Mar 24, 2025 Written by 

Charity knows no schemes

Jesus lectures the Sabbath worshippers with facts.

Respecting that day was more important than life, than the person himself, placed on the periphery, prone at the feet of the sacred laws.

Life can wait, for these Pharisaic worshippers; but according to Jesus, this is not so, and he proves it.

Even for Francis it was not so!

The man of God, from the very beginning of his calling, put in first place the person to be saved and for whom Christ died and rose again.

How many times, in his humility, did he prostrate himself before his sick, poor brothers, honouring the divine Presence of the Lord!

How many healed by that Charity that inflamed him and directed him on his way!

It is unthinkable that Francis was a bearer of novelty and a 'slave' to the law. Deeply obedient, but free in his exquisite conscience as a creature, he had the life of all at heart.

In the Sources we find many episodes on this subject.

"In the city of Narni, at the bishop's insistence, he blessed a paralytic, deprived of the use of all his limbs, by drawing a sign of the cross from his head to his feet, and restored him to perfect health" (FF 1214).

"In the city of Fano there was a shrunken man, whose ulcerated tibiae were bent backwards and stuck to his body, and he was so malodorous that no one felt willing to take him into hospital.

He implored the mercy of the most blessed Father Francis, and shortly afterwards had the joy of seeing himself completely recovered' (FF 548).

Moreover, 'He showed great compassion for the sick and tender concern for their needs [...].

She even ate on fasting days so that the sick would not feel flushed, and she was not ashamed in the public places of the city to beg meat for a sick friar' (FF 761).

Mother Clare herself, moved by tender compassion for the sick, placed at the centre of her attention the souls for whom Christ had shed his Blood.

Indeed in the Rule:

"Those who are infirm may use straw mattresses and have feather pillows under their heads; and those who need stockings and a woolen mattress may use them [...]" (FF 2799).

When the salvation of their brothers and sisters was at stake, Francis and Clare did not make a problem of rule or day.

Charity was above everything: round the clock.

They looked to Jesus, Author and Perfecter of the Law, to which He had given fulfilment with Love, without which we are only clanging cymbals.

 

«That is why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did such things on the Sabbath» (Jn 5:16)

 

 

Tuesday 4th wk. in Lent  (Jn 5:1-16)

126 Last modified on Monday, 24 March 2025 10:24
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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Christians are a priestly people for the world. Christians should make the living God visible to the world, they should bear witness to him and lead people towards him. When we speak of this task in which we share by virtue of our baptism, it is no reason to boast (Pope Benedict)
I cristiani sono popolo sacerdotale per il mondo. I cristiani dovrebbero rendere visibile al mondo il Dio vivente, testimoniarLo e condurre a Lui. Quando parliamo di questo nostro comune incarico, in quanto siamo battezzati, ciò non è una ragione per farne un vanto (Papa Benedetto)
Because of this unique understanding, Jesus can present himself as the One who reveals the Father with a knowledge that is the fruit of an intimate and mysterious reciprocity (John Paul II)
In forza di questa singolare intesa, Gesù può presentarsi come il rivelatore del Padre, con una conoscenza che è frutto di un'intima e misteriosa reciprocità (Giovanni Paolo II)
Yes, all the "miracles, wonders and signs" of Christ are in function of the revelation of him as Messiah, of him as the Son of God: of him who alone has the power to free man from sin and death. Of him who is truly the Savior of the world (John Paul II)
Sì, tutti i “miracoli, prodigi e segni” di Cristo sono in funzione della rivelazione di lui come Messia, di lui come Figlio di Dio: di lui che, solo, ha il potere di liberare l’uomo dal peccato e dalla morte. Di lui che veramente è il Salvatore del mondo (Giovanni Paolo II)
It is known that faith is man's response to the word of divine revelation. The miracle takes place in organic connection with this revealing word of God. It is a "sign" of his presence and of his work, a particularly intense sign (John Paul II)
È noto che la fede è una risposta dell’uomo alla parola della rivelazione divina. Il miracolo avviene in legame organico con questa parola di Dio rivelante. È un “segno” della sua presenza e del suo operare, un segno, si può dire, particolarmente intenso (Giovanni Paolo II)
That was not the only time the father ran. His joy would not be complete without the presence of his other son. He then sets out to find him and invites him to join in the festivities (cf. v. 28). But the older son appeared upset by the homecoming celebration. He found his father’s joy hard to take; he did not acknowledge the return of his brother: “that son of yours”, he calls him (v. 30). For him, his brother was still lost, because he had already lost him in his heart (Pope Francis)
Ma quello non è stato l’unico momento in cui il Padre si è messo a correre. La sua gioia sarebbe incompleta senza la presenza dell’altro figlio. Per questo esce anche incontro a lui per invitarlo a partecipare alla festa (cfr v. 28). Però, sembra proprio che al figlio maggiore non piacessero le feste di benvenuto; non riesce a sopportare la gioia del padre e non riconosce il ritorno di suo fratello: «quel tuo figlio», dice (v. 30). Per lui suo fratello continua ad essere perduto, perché lo aveva ormai perduto nel suo cuore (Papa Francesco)
Doing a good deed almost instinctively gives rise to the desire to be esteemed and admired for the good action, in other words to gain a reward. And on the one hand this closes us in on ourselves and on the other, it brings us out of ourselves because we live oriented to what others think of us or admire in us (Pope Benedict)
Quando si compie qualcosa di buono, quasi istintivamente nasce il desiderio di essere stimati e ammirati per la buona azione, di avere cioè una soddisfazione. E questo, da una parte rinchiude in se stessi, dall’altra porta fuori da se stessi, perché si vive proiettati verso quello che gli altri pensano di noi e ammirano in noi (Papa Benedetto)

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