infatti è il corpo di cui Cristo è capo (Papa Francesco)
The glorification that Jesus asks for himself as High Priest, is the entry into full obedience to the Father, an obedience that leads to his fullest filial condition [Pope Benedict]
La glorificazione che Gesù chiede per se stesso, quale Sommo Sacerdote, è l'ingresso nella piena obbedienza al Padre, un'obbedienza che lo conduce alla sua più piena condizione filiale [Papa Benedetto]
All this helps us not to let our guard down before the depths of iniquity, before the mockery of the wicked. In these situations of weariness, the Lord says to us: “Have courage! I have overcome the world!” (Jn 16:33). The word of God gives us strength [Pope Francis]
Tutto questo aiuta a non farsi cadere le braccia davanti allo spessore dell’iniquità, davanti allo scherno dei malvagi. La parola del Signore per queste situazioni di stanchezza è: «Abbiate coraggio, io ho vinto il mondo!» (Gv 16,33). E questa parola ci darà forza [Papa Francesco]
The Ascension does not point to Jesus’ absence, but tells us that he is alive in our midst in a new way. He is no longer in a specific place in the world as he was before the Ascension. He is now in the lordship of God, present in every space and time, close to each one of us. In our life we are never alone (Pope Francis)
L’Ascensione non indica l’assenza di Gesù, ma ci dice che Egli è vivo in mezzo a noi in modo nuovo; non è più in un preciso posto del mondo come lo era prima dell’Ascensione; ora è nella signoria di Dio, presente in ogni spazio e tempo, vicino ad ognuno di noi. Nella nostra vita non siamo mai soli (Papa Francesco)
The Magnificat is the hymn of praise which rises from humanity redeemed by divine mercy, it rises from all the People of God; at the same time, it is a hymn that denounces the illusion of those who think they are lords of history and masters of their own destiny (Pope Benedict)
Il Magnificat è il canto di lode che sale dall’umanità redenta dalla divina misericordia, sale da tutto il popolo di Dio; in pari tempo è l’inno che denuncia l’illusione di coloro che si credono signori della storia e arbitri del loro destino (Papa Benedetto)

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