Father, creator of unfailing light, give that same light to those who call to you. May our lips praise you; our lives proclaim your goodness; our work give you honor, and our voices celebrate youfor ever.
Photo of Pinterest
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16
Mother Angelica, A Remarkable Life, 1923-2016
hugs n’ blessings for a legacy of light shown upon The Eternal Word.
In Biblical Times, many people rode on donkeys. Even Kings rode on donkeys! Donkeys were, it seems, to be the choice of folks that did not want to bring attention to themselves while traveling. They were considered to be a very common mode of carrying supplies or people and most families owned at least one.
According to an Internet Bible reference there are 142 references to the donkey in the New International Version. Donkey references in New American Standard version, 140. The New Living Translation version has 147 references to donkey. There are 155 references to donkey in the New Life Version of the Bible.
Like most people, the donkey has gone unnoticed by me in Scripture. How did a creature, who was so present in very pivotal moments of Christ’s life, remain so common to me that I barely offered it a glance, in thought or appreciation? From today forward my heart holds a new space for the dear donkey, who so gently carried the tabernacle of God safely to where He needed to go, so that we may partake in the glory of salvation.
As we head into this Holy Week of Easter I have knit together a story of this under-stated creature, which is... part legend, part story-book lore (written by others,) and a sprinkle of my own added words mixed in. I do hope you enjoy it…and may you discover the hidden beauty of the under-stated in your own life as you head into the Easter Season. Is there joy to be found in what you most times consider common? Is there salvation offered to you in what has gone unnoticed?
Clip—clop—clip—clop, went Small Donkey’s hooves as he s-l-o-w-l-y climbed the last hill. Mary rode on Small Donkey’s back. Joseph walked by Small Donkey’s side. Mary and Joseph were very, very tired. Small Donkey was tired too. They had come a long, long way. From the top of the hill, O happy sight, they saw the lights of Bethlehem!
Joseph walked faster now. Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop, hurried Small Donkey, down the hill, through the gate, into the little town, where they would rest and sleep.
At the inn, Joseph asked for a room. “We have no room,” said the innkeeper. “Is there no place where we can sleep?” asked Joseph. “Only in the stable. . . . “
Donkey didn’t mind sharing his sleeping quarters with the gentle man and his wife, who rode atop his back the entire way. He had grown very fond of them as they made this long journey together. He sensed the woman was very tired and in need of comfort. The straw would be warm for them all to rest upon and perhaps, if the child they spoke of during their journey to Bethlehem was born, there would be an empty manger in the stable to lay the newborn child in.
Jans tot Sint Geertgen, 1490
And when the newborn Child arrived that night, the common donkey could not imagine loving anything more.
The donkey knew the Heavens felt just the same as the brightest star (ever seen) shown down upon the baby swaddled in the manger. And all the animals in the stable bowed their heads down together when the gentle couple whispered for the first time the child’s name, “Jesus.”
Photo courtesy of Pinterest
One dark night when Joseph was asleep, and Mary was asleep, and Baby Jesus was asleep, an angel whispered to Joseph. “Get up quickly,” he said. “Take Mary and the Baby and flee into Egypt. The wicked king is trying to find the Baby to do Him harm. Stay in Egypt until I tell you it is safe to return.” The king was angry because the people were saying that some day Baby Jesus would be king.
Joseph got up quickly. He told Mary what the angel had said. He went to an area in the stable for Small Donkey. Mary wrapped Baby Jesus snug and warm. Joseph helped Mary on Small Donkey’s back. He handed her Baby Jesus. Clip-clop, clip-clop, went Small Donkey’s hooves as they went out through Bethlehem’s gate, and turned down the road toward Egypt.
Excerpt from, Etta Degering, The Story of Small Donkey (My Bible Friends)
“Rest on the Flight into Egypt” Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Years later…
Photo Courtesy Pinterest
A poor farmer near Jerusalem owned a donkey he had inherited, which was far too small to do much work at all. He felt that he couldn’t afford to feed a worthless animal like this, one that could do him no good whatsoever, so at the supper table he told his family that he was going to kill the donkey.
His children, who loved the little donkey, begged him to sell it rather than harm it. But the farmer said, “It’s wrong to sell an animal that can’t do a good day’s work.”
Then his oldest daughter suggested, “Father, tie the donkey to a tree on the road to town, and say whoever wants it may take it for nothing.” And the next morning, that’s what the farmer did.
Soon, two men approached and asked if they could have the donkey. “It can carry almost nothing,” the farmer warned them.
“Jesus of Nazareth has need of it,” replied one of the men. The farmer couldn’t imagine what a great teacher would want with such a worthless donkey, but he handed it over.
The men took the animal to Jesus, who Jesus seemed to have a strong affection toward, as He stroked the grateful donkey’s face and then mounted it and rode away. And both man and beast were grateful to God to be reunited, as they made an important journey together once again.
So it was on the day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus led his followers into the city of Jerusalem riding on the back of a small, common donkey.
The donkey so loved his gentle master that he later followed him to Calvary. Grief-stricken by the sight of Jesus on the cross, the donkey turned away but couldn’t leave. It was then that the shadow of the cross fell upon the shoulders and back of the donkey, and there it stayed. All donkeys have borne the sign of the cross on their backs since that very day.
Adapted version of an Excerpt from Sue Weaver, The Donkey Companion (Storey Publishing, 2008).
Photo Courtesy Pinterest
hugs n’ blessings as we endeavor to love The Master as much as the common little donkey this Easter Season!
I woke up this morning and began my usual routine.
Wash my face. Brush my teeth. Saunter downstairs for my morning Spark drink. Feed Helen. And then I begin morning prayer, where Helen often joins me with one of her many friends.
Helen & Minion ask, “Is it time to pray?”
This is what I expect to do tomorrow too. And the next day. And the day after that.
Every once in awhile though there is a surprisetucked in there, something just a little ‘different’ that I’m not expecting. Like Cuppycake using the last of the toothpaste and I must search the linen closet for a fresh box. Or maybe I’ll chose a different flavor of Spark than my normal Pink Lemonade. Today I was surprised when I sat down to pray, as I opened my Breviary to recite Morning Prayer & discovered that today was the Feast of Saint Katherine Drexel! Immediately a smile stretched across wide enough to reach my heart and I was transported in mind & spirit to when I’d visited her in Philadelphia during my pilgrimage to see Pope Francis for the World Meeting of Families!
The Catholic Church assigns one date out of the year for each and every canonized saint — known as the saint’s feast day. The saints are remembered on their individual feast days with special mention, prayers, and possibly a scripture reading.
A saint’s feast day can be the day of their actual death or a day assigned by the Church. Typically, the Church only assigns a day when the day of death is unknown or if several other saints are already assigned to that day. The number of canonized saints, however, is greater than the number of days in a calendar year. So two or more saints often share the same feast day. Because overlap often occurs, and the Church isn’t sure of the date of death of some saints, other calendar dates are sometimes chosen — such as the day that the saint was canonized. -What is a Catholic Saints Feast Day for Dummies.
Katharine Mary Drexel was born Catherine Mary Drexel in Philadelphia on November 26, 1858, the second child of investment banker Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah Langstroth. Her family owned a considerable fortune. She was born into a tradition of philanthropy. Her uncle was the founder of Drexel University.
Katharine Mary Drexel
When her family traveled to the Western states in 1884, Katharine Drexel saw the plight and destitution of the native Americans. She wanted to do something specific to help. Thus began her lifelong personal and financial support of numerous missions and missionaries in the United States.
In January 1887, the sisters were received in a private audience by Pope Leo XIII. They asked him for missionaries to staff some Indian missions that they had been financing. To their surprise, the Pope suggested that Katharine become a missionary herself! Although she had already received marriage proposals, after consulting her spiritual director, Drexel decided to give herself to God, along with her inheritance, through service to American Indians and Afro-Americans.
Sr. Katharine
She took the name Mother Katharine, and joined by thirteen other women, soon established a religious congregation, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The order continues to pursue their original apostolate, working with African-Americans and Native Americans in 21 states and Haiti.
The process of canonization for Katharine was begun by John Cardinal Krol who officially introduced her Cause in Rome in December 1964. On January 26, 1987, Mother Katharine was declared Venerable. On October 1, 2000, in Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City, during the solemn celebration of Mass, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Mother Katharine Drexel, “Saint Katharine Drexel.”
And today I was delightfully surprised to be whisked back to my time spent at her National Shrine and the very blessed experience to have prayed in The Shrine area, which holds the entombed remains of Saint Katharine Drexel. During the World Meeting of Families the National Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel attracted more than 200 large busloads of people! Thousands visited the Motherhouse grounds, the Mission Center and Shrine. (Imagine how surprised the Sisters & Volunteers were when, at one point that Weekend, one bus was scheduled and SIX buses arrived instead and 50 persons poured out of each!)
The National Shrine of Saint Katharine Drexel & The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament’s Motherhouse.
The banner which hung in Saint Peter’s Square during Saint Katharine’s Canonization.
Saint Katharine’s former student, Mary! She frequently volunteers at the Shrine now & was one of the over 200 volunteers wearing chartreuse shirts helping to be sure everything went smoothly! (Mary & her family were invited to the Vatican when Blessed Katharine was Canonized.)
I can only imagine how Sr. Patricia, Sr. Agnes, and Sr. Annette, all Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, must have been smiling today too! And oh what a joy it was to have prayed, even so far away, this same prayer with all of them too…
Prayer
Ever-loving God, you called Saint Katharine Drexel to teach the message of the Gospel and to bring the life of the Eucharist to the African American and Native American peoples.
By her prayers and example, enable us to work for justice among the poor and the oppressed, and keep us undivided in love in the eucharistic community of your Church.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Saint Katharine Drexel, pray for us!
hugs n’ blessings for all the surprises that life often brings us!
hugsnblessings 