SAINT OF THE DAY -- April 19 - Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna
April 19
Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna(d. 1260)
Luchesio's generosity to the
poor knew no bounds, so that one day there was not even a loaf of bread for
his own household. When still another poor man came, he asked his wife to look
whether there was not something they could find for him. That vexed her and
she scolded him severely; his mortifications, she said, had well nigh crazed
him, he would keep giving so long that they themselves would have to suffer
hunger. Luchesio asked her gently to please look in the pantry, for he trusted
in Him who had multiplied a few loaves for the benefit of thousands. She did
so, and the marvel of it! The whole pantry was filled with the best kind of
bread. From that time on Buonadonna vied with her husband in doing
good.
Luchesio and his wife Buonadonna wanted to follow St. Francis as a
married couple. Thus they set in motion the Secular Franciscan Order.
Luchesio
and Buonadonna lived in Poggibonzi where he was a greedy merchant.
Meeting Francis—probably in 1213—changed his life. He began to perform
many works of charity.
At first Buonadonna was not as
enthusiastic about giving so much away as Luchesio was. One day after
complaining that he was giving everything to strangers, Buonadonna
answered the door only to find someone else needing help. Luchesio
asked her to give the poor man some bread. She frowned but went to the
pantry anyway. There she discovered more bread than had been there the
last time she looked. She soon became as zealous for a poor and simple
life as Luchesio was. They sold the business, farmed enough land to
provide for their needs and distributed the rest to the poor.
In
the 13th century some couples, by mutual consent and with the Church’s
permission, separated so that the husband could join a monastery (or a
group such as Francis began) and his wife could go to a cloister.
Conrad of Piacenza and his wife did just that. This choice existed for
childless couples or for those whose children had already grown up.
Luchesio and Buonadonna wanted another alternative, a way of sharing in
religious life, but outside the cloister.
To meet this desire,
Francis set up the Secular Franciscan Order. Francis wrote a simple
Rule for the Third Order (Secular Franciscans) at first; Pope Honorius
III approved a more formally worded Rule in 1221.
The charity of
Luchesio drew the poor to him, and, like many other saints, he and
Buonadonna seemed never to lack the resources to help these people.
One
day Luchesio was carrying a crippled man he had found on the road. A
frivolous young man came up and asked, "What poor devil is that you are
carrying there on your back?" "I am carrying my Lord Jesus Christ,"
responded Luchesio. The young man immediately begged Luchesio’s pardon.
Luchesio
and Buonadonna both died on April 28, 1260. He was beatified in 1273.
Local tradition referred to Buonadonna as "blessed" though the title
was not given officially.
Comment:
It
is easy to mock the poor, to trample on their God-given dignity. Mother
Teresa of Calcutta often referred to poverty as Christ’s "distressing
disguise." Since it is so easy to make people feel unwanted—the poor,
the sick, the mentally or physically handicapped, the aged, the
unemployed— resisting that temptation indicates the level of generosity
in our lives. If the followers of Francis see Christ in the poor as
Luchesio and Buonadonna did, they enrich the Church and keep it
faithful to its Lord.
Quote:Francis
used to say, "Whoever curses a poor man does an injury to Christ, whose
noble image he wears, the image of him who made himself poor for us in
this world" (1 Celano, #76).
Prayer:
O God, who in the
plentitude of Thy mercy didst call Blessed Luchesio to penance and didst
permit him to shine by the merits of piety and liberality, grant us at his
intercession, that in imitation of his example, we may produce worthy fruits
of penance, and through works of piety and charity merit forgiveness. Through
Christ or Lord. Amen.
Source: American Catholic Organization
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Do you:
feel afraid of your partner much of the time?
avoid certain topics fear of angering your partner?
feel that you can’t do anything right for your partner?
believe that you deserve to be hurt or mistreated?
wonder if you’re the one who is crazy?
feel emotionally numb or helpless?
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have a bad and unpredictable temper?
hurt you, or threaten to hurt or kill you?
threaten to take your children away or harm them?
threaten to commit suicide if you leave?
force you to have sex?
destroy your belongings?
Does your partner:
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