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Jesus carries our burdens with us
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Traudel
Apr 17, 2023, 4:00:46 AM4/17/23
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Jesus carries our burdens with us
Jesus also says his "burden is light". There's a story of a man who
once met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his back. "That's a
heavy load you are carrying there," exclaimed the man. "He ain't
heavy; he's my brother!" responded the boy. No burden is too heavy
when it's given in love and carried in love. When we yoke our lives
with Jesus, he also carries our burdens with us and gives us his
strength to follow in his way of love. Do you know the joy of resting
in Jesus' presence and walking daily with him along the path he has
for you?
<<>><<>><<>>
April 17th - Bl. Clare of Pisa, Widow
(also known as Thora or Theodora of Pisa)
d. 1419
THIS Bl. Clare was the child of Peter Gambacorta, who became virtually
head of the Pisan republic, and she was born in 1362; Bl. Peter of
Pisa (Gambacorta junior; June 17) was her brother, 7 years older than
herself. To provide for the future of his little daughter, familiarly
known as Thora (short for Theodora), her father betrothed her to Simon
de Massa, a wealthy youth of good family, although the child was only
7 years old. Yet, young as she was, she was wont to slip off her
betrothal ring during Mass and murmur; “Lord, thou knowest that I
desire no love but thine”. At the age of 12 when she was sent to her
husband’s home, she had already begun to practise severe
mortifications. Her mother-in-law was kind, but upon discovering that
Thora was over-lavish in her gifts to the poor she ceased to allow her
access to the household stores. Her charitable instincts thus thwarted
in one direction, the young bride joined a band of ladies who
ministered to the sick, and she took as her special charge a poor
woman afflicted with a distressing form of cancer. Thora’s wedded life
was of short duration: she and her husband fell ill of an epidemic
disease which cost him his life. As she was only 15 her relations set
about arranging another marriage, but she was old enough to assert
herself, and her decision to remain a widow was strengthened by a
letter from St. Catherine of Siena, whose acquaintance she had made
when that holy woman had Visited Pisa.
As a first step, Thora cut off her hair and distributed her fine
clothes to the poor--much to the indignation of her mother and
sisters-in-law. Then, secretly, through the intermediary of a servant,
she arranged for admission into the Poor Clares. Stealing out of the
house she made her way to the convent, where she was immediately
clothed with the habit, assuming at the same time the name of Clare,
by which she was from thenceforth to be known. The following day her
brothers appeared at the gates to demand her return, and the terrified
nuns let her down over the wall into the hands of her kinsmen, who
took her home in disgrace. Although she was kept a prisoner in her
father’s house for five months, neither threats nor starvation could
shake her determination.
At last Peter Gambacorta relented, and not only allowed his daughter
to enter the Dominican priory of Holy Cross, but promised to build
another house of the order. She now became associated with Mary
Mancini, also a widow, and destined like herself to be raised to the
altars of the Church. The teaching of St. Catherine of Siena strongly
influenced the two women who, when they were transferred to
Gambacorta’s new foundation in 1382, succeeded in inaugurating
observance of their rule in its primitive austerity. This house, in
which Bl. Clare was at first sub-prioress and then prioress, became
the training centre for many saintly women who afterwards carried the
reform movement to other Italian cities. To this day, enclosed
Dominican nuns are often spoken of in Italy as “Sisters of Pisa”. They
led a contemplative life of prayer, manual work and study: “Never
forget”, said Bl. Clare’s director, “that in our order very few have
become saints who were not likewise scholars.”
During the rest of her life, the holy prioress was beset by financial
difficulties in connection with her convent, which required
alterations and extensions. Nevertheless, when a large sum of money
came into her hands with the option of using it for the priory, she
preferred to give it for the establishment of a foundling hospital.
Perhaps, however, her most conspicuous virtues were her sense of duty
and her forgiving spirit--both of which she displayed to a heroic
degree in exceptional circumstances. Gambacorta, in the midst of his
efforts to maintain peace in the city, was treacherously slain by
Giacomo Appiano, whose fortune he had made and whom he had refused to
mistrust; two of his sons were done to death by the miscreant’s
supporters, whilst a third escaped, closely followed by the enemy, to
the door of Bl. Clare’s convent at which he knocked for admission.
Recognizing that her first duty was to protect her daughters from the
mob, the prioress refused to break the enclosure. Her brother was hewn
down at the threshold, and the shock brought on her a severe illness.
But Clare could forgive so completely that she invited Appiano to send
her a dish from his table that she might seal her forgiveness by
partaking of his bread. In later years, when his widow and daughters
were reduced to great straits, she opened the convent doors to receive
them.
Bl. Clare was a great sufferer towards the close of her life, and as
she lay on her death-bed with outstretched arms, she was heard to
murmur, “My Jesus, here I am upon the cross”. Just before she died,
however, her face was illuminated with a radiant smile and she blessed
her daughters absent as well as present. She had reached the age of 57
years. Her cultus was confirmed in 1830.
There is an Italian life by a contemporary, herself a nun, which has
been translated into Latin and printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April,
vol. ii, and there are also a few of Clare’s letters, which have been
published.
Bible Quote:
The wise men will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be
occupied in the prophets. [2] He will keep the sayings of renowned
men, and will enter withal into the subtilties of parables.
[Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 39:1-2] DRV
Saint Quote:
I am not capable of doing big things, but I want to do everything,
even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God.
--Saint Dominic Savio
<><><><>
O Mary, My Hope!
By St John Damascene (675-749)
Father and Doctor of the Church
I salute you, O Mary!
you are the hope of Christians.
Receive the prayer of a sinner,
who loves you tenderly,
honours you in a special manner
and places in you the whole hope
of his salvation.
From you I have my life.
You reinstate me in the grace of your Son:
you are the sure pledge of my salvation.
I beseech of you, therefore, to deliver me
from the burden of my sins,
dispel the darkness of my mind,
banish from my heart the love of the world,
repress the temptations of my enemies
and so rule my whole life, that by your means
and under your guidance,
I may obtain everlasting happiness in heaven.
Amen
Jesus also says his "burden is light". There's a story of a man who
once met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his back. "That's a
heavy load you are carrying there," exclaimed the man. "He ain't
heavy; he's my brother!" responded the boy. No burden is too heavy
when it's given in love and carried in love. When we yoke our lives
with Jesus, he also carries our burdens with us and gives us his
strength to follow in his way of love. Do you know the joy of resting
in Jesus' presence and walking daily with him along the path he has
for you?
<<>><<>><<>>
April 17th - Bl. Clare of Pisa, Widow
(also known as Thora or Theodora of Pisa)
d. 1419
THIS Bl. Clare was the child of Peter Gambacorta, who became virtually
head of the Pisan republic, and she was born in 1362; Bl. Peter of
Pisa (Gambacorta junior; June 17) was her brother, 7 years older than
herself. To provide for the future of his little daughter, familiarly
known as Thora (short for Theodora), her father betrothed her to Simon
de Massa, a wealthy youth of good family, although the child was only
7 years old. Yet, young as she was, she was wont to slip off her
betrothal ring during Mass and murmur; “Lord, thou knowest that I
desire no love but thine”. At the age of 12 when she was sent to her
husband’s home, she had already begun to practise severe
mortifications. Her mother-in-law was kind, but upon discovering that
Thora was over-lavish in her gifts to the poor she ceased to allow her
access to the household stores. Her charitable instincts thus thwarted
in one direction, the young bride joined a band of ladies who
ministered to the sick, and she took as her special charge a poor
woman afflicted with a distressing form of cancer. Thora’s wedded life
was of short duration: she and her husband fell ill of an epidemic
disease which cost him his life. As she was only 15 her relations set
about arranging another marriage, but she was old enough to assert
herself, and her decision to remain a widow was strengthened by a
letter from St. Catherine of Siena, whose acquaintance she had made
when that holy woman had Visited Pisa.
As a first step, Thora cut off her hair and distributed her fine
clothes to the poor--much to the indignation of her mother and
sisters-in-law. Then, secretly, through the intermediary of a servant,
she arranged for admission into the Poor Clares. Stealing out of the
house she made her way to the convent, where she was immediately
clothed with the habit, assuming at the same time the name of Clare,
by which she was from thenceforth to be known. The following day her
brothers appeared at the gates to demand her return, and the terrified
nuns let her down over the wall into the hands of her kinsmen, who
took her home in disgrace. Although she was kept a prisoner in her
father’s house for five months, neither threats nor starvation could
shake her determination.
At last Peter Gambacorta relented, and not only allowed his daughter
to enter the Dominican priory of Holy Cross, but promised to build
another house of the order. She now became associated with Mary
Mancini, also a widow, and destined like herself to be raised to the
altars of the Church. The teaching of St. Catherine of Siena strongly
influenced the two women who, when they were transferred to
Gambacorta’s new foundation in 1382, succeeded in inaugurating
observance of their rule in its primitive austerity. This house, in
which Bl. Clare was at first sub-prioress and then prioress, became
the training centre for many saintly women who afterwards carried the
reform movement to other Italian cities. To this day, enclosed
Dominican nuns are often spoken of in Italy as “Sisters of Pisa”. They
led a contemplative life of prayer, manual work and study: “Never
forget”, said Bl. Clare’s director, “that in our order very few have
become saints who were not likewise scholars.”
During the rest of her life, the holy prioress was beset by financial
difficulties in connection with her convent, which required
alterations and extensions. Nevertheless, when a large sum of money
came into her hands with the option of using it for the priory, she
preferred to give it for the establishment of a foundling hospital.
Perhaps, however, her most conspicuous virtues were her sense of duty
and her forgiving spirit--both of which she displayed to a heroic
degree in exceptional circumstances. Gambacorta, in the midst of his
efforts to maintain peace in the city, was treacherously slain by
Giacomo Appiano, whose fortune he had made and whom he had refused to
mistrust; two of his sons were done to death by the miscreant’s
supporters, whilst a third escaped, closely followed by the enemy, to
the door of Bl. Clare’s convent at which he knocked for admission.
Recognizing that her first duty was to protect her daughters from the
mob, the prioress refused to break the enclosure. Her brother was hewn
down at the threshold, and the shock brought on her a severe illness.
But Clare could forgive so completely that she invited Appiano to send
her a dish from his table that she might seal her forgiveness by
partaking of his bread. In later years, when his widow and daughters
were reduced to great straits, she opened the convent doors to receive
them.
Bl. Clare was a great sufferer towards the close of her life, and as
she lay on her death-bed with outstretched arms, she was heard to
murmur, “My Jesus, here I am upon the cross”. Just before she died,
however, her face was illuminated with a radiant smile and she blessed
her daughters absent as well as present. She had reached the age of 57
years. Her cultus was confirmed in 1830.
There is an Italian life by a contemporary, herself a nun, which has
been translated into Latin and printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April,
vol. ii, and there are also a few of Clare’s letters, which have been
published.
Bible Quote:
The wise men will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be
occupied in the prophets. [2] He will keep the sayings of renowned
men, and will enter withal into the subtilties of parables.
[Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 39:1-2] DRV
Saint Quote:
I am not capable of doing big things, but I want to do everything,
even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God.
--Saint Dominic Savio
<><><><>
O Mary, My Hope!
By St John Damascene (675-749)
Father and Doctor of the Church
I salute you, O Mary!
you are the hope of Christians.
Receive the prayer of a sinner,
who loves you tenderly,
honours you in a special manner
and places in you the whole hope
of his salvation.
From you I have my life.
You reinstate me in the grace of your Son:
you are the sure pledge of my salvation.
I beseech of you, therefore, to deliver me
from the burden of my sins,
dispel the darkness of my mind,
banish from my heart the love of the world,
repress the temptations of my enemies
and so rule my whole life, that by your means
and under your guidance,
I may obtain everlasting happiness in heaven.
Amen
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