Today's Minute Meditations celebrates St. Francis and "perfect joy." 🙌
June 25, 2024
Hello John,
Today's Saint of the Day is Blessed Jutta of Thuringia, a noblewoman of Prussia who, after experiencing personal loss, dedicated her life to serving the poor and marginalized. Her selfless acts of compassion and unwavering commitment to helping those in need truly exemplify the power of kindness and empathy.
Jutta's story serves as a reminder that each of us has the ability to make a positive impact in the lives of others, no matter our circumstances. As someone who values the spirit of giving and community support, I found her story deeply moving and inspiring.
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Today’s patroness of Prussia began her life amidst luxury and power but died the death of a simple servant of the poor.
In truth, virtue and piety were always of prime importance to Jutta and her husband, both of noble rank. The two were set to make a pilgrimage together to the holy places in Jerusalem, but her husband died on the way. The newly widowed Jutta, after taking care to provide for her children, resolved to live in a manner she felt was utterly pleasing to God. She disposed of the costly clothes, jewels, and furniture befitting one of her rank, and became a Secular Franciscan, taking on the simple garment of a religious.
From that point her life was utterly devoted to others: caring for the sick, particularly lepers; tending to the poor, whom she visited in their hovels; helping the crippled and blind with whom she shared her own home. Many of the townspeople of Thuringia laughed at how the once-distinguished lady now spent all her time. But Jutta saw the face of God in the poor and felt honored to render whatever services she could.
About the year 1260, not long before her death, Jutta lived near the non-Christians in eastern Germany. There she built a small hermitage and prayed unceasingly for their conversion. She has been venerated for centuries as the special patron of Prussia.
Reflection
Jesus once said that a camel can pass through a needle’s eye more easily than a rich person can enter God’s realm. That’s pretty scary news for us. We may not have great fortunes, but we who live in the West enjoy a share of the world’s goods that people in the rest of the world cannot imagine. Much to the amusement of her neighbors, Jutta disposed of her wealth after her husband’s death and devoted her life to caring for those who had no means. Should we follow her example, people will probably laugh at us, too. But God will smile.
Blessed Jutta of Thuringia is the Patron Saint of:
“Write down, Brother Leo, ‘This is perfect joy.’ For above all the graces that Christ gives his friends is the gift of the Holy Spirit who enables us to conquer self and willingly bear any pain, injury, insult, and hardship for love of Jesus Christ. We cannot glory in any other gift but this because it is not ours but his. That is why the Apostle Paul says, ‘May I not boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…’ (Galatians 6: 14).
This story is a favorite among Franciscans. It reveals the source of true Franciscan joy born of humility in imitation of the Poor Crucified Christ. It is what makes a true fraternity a place of healing and forgiveness instead of a place of security, closed to the poor and forsaken, to those who knock uninvited and unwanted at the friary door. In a true fraternity the friars have learned to see their own brokenness, their jealousy, their desire for power. And they have learned to forgive that in themselves and in each other. They learn to laugh at themselves and tell each other that this is perfect joy. Only then does their fraternity become a healing place for others. And that is why Francis takes Brother Illuminato with him to try to bring Christ’s peace to Damietta in the midst of the Fifth Crusade, two brothers with no illusions about themselves going where they know ahead of time that perfect joy is waiting for them. And this is how it came to pass that two Lesser Brothers entered and were accepted, after much infliction of perfect joy from the Crusaders and the sultan’s guards, into the presence of Sultan Malik al-Kamil. This is the way peacemaking happens. This is what St. Francis says in word and deed.
Those that are ready to break negative patterns and experience greater internal freedom will find bold hope and transformation in this insightful book.
Recently, I visited a friend’s home in Michigan for a summer break, as I’ve done almost every summer for the past 25 years. This year was the same—early morning coffee and conversation, hikes in the nearby woods, trips to a favorite boutique. But it was decidedly different: The house’s well had malfunctioned, so several times a day we filled seven-gallon jugs with water from neighbors’ taps to dump into toilets and to wash our dishes. We all reflected, somewhat guiltily, that this inconvenience was a way of life for many people across the globe.
Pray
Creator God, Thank you for the blessing of clean and abundant water in my life. Help me not take for granted the miracles of your creation, including water, every drop of which is “holy water.”
Act
What changes in your daily routine can you make to conserve water? Take shorter or less frequent showers? Dump leftover water from travel bottles into house plants? As you become more conscious of the preciousness of water, consider carrying bottled water in your car to share with homeless people soliciting donations.
Today’s Pause+Pray was written by Elizabeth Bookser Barkley, PhD. Learn more here!
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