May 20, 2025 Written by 

Hatred and persecution

Jesus reminds us that the world's hatred for His disciples reveals hatred for Him.

He adds that if they persecuted the Son of God, his own will be treated no better.

 

Francis was convinced that only love and courtesy extinguish hatred, and in the face of persecution for Christ it is important to persevere in the call received.

In the Legend of the Three Companions we read:

"As he prolonged his stay there, his father, worried, went looking for where his son had gone.

He thus came to know that, completely transformed, he was living near San Damiano.

The man was deeply saddened by this and, shocked by his son's unbelievable turn of events, he called his friends and neighbours and in all fury rushed to San Damiano.

When Francis, having become a knight of Christ, learnt that his own men were threatening him, and that his father was about to burst in on him, in order to dodge his father's violent wrath, he went to take refuge in a secret cave, which he had prepared for the purpose, and remained hidden there for a whole month.

The cave was known to only one member of the family.

From time to time, he would bring the abducted volunteer some food, which he consumed without being seen.

And he prayed with abundant tears that the Lord would deliver him from that persecution and lovingly help him to realise his aspirations' (FF 1416).

And again:

"One day, inflamed with enthusiasm, he left the cave and set out for Assisi, lively, brisk and gay. Armed with trust in Christ and inflamed with heavenly love, he reproached himself with cowardice and vain trepidation, and boldly decided to expose himself to the hands and blows of the persecutors.

At the first sight of him, those who knew him as he was before began to insult him, shouting that he was mad and senseless, throwing mud and stones at him.

Seeing him so changed, exhausted by penances, they attributed his change to exhaustion and dementia.

'But the knight of Christ passed through that storm without taking any notice of it, not letting himself be struck and agitated by the insults, giving thanks to God instead' (FF 1417).

Being called by God for his Kingdom involves living in the footsteps of Christ.

The servant is not superior to his master and is certainly tested as he is.

Strengthened by this, Francis lived in unity with Jesus the persecution of those who neither considered nor lived the Word of God.

 

«If the world hates you, know that it hated me first» (Jn 15:18)

 

 

Saturday of the 5th wk. in Easter  (Jn 15:18-21)

121 Last modified on Tuesday, 20 May 2025 05:15
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.
John is the origin of our loftiest spirituality. Like him, ‘the silent ones' experience that mysterious exchange of hearts, pray for John's presence, and their hearts are set on fire (Athenagoras)
Giovanni è all'origine della nostra più alta spiritualità. Come lui, i ‘silenziosi’ conoscono quel misterioso scambio dei cuori, invocano la presenza di Giovanni e il loro cuore si infiamma (Atenagora)
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)

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.