"For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that I came from God."
REFLECTION
It is good to tell the truth. When we see or hear something bad, do we speak up? We are told about the Spirit of Truth. We implant small seeds of love and these seeds begin to grow and God makes them grow and flowers will blossom with His tender care.
Our saint of the day, St Bernardino (little Bernard) exemplifies this.
St Bernardino was orphaned at a young age. While a student at the University of Siena he took charge of a hospital during a plague. He cared for his bedridden aunt til she died.
At the age of 22, he became a Franciscan. Influenced by St Vincent Ferrer, St Bernardino was an energetic prolific preacher drawing many crowds. He promoted peace, worked hard, was disciplined, and devoted his time for the unification of the Church. He travelled and preached vice and virtue, punishment and glory.
He had a keen intuition of the needs of people. With boundless energy and joy, he preached for hours in one place, moving on to other locations. Yes, his sermons were soooo long but oh soooo good.
With great devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, he devised a symbol--IHS--the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek.
The Bernardines are known for their care of the sick, preaching and studying. Their source of energy was not St Bernardino but the joy of being in the presence and Spirit of the Lord.
"The last degree of love is when He gave Himself to us to be our Food; because He gave Himself to be united with us in every way." ~ Bernardino of Siena
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