Jun 15, 2025 Written by 

Amend, don't lose

Francis, the Poor Man of Assisi, believed deeply in the Merciful Love and Patience of Christ. He could not bear to judge people without appeal.

He was always righteous and merciful towards others, though much less so towards himself.

There are many passages about this in the Sources. We read:

'Oh, how worthy of compassion is our foolishness!

Not only do we not lift up or support the weak, but sometimes we push them to fall.

We consider it of no importance to take a sheep from the Supreme Shepherd, for whom he cried out with tears on the Cross.

But you, holy Father, preferred to amend the erring and not lose them [...]" (FF 763).

The friars themselves had been taught to restrain their tongues:

"They were relentless judges of themselves, careful not to harm one another in any way.

If a brother happened to utter a word that could hurt someone, his remorse would not allow him to rest until he confessed his mistake" (FF 1448-1449).

Furthermore, Francis "insisted that the brothers should not judge anyone, and should not look with contempt on those who live in luxury and dress with exaggerated refinement and pomp.

God is our Lord and theirs, and he has the power to call them to himself and make them righteous" (FF 1469).

Guardian of the marginalised, Francis the Minim, poured out on everyone the gratuitousness he had received from Christ.

A man of indomitable faith, he embraced even the marginalised, going far beyond any judgement or stereotypical mentality.

In the Regula Bullata, addressing his friars, he said:

"I admonish you [...] and exhort you not to despise or judge men who are clothed in soft and colourful garments and use delicate food and drink, but rather let each one judge and despise himself" (FF 81).

And even more so in his Admonitions, he urged them to beware of judging priests.

"And woe to those who despise them.

Even if they are sinners, no one should judge them, for the Lord has expressly reserved to himself the right to judge them.

Indeed, the greater the ministry they perform in the most holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which they alone receive and administer to others, the greater the sin of those who sin against them, than if they sinned against all other men in this world" (FF176).

 

«Do not judge, so that you will not be judged, for with the judgement you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you» (Mt 7:1-2)

 

 

Monday of the 12th wk. in Ordinary Time  (Mt 7:1-5)

43 Last modified on Sunday, 15 June 2025 03:45
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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Paolo VI stated that the world today is suffering above all from a lack of brotherhood: “Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations” (Pope Benedict)
Paolo VI affermava che il mondo soffre oggi soprattutto di una mancanza di fraternità: «Il mondo è malato. Il suo male risiede meno nella dilapidazione delle risorse o nel loro accaparramento da parte di alcuni, che nella mancanza di fraternità tra gli uomini e tra i popoli» (Papa Benedetto)
Dear friends, this is the perpetual and living heritage that Jesus has bequeathed to us in the Sacrament of his Body and his Blood. It is an inheritance that demands to be constantly rethought and relived so that, as venerable Pope Paul VI said, its "inexhaustible effectiveness may be impressed upon all the days of our mortal life" (Pope Benedict)
Questa, cari amici, è la perpetua e vivente eredità che Gesù ci ha lasciato nel Sacramento del suo Corpo e del suo Sangue. Eredità che domanda di essere costantemente ripensata, rivissuta, affinché, come ebbe a dire il venerato Papa Paolo VI, possa “imprimere la sua inesauribile efficacia su tutti i giorni della nostra vita mortale” (Papa Benedetto)
The road that Jesus points out can seem a little unrealistic with respect to the common mindset and to problems due to the economic crisis; but, if we think about it, this road leads us back to the right scale of values (Pope Francis)
La strada che Gesù indica può sembrare poco realistica rispetto alla mentalità comune e ai problemi della crisi economica; ma, se ci si pensa bene, ci riporta alla giusta scala di valori (Papa Francesco)
Our commitment does not consist exclusively of activities or programmes of promotion and assistance; what the Holy Spirit mobilizes is not an unruly activism, but above all an attentiveness that considers the other in a certain sense as one with ourselves (Pope Francis)
Il nostro impegno non consiste esclusivamente in azioni o in programmi di promozione e assistenza; quello che lo Spirito mette in moto non è un eccesso di attivismo, ma prima di tutto un’attenzione rivolta all’altro considerandolo come un’unica cosa con se stesso (Papa Francesco)
The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the Word who became flesh and dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what his witnesses proclaim to us in the Gospel is to approach the holy Lord Jesus as Moses approached the burning bush: first to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us to pray, in order to know how he hears our prayer (Catechism of the Catholic Church n.2598)
L’evento della preghiera ci viene pienamente rivelato nel Verbo che si è fatto carne e dimora in mezzo a noi. Cercare di comprendere la sua preghiera, attraverso ciò che i suoi testimoni ci dicono di essa nel Vangelo, è avvicinarci al santo Signore Gesù come al roveto ardente: dapprima contemplarlo mentre prega, poi ascoltare come ci insegna a pregare, infine conoscere come egli esaudisce la nostra preghiera (Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica n.2598)
If penance today moves from the material to the spiritual side, let's say, from the body to the soul, from the outside to the inside, it is no less necessary and less feasible (Pope Paul VI)
Se la penitenza si sposta oggi dalla parte, diciamo, materiale a quella spirituale, dal corpo all’anima, dall’esterno all’interno, non è meno necessaria e meno attuabile (Papa Paolo VI)

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