PADRE PINO

SCRUTATIO SCRIPTURAE

PADRE PINO

A Scrutatio for the 6th Sunday of the CHRISTIAN SEASON OF EPIPHANY 

Readings from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer

Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 15:11-20 / Psalm 119:1-16 / 1 Corinthians  3:1-9 / Matthew 5:21-24, 27-30 and 33-37

Readings for the Pauline/Vatican II Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 15:16-21 / Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18 and 33-34. / 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 / Matthew 5:17-37

Septuagesima Sunday

Readings for the Tridentine Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Introit: Psalm 18:5-7 and 2-3

Epistle: I Corinthians 9:24-27 and 10:1-5

Gradual: Psalm 9:10-11 and 18-20

Tract: Psalm 130:1-4

Gospel

Matthew 20:1-16

Offertory:

Psalm 92:1

Communion Antiphon: Psalm 31:16-17

For today's SCRUTATIO, may I give you the LIFE AND WITNESS of the Reverend Father Giuseppe "Pino" Puglisi:

Don Giuseppe Puglisi was born in the district of Brancaccio in Palermo on September 15, 1937, the son of a shoemaker,Carmelo, and a seamstress, Giuseppa Fana. He was killed by the mafia in the same area on September 15, 1993, his 56th birthday.

He entered the diocesan seminary in 1953 and was ordained priest by Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini on July 2, 1960 at the church of La Madonna dei Rimedi. In 1961 he was nominated assistant priest at the parish of Santissimo Salvatore in the district of Settecannoli, close to Brancaccio, and he was also in charge of the church of San Giovanni dei Lebbrosi at Romagnolo.

From 1962, he was the confessor of the Basilian sisters Figlie di Santa Macrina at the institute of the same name. He also started to teach at different schools: at the vocational school Einaudi (1962-63 and 1964-66), Archimede high school(1963-64 and 1966-72), the high school at Villafrati, the primary school of Godrano 1975-77), the teachers’ training college Santa Macrina (1976-79) and finally at the grammar school Vittorio Emanuele II (1978-93).

In 1967 he was nominated chaplain at the institute ‘Roosevelt’ at Addaura for orphans, and parish priest at the parish of  Maria Santissima Assunta at Valdesi. In 1969 he was nominated vice rector of the minor archiepiscopal seminary and in the same year he participated in a mission in the area of Montevago which had been hit by an earthquake.

From these early years, he followed the young with particular interest and became engaged in the social problems in the most run-down areas of the city.

He followed the proceedings of the second Vatican Council attentively and immediately distributed the texts among the believers, particularly documents regarding the renewal of the liturgy, the role of the laity, the values of ecumenism, and the  local churches. His desire was always to spread the message of Jesus Christ locally, thus taking on all the challenges involved in making the Christian community accept it as their own.

On October 1, 1970 he was nominated parish priest at Godrano, a small village in the province of Palermo, known for a sanguinary vendetta, where he remained until the July 31, 1978, by which time he had succeeded in reconciling the shattered families with the force of forgiveness. During this period he also joined the movement Crociata del Vangelo (from 1987 called the Presenza del Vangelo) together with Lia Cerrito and other volunteers, the movement founded by the Sicilian Franciscan friar Placido Rivilli.

During these years, he also followed the social conflicts in Scaricatore, (another run-down area in the eastern outskirts of the city) in collaboration with the center Decollati, which was managed by the Assistenti Sociali Missionarie, including Agostina 

            Ajello.

On August 9, 1978 he was nominated vice rector of the minor seminary in Palermo and November 24 the following year he was chosen by the archbishop Salvatore Pappalardo as director of the Centro Diocesano Vocazioni. On October 24, 1980 he was nominated vice regional delegate of the Centro Vocazioni and from the February 5, 1986 he became director of the Centro Regionale Vocazioni and member of the Consiglio Nazionale.

With passion, he dedicated many years to the young and to the students at the Centro Diocesano Vocazioni through a series of school camps, which proved to be a model from a pedagogic and Christian point of view.Don Giuseppe Puglisi taught mathematics and then religion at various schools. He was a teacher at the secondary school Vittorio Emanuele II in Palermo from 1978 to 1993.

In Palermo and Sicily as a whole he was among the inspirers of numerous movements, for example Presenza del Vangelo, Azione Cattolica, Fuci, Equipes Notre Dame, Camminare Insieme. From May 1990, he also worked as a priest at Casa Madonna dell’Accoglienza at Boccadifalco on behalf of Opera Pia Cardinal Ruffini in aid of young women and unmarried mothers in difficulties.

On September 29, 1990 he was appointed parish priest at San Gaetano at Brancaccio and in 1992 he also assumed the office of spiritual director of the propaedeutic course at the archiepiscopal seminary in Palermo. On January 29, 1993 the center Padre Nostro was opened at Brancaccio, a landmark for the young and for the families in the area. During this period he was also helped by a group of nuns, sister Carolina Iavazzo among others, and the assistant priest Gregorio Porcaro. He cooperated with laymen of the area in connection with Associazione Intercondominale to claim civil rights for the district, denouncing crimes and collisions between politicians and mafia, and thus exposing himself to threats and intimidations.

He was killed at his house in piazzale Anita Garibaldi 3 on the day of his 56th birthday: the September 15, 1993. He was buried at the cemetery of Sant’Orsola, in the chapel of Sant’Euno, property of the lay confraternity of the same name.

As stated in the legal investigations his pastoral work proved to be the motive for his assassination, the mafia instigators and perpetrators of which have been arrested and condemned with final verdicts.

Because of these events, numerous voices were raised immediately to recognize his death as a martyr.

In memory of his commitment, innumerable schools, social centers, sports centers, streets, and squares have been given his name in Palermo and all over Sicily and Italy. Commemoration and other initiatives have also been organized abroad, from the United States to the Congo and even in Australia.

From September 15, 1994, the anniversary of his death has signified the beginning of the pastoral year in the diocese of Palermo.

On September 15, 1999 Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi appointed the diocesan ecclesiastical tribunal for the recognition of martyrdom. 

            The investigation has been closed at the diocese level in May 2001.

            The Beatification of Father Pino Puglisi, took place on May 25, 2013.

The Open-Air Mass took place at the Foco Italico 'Umberto I', a large green area that forms one of the promenades of Palermo. The Mass was presided by Paolo Cardinal Romeo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Palermo, with Salvatore Cardinal de Giorgi, Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Palermo, as the Papal Legate who performed the Rite of Beatification. Estimates state that 50,000 people attended the Mass. 

During his Angelus address, the following Sunday, May 26, Pope Francis stated that the newly beatified Puglisi was first    and foremost 'an exemplary priest and a martyr', as well as condemning mafia groups.

An archive of published and unpublished documents, tape recordings, testimonies, and articles has been built up at the Centro Diocesano Vocazioni in via Matteo Bonello in Palermo (Archivio Puglisi; 091-334669).

His life and death are evidence of his fidelity to the one Lord, and have highlighted the evilness and the absolute impossibility of compatibility of the mafia with the message of the Gospel.

“The believer who has seriously considered his Christian vocation for which martyrdom is a possibility, already announced in the revelation, cannot exclude this possibility from the horizon of his own life. The 2000 years from the birth of Christ have been marked by a continuous testimony of martyrs.”

           

(Blessed/soon to be Saint John Paul II, Incarnationis Misterium, no. 10)

SOURCE: http://www.padrepinopuglisi.diocesipa.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=168&Itemid=222 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pino_Puglisi

In today's society where various passive sub-cultures and sub-"moralities" are luring each and everyone of us to declare a "gospel" of conformity, a false "gospel" that seeks to proclaim a mere, ugly caricature of Christ sans the WONDERFUL CROSS, Father Pino is inviting us to always be COURAGEOUS IN WITNESSING TO GOD'S ETERNAL TRUTH, SAVING LOVE, AND ENLIGHTENING HOPE. 

We are CHRISTIANS not because of our social "niceties" and "political correctness"...

NO!

We SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE and we BARE WITNESS TO CHRIST IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON!

WE FOLLOW HIM, HE WHO IS THE FULLNESS OF LIFE, TRUTH AND BEAUTY WHICH IS EVER ANCIENT YET EVER NEW!

Taizé Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours/Divine Office for the Youth of today)

9 February 2014

If the above link does not work please try the ones below

http://www.taize.fr/en_article681.html 

Alleluia 18 + Psalm 118

Hebrews 11:1-10

Nothing can ever

El Senyor (In the Lord / Meine Hoffnung / Pan jest mocą)

Bro Roger Schütz: A key word from my youth...

http://vimeo.com/29658022

LETTER FROM TAIZE: 

LEAPING OVER WALLS OF SEPERATION

http://www.taize.fr/IMG/pdf/121-en.pdf 

(http://www.taize.fr/IMG/pdf/120enletter.pdf)

Short Writings from Taize:

ICONS

http://www.taize.fr/IMG/pdf/cahiers16en_web.pdf 

Are the differences between Christians a problem or an asset? 

Meditation by Brother Alois: Two Commitments to Live Intensely

Meditation by Brother Alois: A Spirit of Strength, Love and Self-Control 

Meditation by Brother Alois: A Dynamism of Solidarity 

Meditation by Brother Alois: God needs witnesses 

Meditation by Brother Alois: Reconciliation lights a fire in our life 

Meditation by Brother Alois: The Church of Reconciliation at 50 

Meditation by Brother Alois: The anniversary of Brother Roger’s death 

Meditation by Brother Alois: Saying a lifelong yes to God 

Weekly meditation by Brother Alois: Christ brings us together beyond all borders 

Brother Alois 2013: Four Proposals to Uncover the Wellsprings of Trust in God

FROM OUR BRETHREN... A CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION THAT IS IN UNION WITH US IN OPPOSING THE FALLACIES OF THE RH/RP "LAW" AND THE OTHER DEATH BILLS: “Striving Together to Revive God’s Work”

“Striving Together to Revive God’s Work”

February 9, 2014

The 5^th Sunday of the Christian Season of Epiphany

Habakkuk 3: 2 - 6; 17 – 19/Psalm 27: 1-5/1 Corinthians 2: 1 – 11/Matthew 5: 13 – 20

His Excellency

The Most Reverend Ariel Cornelio P. Santos D.D.

Auxiliary Bishop and Locum Tenens

of the 

Archdiocese of Manila

the 

National Church in the Philippines 

and the 

Territorial Church of Asia

International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church

In the Fifth Sunday of Epiphany, the Season challenges us to manifest the Christ in us.  As Christ is in us, we are to manifest Him to the world following what He did when He was still an infant where He revealed Himself to the world.  This is our calling.  We must understand Christ is in us. Don't listen to anything negative that says, “Is it indeed Christ in you?  Did you remember what you did last week, yesterday or on your way to Church?”  Christ is in you, by grace!  It doesn’t depend whether you are good or bad; He chose to be in you.  We can shun Him and quell Him or quench Him, but our calling is to understand that He has chosen to abide in us.  As our response, we recognize that and we let it be shown.

Christ is the light of the world.  In the gospel, He says, "You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world.”  It is by virtue of Christ who is the Light of the world being in us.  We are not to be arrogant to say, “I am the light of the world.”  The reason we are the light of the world is because Christ is in us.  This is how we can be the light of the world.  We are commanded to let that light shine.

Christ said first, “You are the salt of the earth.”   Salt preserves from corruption, from perishability and from death. Salt is a seasoning.  It enhances flavor.  Saltiness is a figure for life and the meaning to it.  We have been given this life, this saltiness so we can be a seasoning and an enhancer to life.  Otherwise, the light of the world would be tasteless, dead, and would not have meaning to it.  God has given to us the saltiness to enhance the dead life that needs to be given life.   It is an active compound not passive. 

Jesus said, “As salt has become tasteless or loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”   We must not lose that saltiness because Christ is in us.  The very salt, the very light of God is in us.  If we have become tasteless and have lost our saltiness, then, we are no longer good for anything and we are trampled underfoot by men. This is the exact opposite of our calling.  We are to be in dominion.  We are to be the head, not the tail.  We are to be active, not passive.  We are to rule, not to be trampled underfoot by men, but to be in dominion and not in a yoke of bondage.  We are to walk on water, not drown, and not to be under circumstances. 

When Christ ascended on high, He took us with Him and seated us at the right hand of God the Father far above all rule, authority, and dominion.   We must understand this.  It is by grace and by God’s doing through the work of Christ.

The world salvation in Biblical context also means preservation.  We preserve as the salt.  We are not the savior; we are instruments of the Savior in preserving and in spreading salvation and preaching the good news of salvation.  We have an active role for the life of the world. All of creation looks to us.  Romans says that all of creation longs for the revelation of the sons of God

because we are the steward that God entrusted the world with.   In the movie, “Lion King,” all the animal kingdom looked to the lion king not because he is god but because he is the leader.  All of creation looks to us because man has been crowned by God with leadership.  He doesn’t act independently of God, he acts because He was commissioned, blessed, and empowered by God. The very breath of God was breathed into Him – no one else.

What privilege, honor and exalted position God has given to man.  We are this channel of life.  God's life, His saltiness, passes through us to the entire world to all of creation.  The saltiness was given by God.  Every Easter vigil, we light the candle.  Where does the fire come from?  It is from the Christ's candle.  All of our light comes from the Christ’s candle.  The instruction given to us is to take our light figuratively from the Church which we received from Christ and we take that to the world.  This is exactly our mission.  We are the salt and the light of the world. 

Jesus said in one instance in John 8, "I am the light of the world."  In chapter nine, He said, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”   Now, He says to us, “You are the light of the world.”  We light our candle so that we can be a light to the world.  Jesus said, “While I am in the world…”  Where is Jesus now?  Physically, He is at the right hand of the Father.  Symbolically, He is in us.  The reason He is in us is so that we can be the light of the world because He gave us His light.

There is one song a decade ago that expresses a feeling and an emotion which we can understand.  It prays to God to, “Take me out of the dark, my Lord.”  We don’t want to be in darkness.  While we understand the feeling, more importantly, we understand the mission.  In the first place, why were we given light and made to be light?  Do you at noon turn the light in your house?   When do you turn on your light?  It is at night when it is dark and where it is dark. Have you ever heard your ceiling or lamp light complain to you, “Take me out of here. It is too dark to let my light shine.”   If they did that, what would we tell them?  “It is exactly why I need you here because it is dark.  Otherwise I can’t read my pocketbook or see what I am doing. 

Where darkness is, there is where light is needed.  It is a calling.  In the gospel where Jesus was starting His ministry, Matthew quoted the Old Testament and said, “The land of Zebulun and the land of Napthali are a people sitting in darkness and they saw a great light.”  The people were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death and a light dawned upon them.   Jesus’ prayer was not, “Take me out of the dark, I don’t want to be there.”  He could have told the Father, “Let Me just stay here.  This is cloud nine.  Why do I have to go down there? It is dark.” The Father said, “It is exactly why you have to go down there because the people are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.”

The earth was formless and void; it was a wasteland. There was emptiness.  There was a very great need.  In the beginning, God spoke and said, "Let there be light."  Light when there was darkness and where it was dark. The earth was formless and void that darkness was over the surface of the waters of the earth.  There was emptiness; formlessness; waste; need.

At the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus struggled about facing death, He said, “Now, My soul is troubled because I am facing opposition, the cruelty in the hands of man, the very people I created. What do I say, “Father, deliver Me from this hour?  But it is precisely for this hour and purpose that I was sent.  It is because there is darkness.”  He did not ignore the trouble of His soul.  What overwhelmed Him was the very reason that He was sent – not necessarily for His comfort but to fill a need.  “There is darkness. I am light and I am going where darkness is.”

Jesus said, “Take Me out of the dark.”  He said, “For this hour, I was sent and so rather than take Me out of the dark, Father, glorify Your Name through letting My light shine in this darkness.  Is it trouble?  Yes, it is for Me but more for them and they need Me. I go because I understand My mission. I understand the need.” 

Jesus commands, “Let your light shine.”  My question is:  where else?  Is it where there is brightness?  What did Jesus say on the Mount of Transfiguration where Peter wanted to stay where the bright light was?  Peter said, “Let us hang out here. Why don’t we build a tabernacle for You.  Let us stay here for a while.”  Peter went down from the Mountain, taking the light with them. 

Light is not needed where there is light and bright. We have been commissioned not for what we can get, but for what we can give.  Christ is in us.  Christ the light of the world, the life of the world.  He is what we can give to those in need of Him.  The wisdom of the world will tell you, “I give as little as I can so I can get as much as I can.”  Very little investment for the maximum profit.   This is not what Christianity is.

Habakkuk said, "Even though the fig tree does not blossom, even there is no cattle in the stalls, even though the vine fails, even though there is no harvest in the field, yet I will exalt the Lord and I will please Him and rejoice in Him.”   Why are we Christians?  For what is in it for us or for service?  Why are you in Church?  Why are you serving in Ministry?  For what you can get or for what you can give?  If it is for what we can get, then we are hirelings.  If we are after the pay, then we are hirelings and we are Pharisees.  Jesus said, “You are to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees.  The Pharisees love greetings in the market place and people bowing to them and giving them the best seats.  They have their reward in full.  They will get no other reward. You gloat in the greeting of the people and that is all that you can get.”  This is not us.  Jesus said, “We are to surpass that.  We are to be better than that.” 

When I was five or six years old, I was in my parent’s room jumping on their bed while they were preparing to go somewhere.  They asked me, “What do you want to be when you are grown up?”  I answered them with a question, “Well, what pays the most?”  Both said, “No, that is not the basis of your career or vocation.  You give not for what you can get.  Where you are needed, that is where you should be.”   We are not to be like the world.  The wisdom of the world is to take advantage of the people.  One would say, “What is in it for me? I will preach in your church but I fly First Class. I only stay in Five-Star hotels and this is my fee.”  Before even asking, “What is the need in your church?  What is your direction?  How can I be of help?  How can I minister to them?”  It is not what pays the most but what one can give. Our attitude should be that even if there is nothing, we are to serve.

The three Hebrew children followed God and would not bow before the statue of Nebuchadnezzar and they were placed in a fiery furnace.  Before they were thrown in the fire, they said, “God will deliver us. Just in case He doesn’t, we still will follow Him.  We will obey His commands.  We will not bow before a statue because we only bow before God even if there is nothing waiting for us. We will follow.  We obey only God.”

There is a very popular TV evangelist who was asked a question and his answer was very controversial.  A husband who had a wife with Alzheimer’s disease asked this evangelist, “Is it okay that I divorce my wife because she is not the same person I married.  I don’t know her. The person that I used to know is who I decided to marry.  Now, this person that I am married to, I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me.”  The answer given to him by the evangelist was, “It is okay.  You do not sin if you divorce her.” 

To me, my question is:  did you get married for what you can get out of this person that you said you know before?  She had a weakness; now, she is in need and she needs you.  Are you in the marriage for what you can get?  Maybe you are saying, “I can’t get anything from her anymore.”  Understand this:  her need is you, right now.  She is in a very big need. Do you drop her?  Do you abandon her? 

One Christian, two weeks after getting married realized one thing and said, “I realized that marriage is not for me.” What he meant was, "It is for your spouse. It is about what you can give to them not what is in it for me.”  Marriage is for one giving.  Ephesians 5 said, “Jesus gave Himself up for the Church to whom He is married.”    This is what it is all about! It is what you give, not what you get.  Even though the fig tree does not blossom, even though you don’t get a reward for service, you will serve God. Love, marriage is a decision; a commitment. It is in sickness, in health; for richer, for poorer; till death do us part. Commitment is not based on reward but on what I decide to do from this day forward and forever. It is the giving up of ourselves. 

St. Paul’s dilemma in one of his epistles said, “I understand that I have a short time left upon earth. I so want to be with God for in His presence is fullness of joy.  It is bliss.  It is unexplainable, but I am torn between going and staying for your sake.”  He said, “I am staying. Forget my bliss.  Forget my eternal happiness.  I am staying because you need me.”  It is not the fact that he meets the need that he doesn’t get the joy over that.  He does, but he was selfless and he thought of the people who need him rather than his own sake.

 One American President made a popular statement:  ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.  Ask not what your church can do for you; ask what you can do for your church.  Ask what you can do for the world. Ask what you can do for your nation.   Don’t look to government.  We should be wiser now than the government.  Ask what we can do for our nation despite conflicts.   If you go to a job interview, you don’t dare ask, “How much are you going to pay me?” In fact, you are not the interviewer. It is the interviewer who asks the question and one of the questions is, “What can you do for our company? Why would we hire you? 

What can we do as salt, light and life?  A fireman doesn’t say, “It is too hot in there. I am not going in there.”  He has the hose; the water that can kill the fire.  Does he ask, “Why do I have to go there?”  He has the water and if he doesn’t want to go there, he doesn’t have to be a fireman.  Be in the navy where there is water all around.  This is exactly why we are needed – where there is fire, emptiness, darkness, need and no flavor or no meaning to life.

The Psalm said, “Despite the conflicts and oppositions, one thing I ask of the Lord, ‘That also I  shall seek and pursue and be committed to do is that I will dwell in the house of the Lord to serve Him all the days of my life.”  It is a commitment because God is not our “yaya,” our valet, our butler.  God is not our servant but our Master.   We choose to serve Him.  We are supposed to be bondservants, bondslaves.  A bondslave is he who has been freed yet chose to come back and serve his master forever. It is not what he is going to get.  It would be probably be better for him and more promising for him because he has freedom but he chose to serve and submit himself to the master.

We chose to serve God when we could be free because we realize that there is need and we have the answer because God gave us the answer.  Rewards will always be there because God is a God of abundance and He is every blessing us. Don’t worry about the rewards. It is that our attitude should always be like Habakkuk.  He says, “Even if there is nothing for me, yet, I will serve the Lord.”

 That my friends is the way it is in the kingdom of God.

LET US CONTINUE OUR REFLECTION 

WITH

HIS EMINENCE, THE MOST REVEREND LUIS ANTONIO "CHITO" GOKIM TAGLE D.D.

ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA, 

CARDINAL OF HOLY MOTHER CHURCH

AND 

VENERABLE PRIMATE

OF THE PHILIPPINES

THROUGH

THE WORD EXPOSED

JUNIPER

SCRUTATIO SCRIPTURAE

JUNIPER

A Scrutatio for the 5th Sunday of the CHRISTIAN SEASON OF EPIPHANY

Readings from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer

Habakkuk 3:1-6 and 17-19 / Psalm 27 / 1 Corinthians  2:1-11 / Matthew 5:13-20

Readings for the Pauline/Vatican II Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Isaiah 58:7-10 / Psalm 112:4-5, 6-7 and 8-9. / 1 Corinthians  2:1-5 / Matthew 5:13-16

Readings for the Tridentine Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Introit: Psalm 97:7-8 and 1

Epistle: Colossians 3: 12-17

Gradual and Alleluia: Psalm 102:15-16 and 97:1

Gospel

Matthew 13:24-30

Offertory:

Psalm 118:16-17

Communion Antiphon: Luke 4:22

For today's reflection, let me share with you the story of the "RENOWNED JESTER OF THE LORD"...

Brother Juniper, a companion of St. Francis of Assisi:

One of the most chosen disciples and first companions of St Francis was Brother Juniper, a man of profound humility and of great fervour and charity, of whom St Francis once said, when speaking of him to some of his companions: “He would be a good Friar Minor who had overcome the world as perfectly as Brother Juniper.” Once when he was visiting a sick brother at St Mary of the Angels, he said to him, as if all on fire with the charity of God: “Can I do thee any service?” And the sick man answered: “Thou wouldst give me great consolation if thou couldst get me a pig’s foot to eat.” Brother Juniper answered immediately: “Leave it to me; thou shalt have one at once.” So he went and took a knife from the kitchen, and in fervour of spirit went into the forest, where many swine were feeding, and having caught one, he cut off one of its feet and ran off with it, leaving the swine with its foot cut off; and coming back to the convent, he carefully washed the foot, and diligently prepared and cooked it. Then he brought it with great charity to the sick man, who ate it with avidity; and Brother Juniper was filled with joy and consolation, and related the history of his assault upon the swine for his diversion. Meanwhile, the swineherd who had seen the brother cut off the foot, went and told the tale in order, and with great bitterness, to his lord, who, being informed of the fact, came to the convent and abused the friars, calling them hypocrites, deceiver, robbers, and evil men. “Why,” said he, “have you cut off the foot of my swine?” At the noise which he made, St Francis and all the friars came together, and with all humility made excuses for their brother, and, as ignorant of the fact, promised, in order to appease the angry man, to make amends for the wrong which had been done to him. But he was not to be appeased, and left St Francis with many threats and reproaches, repeating over and over again that they had maliciously cut the foot off his swine, refusing to accept any excuse or promise of repayment; and so departed in great wrath. And as all the other friars wondered: “Can Brother Juniper indeed have done this through indiscreet zeal?” So he sent for him, and asked him privately: “Hast thou cut off the foot of a swine in the forest?” To which Father Juniper answered quite joyfully, not as one who has committed a fault, but believing he had done a great act of charity: “It is true, sweet Father, that I did cut off that swine’s foot; and if thou wilt listen compassionately, I will tell thee the reason. I went out of charity to visit the brother who is sick.” And so he related the matter in order, adding: “I tell thee, dear father, that this foot did the sick brother so much good, that if I had cut off the feet of a hundred swine instead of one, I verily believe that God would have been pleased therewith.” To whom St Francis, in great zeal for justice, and in much bitterness of heart, made answer: “O Brother Juniper, wherefore hast thou given this great scandal? Not without reason doth this man complain, and thus rage against us; perhaps even now he is going about the city spreading this evil report of us, and with good cause. Therefore I command thee by holy obedience, that thou go after him until thou find him, and cast thyself prostrate before him, confessing thy fault, and promising to make such full satisfaction that he shall have no more reason to complain of us, for this is indeed a most grievous offence.” At these words Brother Juniper was much amazed, wondering that any one should have been angered at so charitable an action, for all temporal things appeared to him of no value, save in so far as they could be charitably applied to the service of our neighbour. So he made answer: “Doubt not, Father, but that I shall soon content and satisfy him. And why should there be all this disturbance, seeing that the swine was rather God’s than his, and that it furnished the means for an act of charity?” And so he went his way, and coming to the man, who was still chafing and past all patience, he told him for what reason he had cut off the pig’s foot, and all with such fervour, exultation and joy, as if he were telling him of some great benefit he had done him which deserved to be highly rewarded. The man grew more and more furious at his discourse, and loaded him with much abuse, calling him a fantastical fool and a wicked thief. Brother Juniper, who delighted in insults, cared nothing for all this abuse, but marvelling that any one should be wrath at what seemed to him only a matter of rejoicing, he thought he had not made himself well understood, and so repeated the story all over again, and then flung himself on the man’s neck and embraced him, telling him that all had been done out of charity, and inciting and begging him for the same motive to give the rest of the swine also; and all this with so much charity, simplicity, and humility, that the man’s heart was changed within him, and he threw himself at Brothers Juniper’s feet, acknowledging with many tears the injuries which by word and deed he had done to him and his brethren. Then he went and killed the swine, and having cut it up, he brought it, with many tears and great devotion, to St Mary of the Angels, and gave it to those holy friars in compensation for the injury he had done them. Then St Francis, considering the simplicity and patience under adversity of this good Brother Juniper, said to his companions and those who stood by: “Would to God, my brethren, that I had a forest of such Junipers!"

Brother Juniper was so full of pity and compassion for the poor, that when he saw anyone poor or naked he immediately took off his tunic, or the hood of his clock, and gave it to him. The guardian therefore laid an obedience upon him not to give away his tunic or any part of his habit. A few days afterwards, a poor half-naked man asked an alms of Brother Juniper for the love of God, who answered him with great compassion: “I have nothing which I could give thee but my tunic, and my superior has laid me under obedience not to give it, nor any part of my habit, to anyone. But if thou take it off my back I will not resist thee.” He did not speak to a deaf man; for the begger forthwith stripped him of his tunic, and went off with it. When Brother Juniper returned home, and was asked what had become of his tunic, he replied: “A good man took it off my back, and went away with it.” And as the virtue of compassion increased in him, he was not contented with giving his tunic, but would give books, or clocks, or whatever he could lay his hands on, to the poor. For this reason the brethren took care to leave nothing in the common rooms of the convent, because Brother Juniper gave away everything for the love of God and to the glory of his name.

One Christmas-day Brother Juniper was in deep meditation before the altar at Scesi, the which altar was right fairly and richly adorned; so, at the desire of the sacristan, Brother Juniper remained to keep guard over it while he went to his dinner. And as he was absorbed in devout meditations, a poor woman came asking an alms of him for the love of God. To whom Brother Juniper made answer: “Wait a while, and I will see if I can find anything for thee on this grand altar.” Now there was upon the altar an exceedingly rich and costly frontal of cloth of gold, with silver bells of great value. “These bells,” said Brother Juniper, “are a superfluity”; so he took a knife and cut them off the frontal, and gave them to the poor woman out of compassion. The sacristan, after he had eaten three or four mouthfuls, bethought him of the ways of Brother Juniper, whom he had left in charge; and began exceedingly to doubt whether, in his charitable zeal, he might not do some damage to the costly altar. As soon as the suspicion entered his head, he rose from the table, and went back to the church, to see if any of the ornaments of the altar had been removed or taken away; and when he saw that the frontal had been cut, and the little bells carried off, he was troubled and scandalised beyond measure. Brother Juniper, seeing that he was very angry, said to him: “Be not disturbed about those little bells, for I have given them to a poor woman who had great need of them, and here they were good for nothing but to make a pompous display of worldly vanity.” When the sacristan had heard this, he went with all speed to seek the woman in the church, and throughout the city; but he could neither find her nor meet with anyone who had seen her. So he returned, and in great wrath took the frontal, and carried it to the general, who was at Assisi, saying: “Father general, I demand justice on Brother Juniper, who has spoilt this hanging for me, the very best I had in the sacristy. See how he has destroyed it by cutting away all the silver bells, which he says he has given to a poor woman!” And the general answered him: “It is not Brother Juniper who has done this, but thine own folly; for thou oughtest by this time to have known his ways: and I tell thee, I marvel only that he did not give away the whole frontal. Nevertheless, I will give him a sound correction for this fault.” And having called the brethren together in chapter, he sent for Brother Juniper, and, in the presence of the whole community, reproved him most severely concerning the said bells; and, waxing wrathful as he spoke, he raised his voice till it became hoarse. Brother Juniper cared little or nothing for these words, for he delighted in reproaches, and rejoiced when he received a good humiliation; but his one thought in return was to find a remedy for the general’s hoarseness. So when he had received his reproof, he went straight to the town for flour and butter, to make a good hasty-pudding, with which he returned when the night was far spent; then lighting a candle, he went with his hasty-pudding to the door of the general’s cell and knocked. The general came to open it, and seeing him with a lighted candle and a pipkin in his hand, asked: “Who is there?” Brother Juniper answered him: “Father, when you reproved me to-day for my faults, I perceived that your voice grew hoarse, and I thought it was from over-fatigue. I considered therefore what would be the best remedy, and have had this hasty-pudding made for you; therefore I pray you eat of it, for I tell you that it will ease your throat and your chest.” “What an hour of the night is this.” said the general, “to come and disturb other people!” And Brother Juniper made answer: “See, it has been made for you; I pray you eat of it without more ado, for it will do you good.” But the general being angry at the lateness of the hour, and at Brother Juniper’s persistence, answered him roughly, bidding him go his way, for at such an hour he would not eat. Then Brother Juniper, seeing that neither persuasions nor prayers were of any avail, said: “Father, since you will not eat the pudding which was made for you, at least do this for me: hold the candle for me, and I will eat it.” Then the general, being a devout and kindly man, seeing the piety and simplicity of Brother Juniper, and how he had done all this out of devotion, answered: “Well, since thou will have it so, thou and I will eat together.” And so the two of them ate this hasty-pudding together, out of an importunate charity, and were refreshed by their devotion more than by the food.

(Taken from the book entitled "Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi", Part II, Chapters I, IV and V)

Brother Juniper's child-like simplicity and zeal teaches us to SEE CHRIST IN OTHERS...

May we SEE HIM WOUNDED, BROKEN, CRUCIFIED in the face of our neighbors... 

May we serve HIM faithfully, especially in HIS DISTRESSING DISGUISE, in the very FACE OF THE POOREST OF THE POOR...

For in so doing, we are TRANSFORMED FROM GLORY TO GLORY INTO THE IMAGE AND STATURE OF OUR RESURRECTED LORD AND MOST BLESSED REDEEMER