For Macro Mondays: Humility- Foot washing.

via Instagram bit.ly/2gzUYuQ

Self Portrait. Jomblang Cave, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Actually, I should call this photo "Gratitude and Humility," since I was grateful just to hit the ground and be alive after a 40m + rappel into the depths of this beautiful cavern. For about 15 minutes after the rappel, I couldn't hold my camera straight since my arms and legs were shivering like a nude man in an Alaskan winter. Yes, I'm EXTREMELY afraid of heights. Oh the lengths I'll go to to get a photo : ) Unfortunately, my wife was sick this day and could not accompany me on this adventure. Even, so, I must say I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, and humble at the sight of God's incredible artwork. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

This photograph was taken with a sufficiently long lens to avoid disturbing my two subjects and to avoid giving offence as I would not normally choose to photograph a homeless person on the street. However, this was a situation that I could not resist because of the tenderness and the humility to be found in their interaction.

At a great deal of effort and even MORE humility I found a POSTERIOR view of my republiCON congressman. I spare no expense, NO expense whatsoever, in bringing this shot from the dark dregs of the underground to all my loyal followers on Flickr! It brings new meaning to the term of "Potomac Porker." Personally I'd think that with all of his filthy lucre, the chump would have a touch more fashion sense. He is PURE Crisco - "Fat in the can." I am sorry for and must apologize for any "naughty bits" that are included in the "found" image. Monty said that; I said pucker up! I am not a particularly good tailor.

 

Our town got gerrymandered into the Fourth District so they could dilute the effect of the educated university crowd. This stupe declared war on the endangered species list and that's more than just the dwindling middle class and mankind itself. "The only good animals are those being farmed!" That's been pretty darn obvious since his dad was caught frolicking in the pig pen! He certainly includes all of the constituents as animals to be farmed for profit.

 

I posted this shot as an "action" shot because this is as active as the congressional right ever gets: we all know he has poor taste but on the other hand... he might taste pretty good. Their best work is accomplished at the trough. It's clear that we need time clocks installed in congress and they need to report to the internet. We are getting hog swill for our money. If the congressional salaries are issued by the Executive Branch, it's clear they should be curtailed! Let's all pray for a 3:10 trip BACK to Yuma!

   

 

Church of the Nativity is a Chrisitan holy site, marking the birthplace of Jesus. Built in 530AD, it is one of the oldest surviving Christian churches.

 

The Door of Humility is a small rectangular entrance to the church, created in Ottoman times to prevent looters driving their carts inside and to force visitors to dismount from their horses before entering this holy place.

 

The pointed arch of an earlier Crusader doorway can still be seen above the current door. The outline of the original square entrance can also be seen above these two smaller doors.

 

The Door of Humility, Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank, Israel (Saturday 27 November 2010 @ 2:50pm).

31th Jan :SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER M. BIANCHI,The Apostle of Naples

(Relic of Saint Francis Bianchi's bones at my family's chapel)

  

Preface

If our love for St. Francis Bianchi does not impair our judgment, we can affirm that all the requisites desirable in a saint for our modern days are to be found in him. His life of union with Christ reveals his ascetic soul. Besides possessing the gift of miracles, he also experienced the torment of excruciating suffering and the joy of exhilarating ecstasy. Being a positive and efficient individual, endowed with the admirable faculty of easy adjustment to given situations, he knew how to pass with ease from contemplation to action. Even in the final years of his life, he preserved intact the perennial youth of his heart, reflected in his particular fondness for the youth.

  

He manifested an inspiring kindness toward the poor; still, he did not disdain the rich whom he guided and directed in the ways of God. He befriended the simple and, at the same time, kept a close contact with the nobility. With his intelligence and perception, being accepted in both the academic and simple circles, he was keenly aware of all the problems which troubled his time.

  

He underwent the mortifications of an anchorite, that is, the mortifications of one who has withdrawn from the world for the sake of religious seclusion. At all times, however, he radiated a joy which even during the martyrdom of his illness knew no shadow.

  

He possessed the heart and sensitivity of a true artist. He might have carved a lasting niche for himself in this field had not the thirst of his soul induced him to embrace the road of the apostolate.

  

The historical vicissitudes of his tempestuous times found an attentive and watchful spectator in him. With the eye of a prophet, he followed the rapid ascent of Napoleon and predicted his defeat and decline right up to that eventful year 1815, which saw the disappearance of the Napoleonic greatness.

  

Agonizing in spirit, he accompanied the sorrowful Way of the Cross of Pius VII and foretold the great sorrows that the Pope was to endure, as well as the peaceful triumphs which were to follow. King Charles Emmanuel IV and the Venerable Clotilde of Savoy, during the humiliating time of their exile, were to find a consoling angel in him.

  

He raised his hand in benediction against the fury of Vesuvius and amazingly stopped the flow of the devastating lava.

  

During a century highlighted with anger and vengeance, and ravished with hatred, he preached by his own example the word of love which gives light and life to the world. Not one event of his day found him either uninterested or indifferent. He had his eyes keenly fixed upon all the questions of his day and he evaluated each individual with the care and prudence befitting a man of God.

  

In a historical period which was defined as barren, superficial and anti-mystic, he renewed the vigorous ardor and fervent impetus of the greatest lovers of Christ.

  

By renouncing the world, he dominated it with humility mixed with the wonder of a living love for sacrifices. He was a man of his times, but above all he was a saint. Thus, he was truly a complete man, a saint who still today generates a strong, kind, and irresistible fascination among his devotees, those wishing to be close to him just as those who were fortunate enough to experience the joy of his nearness on the streets of Naples which were the site of his sleepless apostolate.

  

I. A BEAUTIFUL DAWN

St. Francis Xavier M. Bianchi was born in Arpino on December 2, 1743. The child was baptized on the following day. His parents, Carlo and Faustina Morelli, gave him the names of Francis, Xavier, Philip, and Justinian.

  

Very little has been preserved of his childhood. He grew up in an environment which was warm with faith and resplendent with his father’s honesty and his mother unusual virtues. From his mother he learned tender love for God and neighbor, and this made him amiable to all. It was from her example that he developed a special love for the sick and the poor. His mother transformed a section of their home into a small hospital where several beds were always prepared for the sick that lacked assistance. If any of them died in her home, she provided for their funeral and burial with care and generosity.

  

II. THE DIVINE CALL

When he was twelve years old, he was entrusted to the Barnabites who in Arpino directed the school of Ss. Charles and Philip. He was barely thirteen years of age when, among the students of theology and philosophy, he was chosen to compose and deliver a short sermon on the patronage of the Virgin Mary. The brief but well-placed pauses punctuating his discourse surprised his listeners. There was vigor and enthusiasm in all that he said. Above all, there was his great love for the sorrowful and good Mother Mary.

  

His companions nicknamed him Panciotto (chubby) because of his rosy and plump features. “Here comes Panciotto!” they could be heard whispering in the places where groups gathered. With this, the vulgar conversations in which they might have been engaged came to an abrupt end.

  

Meanwhile, a mysterious and irresistible voice was drawing the young man toward the Sanctuary. God had placed his hand upon him and was saying to him, “You are mine!” On March 26, 1757 the Bishop, who eight years before had made him a soldier of Christ at his confirmation, cut his hair and traced the tonsure upon his head. It was the young man’s desire, however, to serve God in a religious family. Although he was a disciple of the Barnabites, he gave his preference for the Society of Jesus. He was directed in this choice by his devotion to St. Francis Xavier, whose name he bore.

  

He made his plans known but there was opposition by his family. They agreed to his becoming a priest but not to be a religious. It was for this reason that in order to dissuade him, they sent Francis to the diocesan seminary in Nola (outside Naples). Francis obediently bowed his head in assent. God, however, was to guide his elect in a manner very different from that envisioned by humans.

  

III. IN THE SHADOW OF THE SANCTUARY

God’s will manifested itself more clearly at Nola. It was here that Francis met St. Alphonsus Liguori who had come to preach a spiritual retreat to the seminarians. It was this saintly man who very decisively induced the wavering Francis to embrace religious life.

  

His parents insisted he put aside his clerical habit and go to Naples to enroll in the University law school. Through friends who had been ill informed, he was directed to a certain rental house which continually resounded with disorderly shouts, loud singing, and vulgar words. The meek and saintly young man clearly and simply described the director of this house as a “fine deceitful fellow.” He was so uneasy here that he became ill. Things even went so far that the money his family had given him to buy books was stolen. “It was then,” the young man wrote to his uncle, a priest “that I became visibly disturbed.” It was his uncle who induced Francis’ parents to permit him to return home. Confronted with his firm and decisive determination, all opposition fell. A short while later he was able to leave for the Novitiate of the Barnabites in Zagarolo. He had a letter from the Superior of the Barnabites in Arpino who wrote of him, “He is healthy with a good complexion. He is of sanguine nature and has a happy disposition. He presents a fine appearance and is of good stature. He gives every indication of being skillful and prudent. He has excellent natural talents; he writes well. He is humble, decisive, and not scrupulous. He frequents the Sacraments.”

  

The year of his Novitiate passed quickly, and the Fathers were able to testify that he was “a young man of the highest saintly habits, very devout, and humble, possessing the greatest talents. He gives clear indication of becoming a learned religious who will be a credit to the Congregation and a great asset to his fellow men.”

  

On December 28, 1763 Francis swore fidelity to his God in the perpetual observance of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The voice of obedience decreed that he immediately leave for Macerata where he was to study philosophy and science. He remained there from January, 1764 until October of the following year, at which time he experienced difficulty with his lungs. In the spring of 1766 he journeyed first to Arpino and then to Naples, where he began his study of theology, and where he fully recovered.

  

He completed his sacred studies in Naples at St. Charles alle Mortelle. On January 25, 1767 he was ordained a priest. Four days later the newly ordained ascended the altar to offer his first Eucharistic Sacrifice.

  

IV. A PRIEST AND A TEACHER

In September 1767 he was assigned as a professor of humanities at the school of the Barnabites in Arpino. Even from his teaching desk, commenting upon Latin and Italian authors, he knew how to radiate Christ. He was more intent on educating than on instructing, on forming hearts than on informing minds. He knew how to enrich the teaching of the usual subjects with a personal touch. Above all, he never forgot that he was a priest; consequently, he alternated his ministry with his teaching, especially by preaching the Word of God.

  

In the autumn of 1769 he was sent by his Superiors to the College of St. Charles in Naples as a professor of philosophy and mathematics to the Barnabite seminarians. Because of the unfair laws in the Kingdom of Naples, the Barnabites had been compelled to combine both Novices and Scholastics within the same dwelling.

  

On the evening of September 18, 1771, St. Francis was in his cell with Domenico Ceraso, one of two novices. Together, they were very devoutly alternating the recitation of the Psalms. The other novice, Francis M. Castelli, was in agony at his father’s house in St. Anastasia, where the Superiors had sent him in the hope he might regain his health. Unexpectedly, God had manifested to St. Francis what was happening at St. Anastasia. In spirit he saw the suffering Castelli giving his last breath. Interrupting the recitation of the Psalms, he said to Domenico, “Let us kneel and recite a De Profundis. At this very moment Francis has passed away.” The news which arrived the following day confirmed the truthfulness of the Saint’s vision.

  

V. THE SUPERIOR

God was already beginning to manifest His marvels in the newly-ordained priest who with youthful dedication had committed himself to his two-fold ministry in the Church and in the school.

  

In April 1773, Fr. Bianchi was elected Superior of St. Mary in Cosmedin at Portanova. He got there at a critical moment: the civil authorities were arbitrarily interfering in the election of his predecessor. He had much to suffer and was compelled to face great difficulties. With kindness and gentleness, however, he was able to win the people to himself.

  

There were abuses which had to be removed. With prudence and long-suffering patience, he was successful in eradicating them, making some concessions in form so as to obtain results in substance. There were times when the work was oppressing. In his correspondence dating from this period, frequent reference to this fact can be found. “I must get out of the maze of business…I am extremely busy”, “I am filled to the brim with bothersome matters…,” “It is very hot, and there is always something to be done…” At all times, however, one could see how practical this man (who had always lived among books) was given the assurance with which he handled the thorniest matters.

  

VI. JOURNEYING THROUGHOUT ITALY

The General Chapter of the Order assembled in Milan in April 1779. St. Francis, together with the Superior of St. Charles alle Mortelle was appointed to represent the Neapolitan Province. Before starting off, he visited Sister Mary Frances of the Five Wounds, the Neapolitan saintly mystic. His spiritual daughter gave him words of wisdom and suggested that he record daily in detail what happened during the trip. This would keep him from the dangers of dissipation.

  

He left Naples on March 25 and reached Milan on April 23. The fame of his doctrine and sanctity had preceded him, and the aristocratic intelligentsia gathered around this religious man who was barely thirty-five years of age at that time. He was elected secretary of the Chapter. The new Superior General, Fr. Scipione Peruzzini, wanted him as companion during his visits to the communities in Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, and Romagna. He thus traveled from Turin to Genoa, from Pavia to Mantua, proceeding as far as Venice. From there he arrived in Bologna where the Barnabites had four houses. Finally, after a seven-month absence, he returned to Naples to take up once more the administration of the Portanova community.

  

Thoughts of Sister Mary Frances of the Five Wounds had accompanied him throughout his itinerary, and the protection of this saintly woman had been a great help to him in some moments of danger. There was, for instance, the time when he was traveling in a public carriage with Father General and others. Twilight had vanished. The coachman, who was tired and sleepy, did not realize he was dangerously close to the edge of a precipice. Suddenly the earth which had become soft owing to recent rains, gave way. The carriage overturned and the occupants fell headlong into the deep hollow. While cries of fear rose from the travelers, the Saint invoked Sister Mary Frances. Truly it was an act of Providence that all were unhurt. Yet how could they find their way to the road again in that darkness? And above all, how could they ever recover the carriage and horses? Francis invoked once more Sister Mary Frances’ help, and suddenly a young man on a horse appeared. Himself descending into the hole, he guided their way with a beaming torch, thus making their climbing out easier. With his strong arms he helped the horses out too, and recovered the carriage. He then guided the travelers to a nearby lodging-house. It just so happened, at that moment young missionaries were departing, thus leaving the rooms free for the newly-arrived. Francis was to learn later from Sister Mary Frances that the Archangel Raphael had once again visibly exerted his mission as Patron of Travelers.

  

VII. SAINT MARY FRANCES OF THE FIVE WOUNDS

It is time to say a few words about Sister Mary Frances of the Five Wounds and her relationship with St. Francis. Francis used to say that God had bestowed three graces upon him: baptism, religious vocation, and his acquaintance with Sister Mary Frances.

  

This saintly woman exerted a tremendous and decisive influence in Francis’ life. The friendship between these two great souls dates from 1777: Francis was 34 years of age then, and Sister Mary Frances was already 62 years of age. Their spiritual relationship which was to last uninterrupted for 14 years, soon became a true exercise of perfection. In this kind of friendship often the function and roles of teacher and disciple blend together.

  

From Francis Xavier’s very first visit, God spoke to Sister Mary Frances’ heart and revealed to her what was Francis’ way toward holiness. Fr. Bianchi never was her confessor, yet he was always told of all the gifts with which God had enriched her soul.

  

On Fridays she would relive the pains of Christ’s Passion, and often Francis was allowed to witness the wondrous repetition of the pains of the suffering Christ. He experienced then a saintly jealousy of that soul that was allowed to suffer because she was united with Christ in a most perfect love. At times, the saintly Sister who had a prophetic gift predicted things that were to happen. She laid her hand on his knee once and said, “Oh, how these legs will suffer!” Another time she foretold him the unjust Napoleonic suppression of Religious Orders.

  

While celebrating Mass, St. Francis noticed more than once that the wine he had poured in the chalice had visibly diminished and that the small particle of the Sacred Host which he had allowed to rest in the chalice according to rite had disappeared. At first he ascribed these facts to distraction or even to imagination. But he had to convince himself that the fact was true, having a mysterious explanation: Sister Mary Frances, who was ill, was nevertheless present in spirit when he celebrated the Divine Sacrifice and received Holy Communion from angelic hands. From that time on, Francis often placed besides the large host a small particle which would disappear wondrously after Consecration to satisfy the Saint’s hunger for Jesus.

  

It often happened that while the two were engaged in a sacred conversation, Sister Mary Frances would suddenly fall in ecstasy. The Archangel Raphael appeared visibly to her and invisibly to St. Francis who could perceive a heavenly fragrance. It also happened that while Francis was speaking of the miseries he was hoping to alleviate and of the little money he had to do this, rolls of golden coins wondrously appeared at the foot of the Crucifix. One day the Saint dared ask his privileged friend to obtain permission from God to contemplate the temporary sufferings of Purgatory. Sister Mary Frances started praying and shortly afterwards Francis could see the purging souls. While he was still alive, God revealed to Francis the future glory of his faithful servant, and allowed him to see her soul ascending to heaven in a radiant beauty beyond human imagining.

  

Such friendship between two great souls is not unusual. We just need remember St. Jerome and St. Paul; St. Francis of Assisi and St. Claire; St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross; St. Frances de Chantal and St. Francis de Sales. St. Francis Xavier M. Bianchi owes his ascent to the summit of perfection to his encounter with St. Frances of the Five Wounds.

  

VIII. "MY DEARLY BELOVED SOLITUDE"

It was St. Mary Frances' example that had St. Francis turn back to contemplation to which he had been irresistibly attracted prior to giving himself to study and ministry. Even in 1766, when he was barely 23 years of age, he wrote from Naples: "My present stay at St. Charles alle Mortelle College is very much to my liking. I feel like in a hermitage, which is exactly what I desire; that is to say, the dearly beloved solitude."

  

Thus, little by little the Saint began to live a new experience. Avoiding a sudden break with the past, he started retiring from all that he considered imperfect and distractive in order to form a perfect union with God. He gave up all his books and no longer had conversations with the intellectuals whom he had befriended: he just wanted to know all about sanctity. He chose for himself the smallest and most solitary cell.

  

This change in him could not pass unobserved by the others, nor could it escape criticism and comments. Seeing him so eagerly united and absorbed in God, his spiritual children were edified, and they lessened their visits to his cell until they stopped at all. Some envied him, calling him blessed and regretting that he deprived them of his presence. Yet there were people who called him strange, scrupulous and monomaniacal, who played him bad tricks, such as making loud noises in front of his door as if they wanted to tear it down, to distract or try him; and this they repeated for several days. As was God's will, his patience and kindness won over the thoughtlessness of his confreres; and there was peace again.

  

Yet there was no peace in his soul. He too experienced the situation described by St. John of the Cross as "when God plummets intellect into dark night, desire into barrenness, memory into void, and heart into bitterness." Besides, he was not free from demonic persecutions. Satan persisted in his repeated attacks upon him, but he had found an expert antagonist in Francis. The Saint knew this kind of battle from the time when, as a young confessor and in preference to many others, he had been chosen by his Archbishop as an exorcist of evil spirits. It seemed as if the enemy wanted to vindicate himself for this very reason. One day, while he was leaving the house to visit St. Mary Frances, the Saint felt that a bottle was hurled against him, although he saw no one nearby. Another time, while he was going out of his room, the Saint felt himself being raised into the air and then furiously thrust into the ground.

  

Another story is told of a possessed person who, whenever he felt the Saint was near, would start to shout, "Here he is; here he is!" even though he had not seen him yet. The poor wretched man one day seemed not inclined to heed the command made by the Saint in the name of God. Finally, though, he obeyed, and fell at the Saint's feet, struggling.

  

The persecutions of Satan also took on this particular form they called infestation. During the night, as if Satan wanted to vindicate for that man mentioned above, the Saint was tormented with illusions. The Saint tried to resist them all. This continued for a long time, until it was necessary for the Saint to sprinkle his room with holy water and even to resort to exorcism.

  

God was testing his servant through human and diabolic trials and found him strong and faithful as he was getting ready for his great mission as a true guide of souls.

  

IX. THE APOSTLE OF NAPLES

In his silence, in his solitude, in his prayers and penances, Francis had become deeply imbued with God; prayer had taken precedence over his work. From then on, prayer became his ministry. He spoke of souls to God. And from then on, he would speak of God to souls. For fifteen years the Apostle dwelt in the desert of mysticism. From then on, the contemplator would start his battle.

  

He did not need to go too far for his proper apostolic field. His mission was to be in Naples. The long extenuating hours in the confessional, the correspondence, his hours with the penitents who would knock at the door of his cell, the mysterious and piercing pains in his legs which would be his secret martyrdom were to be the backbone of his wondrous life. He was to be a confessor above all.

  

From the very beginning all kinds of individuals would gather outside his confessional: courtesans, merchants, hawkers, and people who abounded in the less affluent quarters of the city. The first penitents urged others to do the same, and so their number even more increased. He must have realized very early that it was just as much a martyrdom to confess God before men than to confess men before God. After the humble and poor, there came the great and the learned who got attracted by his doctrine: bishops, prelates, professors, doctors, lawyers, and knights were among the penitents. Each time he listened to his penitents, it was as though he was dwelling in God, and he replied in God. The penitents would leave his cell edified, and would murmur to themselves, "He is a saint. Certainly, he is a saint."

  

The testimony of Francesco Ferrini is sufficient to speak for all the others. When he was still a young man, he was attracted to Francis' fame. One day Ferrini decided to visit the Saint at Portanova. The Saint was not at home when he got there, so he had to wait for him by his cell. Finally, the Saint arrived. Ferrini saw him at the far end of the corridor. A light radiated about the Saint in the semi-darkness. "He is a new John the Baptist!" the young man thought, and kept looking at him in amazement and reverential fear. At first he thought it was only an illusion or just a light reflecting upon the Saint. However, watching him more closely, he realized the splendor really came from him, and the closer Francis approached him, the more the light radiated. Ferrini stood there as if in ecstasy, and the Saint invited him with an enchanting smile to enter his cell. Once inside, the Saint placed his hand upon the visitor's head and bade him to kneel. Ferrini’s heart throbbed so violently that all he could say were the words prescribed for benediction. Ferrini felt that something extraordinary was taking place within him. He was overwhelmed with a celestial sweetness, his mind was enlightened, and he experienced a fervor such as he had never felt before. When his confession ended, Francis began to speak: they were simple, ordinary words, yet they had great inward eloquence. His face shone with an ever brighter light, a mysterious light that hit the penitent's eyes, yet did not bother him. On the contrary, he felt his heart soothed.

  

Ferrini experienced this more than once, and so did many others who met the saint: they could notice the tremor of his entire person, the abundant tears, and the difficulty in speech caused by the mysterious emotion that pervaded him. His heartiness had the better over the most hardened and coldest hearts. What a joy it was for his spiritual children to be dismissed always by these words: "You will be with me in Paradise," or "Be happy, for Paradise is ours!"

  

X. HIS SPIRITUAL FAMILY

Little by little Francis' cell became a true school of perfection. The spiritual family that had originated before he retired to silence and solitude was flourishing, being attracted to him as if to a brilliant star; his disciples longed for sanctity, and in mutual attraction they all approached God as in a bright constellation.

  

On July 25, 1801 Francis' disciple, Fr. Tommaso Fiore, died. Fr. Fiore had been one of the most esteemed spiritual guides in Naples. All his penitents turned to St. Francis. Among them was the Venerable Battista Lossa, who left his office in the tribunal after thirty years of faithful and honorable service to become a beggar for the orphans, an almsgiver to the poor, and a comforter to the sick. St. Francis used to say of him: "He is a saint who ought to be venerated on the altars. He is another St. John of God." Venerable Lossa was also the first one to know of Francis' long-standing pains in his legs.

  

Other good lay people who ought to be remembered and who were very close to the Saint were: Lelio Rivera, who was Francis' companion in his visits to Christ in the most neglected and abandoned churches; Joseph Bonocore, who several times had his spiritual father as a guest in his villa; the goldsmith Francis La Ragione, a simple soul who was to learn from God what were the peculiar merits of his servant; and the painter Paul Di Maio, whose death Francis mourned in tearful verses and whose picture he kept and venerated in his cell. Yet it was among the priests that Francis had his greatest friends. One Fr. Giuseppe Romano modeled himself on the master, imitating the candor of his habits, his charity, and the spirit of penance which he disguised under his kindness; and another, the Venerable Vincent Morelli, a Theatine and Bishop of Otranto, who, during his trips to Naples, went to him with the simplicity of a child, sharing with him his doubts and the problems of his delicate conscience. One of his favorites, Fr. Agnello Coppola, obtained the gift of ecstasy and contemplation. Fr. Placido Baccher, a victim of the 1799 revolution, had been condemned to death and was miraculously set free by the Blessed Virgin. He had known the Saint in 1808. He was the radiant sunrise while Francis was the flaming sunset: and the twilight loved them. It was to him that Francis left as inheritance all the souls that were to be guided to God. To Bartholomew Corvo, his latest disciple, the Saint left his wounds, which appeared in his legs soon after Francis' death.

  

In the year 1801 King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia and his wife Mary Clotilde entered the Saint's spiritual family. The revolution had caused them to go into exile, however, and their sorrow was soothed by their friendship with the Saint. In Naples, the traditional friendship that bound the Order of the Barnabites to the House of Savoy brought them to Francis. The Saint continued the spiritual assistance started in Turin by Fr. Felix De Vecchi, with whom the Queen had been corresponding for quite some time. The couple immediately felt they were before a man of God and allowed him to guide them by his enlightening wisdom. Above all was Mary Clotilde who had a particular intuition for spiritual things. She understood that Francis was endowed with supernatural gifts and spoke of him as a saint speaks of another saint. The King and his wife were often seen attending Holy Mass celebrated by the Saint and stopped to speak with him after the service; this gave them peace and hope. The Saint, however, made no exceptions and never stopped with them long enough to test the patience of other penitents among whom were businessmen and intellectuals who had little time. He mostly gave the princes brief advice and traced for them the way to follow, and he integrated his teaching with letters which, though very concise, were true beams of light to the heart and mind.

  

XI. THORNS AND FIRE

Like all great saints, even Francis bent under the weight of the cross. He embraced sorrow and nurtured his body with it as if it was a strengthening food for the soul.

  

After his soul, even his body had started suffering pains. The illness which so far had struck in a bearable way one leg had attacked the other too: both had become swollen, heavy as lead. Yet he continued with heroic good will to assist others. Now and then he felt pain like stabs which caused him to sigh and frown, and again he looked serene. Saint Francis realized that the prophecy of Sr. Mary Frances was becoming true: "Oh, how will these legs suffer!" she had said. He underwent obediently a great number of painful cures, yet kept repeating, "There is no human cure for a non-human illness. There is nothing you can do to these wounds as they are God's will."

 

The priest Agnello Coppola wrote: "Even though pain was violently tormenting him, he insisted that I should sing some song by St. Alphonsus de Liguori, and one could not tell if his tears were caused by his suffering or by the emotions roused by the song." To the doctors visiting him he used to say that he felt "thorns and fire" in his legs.

  

After a long stay in Portici, at the end of 1807 he returned to his cell in Portanova, where he continued his slow martyrdom for another seven years.

  

The French authorities which one time kept a worried eye on the spot where people were gathering to meet the Saint, perhaps fearing a plot or a conspiracy, were relieved because now he was but a weak and suffering old man.

  

The siege by the people started anew: the Father was back. He looked older from his suffering, yet his features suggested spiritual beauty and ideals. The man with a sick body was helping again those who had a sick soul. They used to say that meeting him was like experiencing Easter.

  

His poor legs moved people to pity; one was swollen to the utmost with a deep wound in the center and minor ones on the sides. The other was somewhat thinner but inflamed as well with black spots discharging purulent matter. He truly deserved to sign his scripts "Francis Xavier of the Cross of Jesus." The pillar of his strength was the meditation on the suffering of the Crucified Lord, and his communion with the Living Christ.

  

XII. THE WOUND IN HIS HEART

St. Francis offered his whole self to God as a victim in sacrifice for the expiation of sins, and God repaid him. He was to have his Pentecost in 1800. On January 7 of that year he wrote that both the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus had spoken of him to a blessed soul: "He will be filled with grace, virtue, fortitude of heart and spirit," said the Blessed Mother, and the Lord, "I will bestow upon him abundant graces."

  

On the eve of Pentecost, May 31, 1800 Francis was praying in the Dominican church of "The Divine Love." The Blessed Sacrament was solemnly exposed in the midst of flowers and countless candles. Francis' eyes fixed on the Sacred Host beamed with an unnatural light. All of a sudden a beam departed from the Host and hit him like an arrow. With an inexpressible joy Francis pressed his hand on his throbbing heart and fainted, giving a loud cry. He seemed a victim of pain; on the contrary, he was but a victim of love. His wounded heart was to contain all the charity, goodness, and joy that he would later share with other souls.

  

When the ecstasy was over he rose, resumed his composure, and smiled to those who had come to his aid; then he immersed himself deep in prayer once more.

  

From that day onward every time he administered the Sacraments or even spoke of sacred things, his heart trembled as well as his whole body, and his face shined.

  

XIII. THE PROPHET IN THE MIDST OF THE TEMPEST

The gift of prophecy and visions had such a great impact on the Saint's life that we cannot help speaking about it if we really want to understand his true character.

  

It was the year 1798. Francis was horrified to hear of the invasion of Rome by the French army and the seizure and exile of Pius VII. His spirit could see the elderly Pope travelling through Siena, Florence, Parma, Tortona, Turin, and Briançon, as if the events were happening before his eyes. God allowed him to see all this, and Francis suffered greatly when he recounted the facts to his disciples.

  

Toward the middle of July 1805 he looked particularly afflicted, and his disciples often heard him repeat, "Many are the sins, and the punishment is near." An earthquake hit the Molisan region, causing destruction in Aquila, Capua, and Avellino. Even Naples was hit and many buildings crumbled. The victims were only three, which truly seemed a miracle: there was a Saint praying in Portanova. The next day he told the crowd gathered around him of the devastation that had taken place in the other cities struck by the earthquake.

  

Meanwhile the political storm was breaking out between the Church and the secular world. The empire which succeeded the Jacobin anarchy in France was even more violent than the latter. Napoleon wanted to fight the Church even to very extreme consequences. Pius VII, however, replied with meekness, patience, and tolerance. Francis' spirit followed with distress the duel between the mild Pontiff and the overbearing Emperor.

  

On July 6, 1809 Pius VII was forced to leave Rome. Francis said then to his dismayed friends: "We are to consider all that is happening as a scroll in which the great plans of God are both written and hidden. Let us obediently accept God's will, in the expectancy of better times to come." But Napoleon's lucky star was to fade away, and God allowed the Saint to foresee the Emperor's ruin. On September 14, 1812 Napoleon entered burning Moscow: he had fallen into a trap. Yet from Paris came the order to all European capitals to sing a Te Deum. When the Saint heard of it, he commented bitterly: "They would have done much better had they sung a Miserere!" The next days, while entertaining himself with Agnello Coppola, he often exclaimed: "How awful, how awful! Poor young men!" On November 23 he assured his friends that the French army had been defeated and prayed even for the tyrant. To Domenic Valletta, who sarcastically was saying he would gladly poison Napoleon, Francis, horrified, replied: "You should not hate your enemy but, rather, pray for his repentance."

  

XIV. THE SAINT AND THE VESUVIUS

Armed with God-given strength, the Saint's wonder-working hand triumphed over destructive Vesuvius. After the devastating eruption of 1794 which had been predicted by St. Mary Frances, the volcano had become drowsy. In 1804 the volcano woke up with the rage of a hungry beast. From May until August it erupted huge clouds of smoke, and at sunset of November 22 a quake shook the earth with long, dark rumblings. Torrents of lava covered the hills all around Torre del Greco.

  

Fr. Francis was in Torre del Greco, guest of the Visitation retreat house which was directed by Fr. Pasquale Lombardo, one of his disciples. When danger was at its utmost, the Saint was praying and was shaken by the dwellers running around in the attempt to save what they could. He came out of his room, serenely asked everyone to keep calm, and ordered a picture of Sr. Mary Frances be placed on the roof. He himself climbed onto a terrace on top of the house together with all the other people and joined his hands in prayer. Then he raised his right hand and in the name of God he ordered the lava to stop flowing. Everyone was amazed to see the lava stop at once: Torre del Greco was safe!

  

The identical miracle was repeated in two other instances. Again at Torre del Greco, the Saint bade he be taken to the place where the lava was flowing, prayed with all the people, raised his blessing hand and the flow stopped as the lava turned into hard stone. There was another eruption, and people came to Portici to beg the Saint for help. Francis didn't budge: he took an image of Sr. Mary Frances and ordered the people to put it before the advancing fire. They did so and the lava that had already reached a villa stopped before the image which was hanging on a tree.

  

In remembrance of the miracle, Cardinal William Sanfelice had a chapel built on the spot and dedicated it to the Saint.

  

XV. THE DEVOTIONS OF A SAINT

"Grace attacks your heart by a threefold fire: the love for the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, the love for the Most Blessed Virgin free from all stains of sin, and the love for God's servant Mary Frances. Deny it if you can!" so said St. Francis, who loved God with an ardor which can be compared to the one of a St. Philip Neri or St. Therese of Jesus. He used to say: "He who really loves would sing, rave, sigh, lament, suffer, and languish. Oh, what a sweet occupation this is! May Jesus grant it all to me. Amen."

  

His disciples could often hear him repeat in a murmur the gentle dialogue by the Franciscan mystic Raymond Lullo: "Where are you? In love. Whence did you come? From love. Who has led you here? Love. What do you live in? In love. Where do you dwell? In love. Let love and speaking of love be your only concern."

  

St. Alphonsus' chants on God's love truly enraptured him. Fr. Nicholas Ruggero testifies in great simplicity: "One morning, having gone to visit the Venerable, I found him particularly cheerful; he even asked me to sing some devout prayers. I intoned, 'He who lives in God is always happy,' but I had barely completed the first stanza when I saw the Venerable completely transformed. His face was extraordinarily bright, his entire person was agitated and even seemed to have grown larger; he hardly seemed the same person. I realized he could hardly withstand such tremendous thrust of love. I should have stopped singing, yet I went on to enjoy such sweet miracle. Finally, when I saw the last of the marvel, I stopped and fled from his presence. I believed the Venerable, who was always careful in hiding himself and his gifts, would have reproached me. Someone who witnessed the fact told me that when the Venerable regained his senses he repeatedly asked, 'Where am I?' and jokingly pretending to search for a stick added, 'Where is Nicholas? He almost killed me!'" A few days later, Nicholas returned to the Saint and was gently reproached: "My dear friend, you ruined me!"

  

The Saint's devotion was most evident when he celebrated Mass. On July 3, 1811 he received from Rome the permission to celebrate Mass in his room, and Cardinal Caracciolo provided him at once with a wooden altar. By now, due to the pains in his legs, he was unable to rise, to move or even stand. Attempts were made to convince him to give up celebrating Mass, but he was irremovable: "When I will give up celebrating Mass, you may as well say I am dead." The celebration became a miracle renewed every morning, as he once wrote to a priest, "I am writing you amid spasms of pain. I can do nothing other than celebrate the Holy Mass, which I do every day by Divine Mercy! Ask your penitents to thank God for me, for he allows me to see each day the wonders of His omnipotence." At dawn, his companions roused him from the bed where he had spent an almost sleepless night. He then prepared for Mass. Those who came into his room saw him like a bundle of pain, his limbs stiff and racked in tremendous pain. Even putting on the vestments had become a daily agony. Once ready, two companions had to carry him to the altar gasping for breath. But once he reached the altar he could wondrously cross himself and stand up as a perfectly healthy man would do: "To the God who gives joy to my youth," the servant would reply to the first verse of the Psalm, and thus the prophecy was fulfilled in Francis. With a faint smile on his lips, he would then proceed with the rite, languishing with love, falling into ecstasy during consecration and at communion. He could, however, barely read the St. John Prologue at the conclusion of Mass and had to be carried from the altar completely exhausted. He could very well say with Paul the Apostle, "The life I live is not my own; Christ is living in me."

  

His devotion to the Blessed Mother had a great influence on his virtues. He called the principal Marian solemnities "the great days of Grace." As a young man we heard him sing the praises of Mary's patronage in public. The impression of an impeccable adolescence is not easily forgotten. So, here he is now a priest, inculcating the same sentiments into his spiritual children. "Let not one of you neglect to pray continually to Our Lady, especially to obtain from God the grace of always praying to her, to call upon her for help, saying: ‘Help me. Mother of mine, do help me.’ Woe to him who neglects to place himself in Mary's trust even one day!" Having heard that Fr. Placido Baccher had a statue of Mary as a child, he wanted to see it. When he had it in his hands, he pressed it to his heart weeping tenderly; but then he trembled so violently that those present had to take it away from him and asked him to look elsewhere.

  

One day, when he was in his cell, he suddenly uncovered his head and walked toward the stairway, crying with joy: "Our Lady is coming! God's Mother is coming!" As a matter of fact, a friend of his, who was a painter, was coming up to present him with a very beautiful painting of Our Lady Queen of Heaven. To those who asked him how he knew the painter was carrying the picture, he replied, "The Venerable Mary Frances let me know." Later he gave up the beautiful painting as an act of poverty.

  

The more God visited him in suffering, the greater his devotion grew, and Mary's pains became the focal point of his meditation. It was through the intercession of Our Lady of Sorrow that he obtained the grace of being able to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass in spite of his pains.

  

He miraculously restored health to his disciple Louis Voipe, after reciting together the Litanies of the Blessed Mother. When the health of Blaise Brasca, a priest, had failed completely, the Saint restored it again by reciting the Litanies. Five years later Blaise fell ill once more, and his family turned again to the Saint for help, but his reply was: "The years were added to King Hezekiah only once."

  

He never dismissed anyone before he found a way to introduce Mary into the conversation, suggesting filial confidence by calling her Our Dear Mother. Bonocore relates: "One day I was with the Saint speaking about spiritual matters. I revealed to him my desire to increase my love for God. The Venerable suggested to me various means to attain this, particularly to visit more often the Blessed Sacrament during the Forty Hours Devotion. In this regard he told of someone (Bonocore himself) who in making the visits had the unique fortune to see the Blessed Mother coming to her Son in the Blessed Sacrament to entreat for gifts and graces for those who were present adoring Him. That was the very time when that person profited greatly by these gifts! Then the Venerable added: 'Pray to the Divine Mother for you to be allowed to stay at the feet of the Blessed Sacrament and so find yourself in similar circumstances.’”

  

During his last years, the Rosary became his constant companion. At sunset on January 30, the day before his death, someone suggested to recite the Rosary. Francis agreed with joy and joined the others who, perhaps, never said it with greater devotion. At the end of the Rosary he asked for the picture of Our Lady, called the Divine Shepherdess. He looked at it with great affection, kissed it repeatedly, and then returned it. A short while later he asked for the picture again and looked as if he were languishing with filial love for his dear Mother who was about to come for him.

  

He had well realized and preached that the shortest, surest, and most beautiful way to Jesus was, no doubt, through Mary.

  

XVI. THE MARTYRDOM OF CHARITY

The unending charity of Fr. Francis Xavier M. Bianchi deserved him the title of Apostle of Naples.

  

Stricken in 1800 by a strange illness, he believed he had come to the end of his life, but Sr. Mary Frances assured him, however, that he was still to live long, so as to do much more good to humanity. Not one of his sick penitents was ever deprived of his full, loving, and sometimes even miraculous assistance. In the hospitals, he went from bed to bed, saying a comforting word to each and every person who was sick. Then, he would address them all together, encouraging them to sanctify their sufferings. Sometimes his humility would cause him to flee from the hospitals when the sick would cry out: "The saint has performed a miracle!"

  

His special concern, however, was for vagrant or corrupt young women. He would gladly give his life to save those unwary young people and their dreams and hopes from corruption.

  

He gave his constant advice and help to the people of the convents of St. Raphael, of Providence, of Holy Cross, of St. Mary Magdalene dei Pazzi, and of the Visitation. He was not even embarrassed to beg for them, and he did it with great eloquence, especially when there were urgent cases to solve.

  

Baccher attests to the fact that "he took every care not only for their spiritual guidance, but also for their temporal needs." He found very valuable collaborators for his work among the wealthy and powerful penitents who gave their assistance voluntarily. For some he had even stipulated a monthly sum to be offered and was punctual in collecting in person or through a messenger. He was doing this for God's poor, and nothing else mattered.

  

His confessor, Fr. Ceraso, affirmed: "I never heard that anyone who went to him for help was left without receiving it. People came to him in a continual stream."

  

In 1808, when it became difficult for him to get around because of his legs, his worst torment was not the "thorns and fire" in his legs, but the fact that he was no longer able to help his convents as he wished. He then resorted to beg by correspondence with letters filled with faith and encouragement. That year a very interesting incident happened. One night he urged Vincent Parlati to come with him in his carriage on the following day to go to the convent of St. Raphael. The following evening they presented themselves at the convent unexpected. Fr. Francis first went to pray in the chapel and then stopped to talk with the Superior. They had just started conversing when they heard a great confusion: the inmates of the house were asking for more food. Francis let them come to him to express their grievance. When he finally managed to quiet them down, he spoke to them about God and of His paternal and divine goodness and providence. "Have no doubt," he said, "you will have everything you need. Starting tomorrow, you will have as usual and even more." He then left the convent, but he did not want to return to the carriage. Leaning on Parlati, they walked up the road in spite of the pain in his legs. They had barely gone a few steps when they met Dr. Amantea, who was greatly surprised to see the Saint on the road and at that hour. Francis brushed aside the small talk and without any further ado he acquainted him with the situation at the convent of St. Raphael. The Doctor took 200 Ducats from his purse and placed them in his hands. Later, when Parlati asked him what had prompted him to take that particular road, Francis replied: "I just thought it was a good road, and indeed it was!"

  

The following year Parlati found himself 740 Ducats short to pay a debt. There was despair in his heart for not being able to keep his promise and because of the shame upon his honor. He had already mentioned this predicament to the Saint three times. He had entreated him to make an exception for this time and to lend him the money from his special fund. The Saint pretended to listen to him and then kept repeating, "Have faith, have faith!" Finally he spoke more explicitly, telling Parlati to get all the money he had without counting it and to have faith in God. As the payday came, the poor man could not sleep, yet hoped for a miracle. He went to pay his debt. He counted the money, and the full amount was there, plus 150 Ducats to spare. Francis had assured him: "Tomorrow you will pay your debt and you will have more money than you need."

  

When the Saint's sufferings became unbearable, some of his friends decided to close the doors at twelve in order to allow him some time to rest. But either because of indiscretion, or faith, or necessity, some managed to get the key and, through a private entrance, they managed to reach the Saint at all hours just as before. He himself never showed any impatience; instead, he was always gay, serene, and calm. He listened to them for long hours; he absolved them and blessed them. He was a man for all, forgetting his pains, and ignoring completely the needs of his weak body. Sometimes, though, this weakness had the upper hand: he could not keep his head up while speaking to somebody. Sometimes he fainted in the arms of whoever was sitting at his side, confessing to him or listening to him speak of God. There is martyrdom where one gives his blood for the faith, but there is also another martyrdom where one gives his whole life for love.

  

Toward the beginning of 1808 the Barnabite, Fr. Vincent Sangermano, returned after 27 years as a missionary in Burma. He told Fr. Francis of the wonders he had experienced in the midst of God’s people in Burma and also of the horrible battles he had to wage against the devil. Hearing these inspiring stories, the Saint's face became radiant with joy and ardent desire. One day, he exclaimed: "Oh, how many times I have yearned to wear the purple!" which greatly surprised those who heard him. They did not know however, that Fr. Francis had refused the episcopate not once but several times. The good old man brought his hands crosswise to his neck and, pretending to cut it, added: "Quite another purple, my dear, quite another purple!" referring to martyrdom.

  

XVII. THE RADIANT SUNSET

The victim was ready for the final immolation. Purified by pain and exalted by love, Francis was advancing toward his goal with his body completely decayed but his soul pure and glowing. The end being near, his eyes and voice had a transparency reminiscent of heaven. His pupils were fixed on the highest ideals while his lips murmured the apostle's passionate sign: "I long to die so I can be with Christ!" Yet, he had to undergo the supreme test of abandonment. He was to remain alone. He had been like Christ in life, and would be like Him in death. It was June 1814 and the visitors to Portanova were decreasing in number. Fr. Bianchi's health was declining: he no longer had the strength to hear confessions or to speak at any great length. He spent many long hours alone. Lossa and Capolla alternated in taking care of his sores. When they left, he turned to the pictures covering the walls of his cell to converse with each one of them: the Savior, Mary Queen of Paradise, St. Francis of Assisi, and Sister Mary Frances.

  

On June 9 he sent Lossa to the tomb of Sister Mary Frances, hoping he would return with a message of comfort. His friend returned with this message: Francis was to suffer happily for a crown of glory like hers was awaiting him in Paradise.

  

As the summer advanced the heat increased, and so did his pains. God allowed the assistance of friends to be reduced, so that often he was left to the mistreatments of hired servants. He even lacked the usual morning wonderful experience of the Eucharist. This was truly his supreme holocaust, the supreme immolation. It seemed a miracle that in the midst of so much pain he lived to see the beginning of 1815. By now he was motionless, as if he were nailed to a cross. He breathed with difficulty, his vision had dimmed, gangrene in his legs spread, and a twisted hernia tortured his side.

  

On January 27, 1815 because of a fall he had incurred in an attempt to safeguard his modesty, it seemed as though the end had come. The Viaticum was taken to him. The victim of love was lying on the cross of suffering, experiencing a dark spiritual desolation which made him cry: "Father! Father, why have you abandoned me?" just as he had predicted many years before, saying: "God has granted me the grace of serving Him and of loving Him in cheerfulness of spirit. At the end of my life, however, I too must feel the tribulations, the anguish of the soul, and the violence of temptation."

  

But then there was calm. Francis was waiting for a promised visit from heaven. On January 29 he said to his confessor, Fr. Cesaro: "The Servant of God has kept her word; she has faithfully fulfilled her promise." He related that Sister Mary Frances had come to him, had seated herself at the side of his bed and had given him a foretaste of the joys of heaven.

  

The news spread quickly; his spiritual children returned to see their Father for the last time. They heard him repeat again and again: "My God! Blessed be God! I praise you! I thank you! Lord, I want to suffer for you!" At sunset of January 29 he received the Sacrament of the sick. Forty eight years previously, on that very day, he had offered his First Mass.

  

He smiled at his friends Ferrigni and Agnello Coppola, who had returned after a brief period of separation. During the night of January 30, six of his friends kept watch. At about five in the morning, Francis asked again for the Viaticum. The priest, fifteen minutes after giving him Communion, bent to listen to his breathing. He then realized that the blessed soul had peacefully returned to heaven. It was Tuesday, January 31, 1815.

  

XVIII. IN THE GLORY OF THE SAINTS

"The Saint of Portanova is dead!" was the cry that quickly spread all through Naples. "Let's go and see the Saint!" The crowd was so numerous it became necessary to block off the roads and put up barricades. When the Saint, dressed in his habit, was taken from the small cell to the church, the barricades could not hold the dense crowd. People were impatient to take a piece of cloth from his tunic or bits of hair as living relics. On the following morning, February 1, his funeral Mass was held with great solemnity. All the seminarians from the diocesan seminary were present, showing such a spontaneous and fitting homage for one who had greatly loved priests and had been their saintly leader and father in Naples.

  

Guards and soldiers on horseback were employed to control the crowd. When the evening came, it was necessary to revert to trickery to disperse the people: they were told that the body would be exposed again the following day. It was only then that the church gradually became empty. The simple wooden coffin was then closed and placed in the tomb beside the altar, nearest to the sanctuary, in the church of St. Mary in Portanova. But this was only for a short while.

  

Twenty years before, Francis, arriving at the church of St. Joseph and St. Theresa of the Carmelites in Pontecorvo, had said: "There will come a time when I will sleep in this church next to the small window where the nuns receive Holy Communion." Another time he said: "Pay attention! You will see one day what will happen in this church." Another time he said to a confrere, referring to the church: "You will see what a Paradise it will be."

  

Scarcely five years after his death, when the Napoleonic onslaught ended and the religious Congregations were re-established, the Barnabites took possession of the convent and church of St. Joseph at Pontecorvo. During the night of July 14, 1820 in the midst of the protest and tears of the people in Portanova, the body of the Saint was transported and placed in one of the niches behind the sanctuary exactly near the window where the Carmelite nuns used to receive Holy Communion.

  

Meanwhile, many miracles and graces were attributed to his intercession. In 1816, scarcely a year and a half after his death, a young 13 year-old hemiplegic Neapolitan girl, tormented with spasms, one day had a vision of St. Francis. He told her: "Get up, for you are well." She did as she was bade and, truly, she was healed. This was the first of the miracles proposed and approved for the Beatification process. The second miracle was with a 32 year-old lady whose body had been reduced to a most painful and horrible sore. In this condition, the lady only wished to die. But one day, moved by deep faith, she put an image of the Blessed on her wounds and prayed to him. Suddenly, all the sores disappeared! The lady was restored to full health and serenity.

  

The Apostolic Process took its time through the Popes Pius VII, Gregory XVI, and Pius IX. On February 23, 1857 Pius IX declared his virtues heroic. On February 22, 1893 Leo XIII declared him Blessed.

  

The two miracles needed for the canonization took place, one in 1933 in Perugia, and the other in 1937 in Naples. These two miracles were finally approved by Pius XII on May 1, 1951.

  

In 1933 the Barnabites were celebrating the 400th anniversary of the approval of their Congregation, when Judith Lacarella received the miracle. She suffered from cancer in her stomach and intestine. Being at the point of death, she turned for help to the Blessed Francis Xavier Bianchi. Judith started to say the novena to the Saint. On the second day, Judith found herself totally healed. She continued to say the novena in thanksgiving for the miracle received.

  

The second miracle happened to a worker in Naples who also got sick with cancer, with no hope of recovery. His mother and sisters kept going to Pontecorvo to beg the intercession of Blessed Francis. Their faith and persistence were rewarded on November 3, 1937 when De Rosa found himself totally healed and able to go back to work.

  

The solemn canonization ceremony was set by Pius XII for October 21, 1951. With his beautiful and characteristic prayer, he is now blessing us:

  

"May the Lord God, guard and bless you.

May he turn his Holy Face toward you.

May he give you peace,

and may he free you from sin.

May his love grow in you,

and may he grant you his great gift of final

perseverance. Amen"

  

On June 18, 1972 the body of St. Francis Bianchi was moved from St. Joseph at Pontecorvo to the church of St. Mary of Caravaggio, at the center of the city of Naples, transforming it in a fitting shrine to satisfy the popular devotion toward the Saint.

  

Fr. Felix M. Sala

For macro mondays, Humility.

When we were working are way to Mississippi. We made a pitstop in Houston, Texas and was able to grab this BNSF local with a BN motor.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

I printed this quote on a transparent overlay then added it to a alcohol ink background. This will be a page in my coil bound quote book.

Madonna of Humility (1440) by Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro, 1395)

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature a God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

In his book, Screwtape Letters, (a book of imagined correspondence between a major devil and his nephew, Wormwood, a junior devil), he writes the following to Wormwood, about humility:

"I see only one thing to do at the moment—as your patient (a young Christian) has become humble. Have you drawn his attention to the fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is especially true of humility. Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, 'By Jove, I'm being humble!' And almost immediately pride, pride at his own humility, will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother this new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt. Through as many stages as you please, but don't try this too long for fear you will awaken his sense of humor and proportion. In which case he will merely laugh at you and go to bed."

'Humility comes with divine energy.' - His Divine Eminence RA Gohar Shahi

 

A medieval market woman sits in a black and white picture. Her floor-length robe and headscarf demonstrate simplicity. In her hands she holds skillfully woven baskets, surrounded by goods and a touch of historical humility.

Ramadan (Arabic : رمضان‎ Ramaḍān, Arabic pronunciation: [rɑmɑˈdˤɑːn] ) (also Ramadhan, Ramadaan, Ramazan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar , which lasts 29 to 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting , in which participating Muslims refrain from eating and drinking [1] and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, humility, and spirituality. Muslims fast for the sake of God (Arabic : الله‎, trans: Allah ) and to offer more prayer than usual. Compared to the solar calendar , the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards by about eleven days each year depending on the moon ; thus, a person will have fasted every day of the calendar year in 34 years' time. Muslims believe Ramadan to be an auspicious month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Islamic prophet , Muhammad .

 

Contents

 

[hide ]

 

· 1 Origins of Ramadan

 

· 2 The Beginning of Ramadan

 

· 3 Practices during Ramadan

 

o 3.1 Fasting

 

o 3.2 Prayer and reading of the Qur'an

 

o 3.3 Iftar

 

o 3.4 Charity

 

o 3.5 Laylat al-Qadr

 

· 4 Eid ul-Fitr

 

· 5 Cultural aspects

 

o 5.1 Decorations

 

· 6 Economic aspects

 

· 7 See also

 

· 8 References

 

· 9 External links

 

[edit ] Origins of Ramadan

 

The word Ramadan is derived from an Arabic root rmḍ, as in words like "ramiḍa" or "ar-ramaḍ" denoting intense heat,[2] scorched ground and shortness of rations. Ramadan, as a name for the month, is of Islamic origin. Prior to Islam and the exclusion of intercalary days from the Islamic calendar, the name of the month was Natiq and the month fell in the warm season.[3] The word was thus chosen as it well represented the original climate of the month and the physiological conditions precipitated from fasting. In the Qur'an, God proclaims that "fasting has been written down (as obligatory) upon you, as it was upon those before you". According to a hadith , it might refer to the Jewish practice of fasting on Yom Kippur .[4] [5]

 

[edit ] The Beginning of Ramadan

 

Hilāl (the crescent ) is typically a day (or more) after the astronomical new moon. Since the new moon indicates the beginning of the new month, Muslims can usually safely estimate the beginning of Ramadan.[6]

 

There are many disagreements each year however, on when Ramadan starts. This stems from the tradition to sight the moon with the naked eye and as such there are differences for countries on opposite sides of the globe.[7] More recently however, some Muslims are leaning towards using astronomical calculations to avoid this confusion.

 

For the year of 1432 Hijri , the first day of Ramadan was determined to be August 1, 2011.

 

[edit ] Practices during Ramadan

 

[edit ] Fasting

 

Main article: Sawm

   

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.

 

The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur'an was sent down - right Guidance to mankind, and clear signs of Guidance and Distinction of truth from falsehood. Those among you who witness it, let him fast therein. Whoever is sick or on a journey, then a number of other days. God desires ease for you, and desires not hardship. Thus may you fulfil the number of days assigned, magnify God for having guided you, and perhaps you will be thankful.

 

Ayah 185, Sura 2 (Al-Baqara ), translation by Tarif Khalidi see:[2] [8]

 

Ramadan is a time of reflecting, believing and worshiping God. Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Sexual intercourse among spouse is allowed after one has ended the fast. During fasting intercourse is prohibited as well as eating and drinking, one is also encouraged to resist all temptations while you are fasting. Purity of both thoughts and actions is important. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. It also teaches Muslims to practice self-discipline, self-control,[9] sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and charity (Zakat ).[10]

 

Muslims should start observing the fasting ritual upon reaching the age of puberty , so long as they are healthy, sane and have no disabilities or illnesses. The elderly, the chronically ill, and the mentally ill are exempt from fasting, although the first two groups must endeavor to feed the poor in place of their missed fasting. Also exempt are pregnant women if they believe it would be harmful to them or the unborn baby, women during the period of their menstruation, and women nursing their newborns. A difference of opinion exists among Islamic scholars as to whether this last group must make up the days they miss at a later date, or feed poor people as a recompense for days missed.[11] While fasting is not considered compulsory in childhood , many children endeavour to complete as many fasts as possible as practice for later life. Lastly, those traveling (musaafir) are exempt, but must make up the days they miss.[12] More specifically, Twelver Shī‘ah define those who travel more than 14 mi (23 km) in a day as exempt.[10]

 

[edit ] Prayer and reading of the Qur'an

 

In addition to fasting, Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Qur'an. Some Muslims perform the recitation of the entire Qur'an by means of special prayers, called Tarawih , which are held in the mosques every night of the month, during which a whole section of the Qur'an (Juz' , which is 1/30 of the Qur'an) is recited. Therefore the entire Qur'an would be completed at the end of the month.

 

Ramadan is also a time when Muslims are to slow down from worldly affairs and focus on self-reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment; this is to establish a link between themselves and God through prayer, supplication, charity, good deeds, kindness and helping others. Since it is a festival of giving and sharing, Muslims prepare special foods and buy gifts for their family and friends and for giving to the poor and needy who cannot afford it; this can involve buying new clothes, shoes and other items of need. There is also a social aspect involving the preparation of special foods and inviting people for Iftar .

 

[edit ] Iftar

 

Main article: Iftar

 

Iftar in Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Is Istanbul ,Turkey

 

Muslims all around the world will abstain from food and drink, through fasting, from dawn to sunset. At sunset, the family will gather the fast-breaking meal known as Iftar . The meal starts with the eating of a date — just as Prophet Muhammad used to do. Then it's time for the Maghrib prayer, which is the fourth of the five daily prayers, after which the main meal is served. [13]

 

Over time, Iftar has grown into banquet festivals. This is a time of fellowship with families, friends and surrounding communities, but may also occupy larger spaces at mosques or banquet halls, where a hundred or more may gather at a time.[14]

 

Most markets close down during evening prayers and the Iftar meal, but then re-open and stay open for a good part of the night. Muslims can be seen shopping, eating, spending time with their friends and family during the evening hours. In many Muslim countries, this can last late into the evening, to early morning. However, if they try to attend to business as usual, it can become a time of personal trials, fasting without coffee or water.

 

[edit ] Charity

 

Charity is very important in Islam, and even more so during Ramadhan. According to tradition, Ramadhan is a particularly blessed time to give in charity, as the reward is 700 times greater than any other time of the year. For that reason, Muslims will spend more in charity (sadaqa), and many will pay their zakat during Ramadhan, to receive the blessings (reward). In many Muslim countries, it is not uncommon to see people giving food to the poor and the homeless, and to even see large public areas for the poor to come and break their fast. It is said that if a person helps a fasting person to break their fast, then they receive a reward for that fast, without diminishing the reward that the fasting person got for their fast.

 

[edit ] Laylat al-Qadr

 

Main article: Laylat al-Qadr

 

Sometimes referred to as "the night of decree or measures", Laylat al-Qadr is considered the most holy night of the year.[15] Muslims believe that Laylat al-Qadr is the night in which the Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad . Also, it is believed to have occurred on an odd-numbered night during the last 10 days of Ramadan, either the night of the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th. Shiites also commemorate the attack on Imam `Ali ibn Abi Talib and his subsequent martyrdom every year on the 19th, 21st and 23rd of Ramadan.

 

[edit ] Eid ul-Fitr

 

Main article: Eid ul-Fitr

 

The holiday of Eid ul-Fitr (Arabic : عيد الفطر‎) marks the end of the fasting period of Ramadan and the first day of the following month, after another new moon has been sighted. The Eid falls after 29 or 30 days of fasting, per the lunar sighting. Eid ul-Fitr means the back to the fitrah ; usually a special celebration is made. Food is donated to the poor (Zakat al-fitr ); everyone puts on their best, usually new, clothes; and communal prayers are held in the early morning, followed by feasting and visiting relatives and friends. The prayer is two Raka'ah only, and it is sunnah muakkad [16] as opposed to the compulsory (Fard) five daily prayers. Muslims are expected to do this as an act of worship, and to thank God.

 

[edit ] Cultural aspects

 

[edit ] Decorations

 

Ramadan is met with various decorations throughout the streets. In Egypt , lanterns are known to be a symbol of Ramadan. They are hung across the cities of Egypt, part of an 800 year old tradition, the origin of which is said to lie in the Fatimid era where the Caliph Al-Muizz Lideenillah was greeted by people holding lanterns to celebrate his ruling. From that time lanterns were used to light mosques and houses throughout the city.

 

In other Muslim countries, lights are strung up in public squares, and across city streets, to add to the festivities of the month. In the West, many Muslim households have taken to decorating the inside of their homes to make Ramadhan a more special time for their children.

 

[edit ] Economic aspects

 

In Egypt, national statistics have pointed to substantial increase in consumption of food, electricity, and medications related to digestive disorders during the month of Ramadan as compared with the monthly average in the rest of the year.[17]

1. Ask God to illuminate your heart so you can begin to see the fruits of pride in your life. Ask friends to point out the fruits of pride in your life realizing your heart is exceedingly deceitful. Be self-suspicious.

2. Ask God to convict you point by point (Psalm 139:23-24) and trust that He will. You don't want or need general condemnation, only specific, godly conviction.

3. Confess your pride to God point by point and ask for His forgiveness. Just as importantly, ask Him to cleanse you of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

4. Don't ask God to humble you – the Scripture says to humble yourself (1 Peter 5:6). Humility isn't an emotion; it's a decision of the will to think and act differently.

5. Confess your sins of pride to those you have affected and to your friends. They can help to hold you accountable and bring the on-going encouragement and correction you will need.

6. Ask God to give you a holy hatred for pride and its fruits in your life. Be continually on the alert. Don't allow pride to grow in your heart.

7. Ask God to give you a love for anonymity. Encourage and serve others each and every day. Associate with the lowly.

8. Think much about God and little about yourself. Regularly study the goodness and greatness of God.

9. Live to promote the reputation of God and not your own. Be impressed with God – don't be impressed with yourself. Find your satisfaction in Him and not in your vain accomplishments. 10. Remember your war against pride is life-long. It is not a battle won in a day. But as you faithfully put pride to death and put on humility, you will experience greater freedom and more importantly greater conformity to image and likeness of Christ. In so doing, God will be glorified in your life!

 

Reference: Reference: The Fifty Fruits of Pride. For the Complete List Please See: www.bethanycommunitychurch.org/resources/docs/1409-the_fi...

 

This evening at the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the priest will repeat Christ's act of service and humility, and wash the feet of twelve men.

 

In this sermon online I ponder its meaning, and ask why Jesus chose to wash feet.

 

This detail is from a 15th-century reredos in the Marktkirche in central Hannover, Germany.

Thank you Life for keeping me humble and honest. Thank you for reminding me constantly that self-growth and self-improvement is an ongoing process. Thank you for putting me in situations where I can self-reflect and make adjustments accordingly. Thank you for instilling love and strength in my heart so I can preserver through necessary trails and tribulations.

 

Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, 00165 Roma, Italy

A Dutch artist of Eurasian ancestry, Christiaan Bastiaans (b. 1951) makes multilayered, metaphorical works of art that investigate extremes of the human condition in a variety of mediums.

Christiaan Bastiaans The Madonna of Humility Hurt model Series 2002

  

The Textile Museum is housed in the former textile factory of the company C. Mommers & Co., once one of the largest employers in Tilburg. The museum displays present and past of textile manufacturing. You will see authentic and modern textile machines.

 

Opening times:

Tuesday to Friday: 10am – 5pm

Saturday & Sunday: 12am – 5pm

 

Address:

Goirkestraat 96

5046 GN Tilburg

 

Official website: www.textielmuseum.nl/en/

  

7392 MuseumNLTilburgTextile, Textile Museum, Goirkestraat 96, 5046 GN, Tilburg, TextielMuseum, Dutch textile museum in Tilburg, Nizozemska, 20191018 PhotosNLTilburg

The Madonna of Humility (Replacement Item for autopsy bodies in the Lear zone 1), from the serie Hurt Models by Christiaan Bastiaans, 2003

Dimension: h204 x w170 x d150 cm

Collection TextielMuseum: BK0795

Hospital of the Holy Ghost on Stara Street, Frombork, Poland.

 

„Professional play with the body” is an exhibition that delineates a few timid purposes. These are: restoring the memory of former surgery; unimposing and non aggressive education; stimulation of the audience to individual reflection of the cases and the adventures of „human body”, which despite accidents, epidemics and wars lasted in its own no-humility, unruliness and willingness to be injured, fractured, dislocated, disabled, mutilated, or be contracted with the diseases of the interior. Surgeons undoubtedly belonged to the category of explorers, trying to (sometimes maybe too boldly) impose or enforce on that rebellious beings a „muzzle” and again give them an abstract concept of „health.”

frombork.art.pl/en/professional-play-body/

“God and I have no quarrels, madame. The Almighty conceived the cactus plant. If God would choose a plant to represent him, I think he would choose of all plants the cactus. The cactus has all the blessings he tried, but mostly failed, to give to man. Let me tell you how. It has humility, but it is not submissive. It grows where no other plant will grow. It does not complain when the sun bakes it back or the wind tears it from the cliff or drowns it in the dry sand of the desert or when it is thirsty. When the rains come it stores water for the hard times to come. In good times and in bad it will still flower. It protects itself against danger, but it harms no other plant. It adapts perfectly to almost any environment. It has patience and enjoys solitude. In Mexico there is a cactus that flowers only once every hundred years and at night. This is saintliness of an extraordinary kind, would you not agree? The cactus has properties that heal the wounds of men and from it come potions that can make man touch the face of God or stare into the mouth of hell. It is the plant of patience and solitude, love and madness, ugliness and beauty, toughness and gentleness. Of all plants, surely God made the cactus to his own liking. It has my enduring respect and is my passion.”—Bryce Courtenay, “The Power of One”

 

"It bent its head in joy and humility.

 

“Beautiful Flower!” said the Sunbeams, “how graceful and delicate you are!

You are the first, you are the only one!

You are our love! You are the bell that rings out for summer, beautiful summer, over country and town.

All the snow will melt; the cold winds will be driven away; we shall rule; all will become green, and then you will have companions, syringas, laburnums, and roses;

but you are the first, so graceful, so delicate!”

 

All Saints, Bingley, West Yorkshire.

East Window, 1890 - detail.

Charity - Purity - Love - Truth - Humility.

Designed by Henry Holiday (1839-1927).

Made by James Powell & Sons.

 

Henry George Alexander Holiday entered the Royal Academy Schools at the age of 15 and was soon drawn to the ideas, and the artists, of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. He succeeded Edward Burne-Jones as the chief designer for the stained glass firm James Powell & Sons in 1863 and his style had a long-lasting effect on their production into the 1920s. Some of his windows were made by Lavers & Barraud and Heaton, Butler & Bayne, and after eventually ending his association with Powells, he established his own workshop in 1890. From about 1900 he even made his own glass at the workshop. His later work was made at the Glass House, Fulham.

 

Henry Holiday also worked as a painter, illustrator and sculptor, and his broad range of interests led to involvement in the campaign for Irish Home Rule, women's suffrage and dress reform.

belated HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all of you fathers out there!

 

This quotation describes my father perfectly...In my humble opinion...

Navajo Nation, New Mexico, copyright by Dean Leh

SOMEWHERE IN A PAWNSHOP

I don’t often feel this way, about writing about someone, so soon after they pass. My heart often has felt like writing about someone’s death, but it was never acceptable to do so. What makes this situation different, I cannot explain, perhaps it’s got to do with a recent story I read by John Steinbeck about his good friend Ed Ricketts who died suddenly, tragically, he hung around with Ed on Cannery Row, this was in the 30s. I read the story on the bus ride home to Peterborough just after spending a solemn afternoon with my ill brother Kevin and well reading it seemed to open up some writing tool that doesn’t like to be bothered all the time. And well to be truthful, the place I know Willie the most for, ACME Art and SAILBOAT COMPANY is our Cannery Row.

Willie P. Bennett was a good man, I never knew him to swat a fly, or say a bad thing about anything except the rules that govern the whims of the music industry. Once he spoke derogatorily about a person who brought shame and humility to a good friend, and that is what we all would do in those circumstances. Willie lived for almost eleven years with my good friend Joe, Joe the Hippy. They shared an almost five thousand square foot loft in downtown Peterborough. It was real neat having a celebrity in our midst, albeit an undiscovered diamond. Once, many years ago Willie said, “Chas, it sure would be nice if one of those American Record Companies would give me a contract.” We all know he was at that level, that the music he produced was special, but for some odd reason, he remained a quiet star, which is like the lot a slew of artists must endure. This was right after he was awarded a Juno for the CD Heartstrings. When his co-musician Fred put out a new CD for the ‘Label’ called Dusty a few years back, I asked Willie what he thought of it, after I had endorsed the ‘different’ Fred sound. Willie said, “Chuck, Fred has paid his dues in this business, and if this is what he needs to do to earn a few extra bucks, good for Fred”. Willie thought it was a great album, even though, for whatever reason he did not participate on it.

There’d be times when I would drop into the Acme Art and Sailboat Company (the loft) unannounced, sometimes I’d be playing with a new camera. Willie, sensing my need to take pictures posed in whatever ridiculous situation I found him in. Lying in bed remote control in hand at 1 in the afternoon, sitting by the computer with a dubie and a glass of fine red wine, playing cards with his buddies, Joe and Joe. There were times I’d show up and he’d be wearing cowboy boots and a towel just after a shower and I would say, ‘where the fuck is my camera when I need it’. Such was our folly, he would always smile and tolerate my intrusions,. Sometimes, he’d invite me in to the section of the loft that was his. It was full of instruments, instruments occupied every corner of the huge space. There were two types of organs, a dozen or so guitars, all sizes, a full drum set, an accordion, a leather belt with many harmonicas, I suppose in the differing keys that a musician understands, the stand up bass was on loan to someone, ukuleles, mandolins, antique banjoes, and medium sized guitars with metal fronts, some he was very proud of, microphones, and amplifiers, and such that for myself, it was a real privilege to be allowed access to this mans studio. Once he posed for a photo and mimed some words for me, so that I would get a good shot, he was very conscientious of my need to capture images, he knew that this was just me being a Paparazzi for a few moments, he knew without saying it that I was balancing my careers.

We shared a common past. If I am not mistaken we both come from working class Toronto neighbourhoods. One time I mentioned that I had to fight to be accepted at times and he said he never had anything to do with violence, and while listening to his tunes I don't ever hear words that would deceive this.

A year or so back Willie had a yard sale in his room. Being one of the few visitors to his digs, I was given the opportunity to take gratis what I wanted from a half dozen large banana boxes, things he was discarding. “I’m cleaning up, things I have no longer any use for”. There were VHS tapes, one called Fifty Odd Dollars or something like that shot in a country bar in the Prairies with Fred, another tape was a concert with Emmy Lou Harris, I remember asking, ‘did you ever meet her, what was she like’? Willie said, “Chas, she’s like a bird, she’s so tiny”. So few words, but the exactness of them is unique. At the giveaway I picked up some books, one interested me in particular. It was written by a con, a man who had robbed banks and spent decades in jail, they had met on a ‘train gig’ out west, I read the book and questioned Willie about it later that fall, he could be terribly honest, as he said “I never read it, the topic didn’t interest me”. There were some other books I have in this library from that day, and now I know I will open them up. Many of the titles had to do with Canada, in times gone by, about lumberjacks, and miners and living off the land. There were times that I had to really set my phrases correctly with Willie as he was like a beacon of truth, he could reach a point of truth without mincing words. Of course this was after we got to know each other.

One time I went to ACME with some fine Bass, to cut up and cook then present to Joe and Willie for a dinner. Willie, stumbled out of his quarters, I must admit he could hardly speak, may have been the wine soaked Hashish, anyways, I said, “Willie, I’m going to cut these fish up, you wanna watch”? He just said, and this surprises me that he could speak, “I’m opposed” he ate the fish dinner the next day, but he was opposed to witnessing their slaughter.

From time to time I would be the bearer of fine gifts from the east, articles with exotic names, like Afghan Rifles, Mazar e Sharif, Romeo and Juliet, Birds of Buddha and other such fine things that one could only imagine originated in Asia, and He was a willing participant in the analysis of such fine articles. At the funky kitchen table, with the black speckle painted chairs he, myself, and the Hippy would sit, engrossed in the fine art of testing these rare objects. This was a skill that few can claim to have been involved in. By nights end, we would have chosen the more likely candidate to please the audiences in bigger cities. Lately, this type of work had been limited to ‘local’ sources, and I witnessed some fine ‘goods’ that had been brought from a recent trip he had taken to Duncan B.C. He said, “they make it using a sandwich press, they stand on it to get the needed pressure’. I was happy to pass on something soon after from a garlic press experiment.

Willie had a small heart attack in May 07, on the Twofour Weekend after a gig in Midland. He drove home, but felt weak, all of us were tremendously worried for him. I can witness the things he did to change his life, to encourage living. This summer he rode bike, he kayaked, he walked, he drank and smoked less, ate better, took up Yoga, stretched his muscles relentlessly. He was a new man, a new rebuilt Willie. Part way through the year, I asked bluntly, as I usually do, how it was coming along, and he stopped his exercises to explain his goals, the objective and for the first time I understood, the complexity of his business, as he spoke unerringly about the degree of energy that was required to play his music. Willie at that time, it was mid summer, said, “I get tired easily, and I have a ways to go”. There was no worry, whatsoever in his face, just determination.

Not to many weeks ago, a strange thing happened. Willie asked me my shoe size, I replied, “Joe told me you were giving away shoes, don’t think you have anything that would fit me, I don’t have feet, I have hooves, size 12 six EEEEEE. Besides, I don’t wear cowboy boots”. As it had been a fine pair of leather cowboy boots he had given to Joe. Willie said, “I didn’t have cowboy boots in mind” and left it at that, I was too shy to ask what he was intending for me. But, in reflection, and maybe I am being a little sentimental here, he may have seen my weathered black two year old Chuck Taylors and thought I could use something else. He knew intuitively what a struggle it is to meet the bills, to keep the roof up.

Past spring, I was feeling the pinch as they say, I intentionally waited to the last minute to buy tickets for the Fred and Willie show and the Six Strings Nation fundraiser. One week before the show Julia went to get seats at Moondance Records, bad news, they were sold out. Joe the Hippy petitioned Willie on our behalf, we were put on the complimentary list. It was a great show. Later this summer Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and Fred Eaglesmith, Washboard Hank and others put on a benefit for Willie in the same room, the Market Hall. This time, I didn’t wait till the show was sold out. As usual Julia and I and Joe the Hippy and Nicole a female friend of Joes sat beside the sound man. What a great night it was. Billy Heffernan who had opened for Willie years earlier was there, as were many luminaries, but mostly I just recall all of this love being in the room. Willie came on towards the end and a hush came over the crowd after the applause had settled down. There he was, alive and kicking, a big white smile to match the glowing whites of his eyes. Fred was at his best, like a modern day Gene Autry in that big ten gallon hat. Some quite close to Willie told me ‘when Willie went on the road to play with Fred, to stand at his side, it was like asking Gretzky to play goal’. I was so happy, I could have cried. There was more action at the Moho afterwards, but I am too far removed from using stimulants to keep me going that I passed.

As we drove downtown, I couldn’t get the car going, in our excitement to get to the show I had left the lights on and killed the battery. Joe the Hippy saw that his girl got to her car safely and come over and gave us the saddest news about his gig at the Canary, then the CAA came and in this mountain of emotion, the joy of the show, the sadness of Joe losing his gig, we passed down the main drag of George a Street and there was Fred, standing alone, at the corner of George and Simcoe, wearing the big white hat, and a cowboy shirt waiting for the light to change. I stuck my head out the window and shouted, “great show tonight Fred” to which he nodded, “thank yaa’ll it was for Willie”. Then he smiled and gently raised his hand to the big hat and gave it a small tip.

Pardon Me For Interrupting

I was last in Willies company this past Wednesday afternoon. Joe the Hip and I were having our usual chat about things, Joe had wanted to see some photos I had recently taken, so I had brought some copies. Joe the Hippy, Joe Hall and Willie P were just finishing up a short poker game, they were counting their chips each chip equals ten cents, the big winner that day was Joe Hall, Willie had lost a whopping $3.30 and the Hippy came way back to lose only .70 cents. Some afternoons lately I would drop into ACME and someone might be there playing cards on the big old pool table. It had been a long time since anyone had shot a game of pool. Cards and table top hockey were the popular pastimes. Smoke circled in the air, Willie was putting away his change in a yellow Altoids tin, I sat down beside him and noticed a flashy eyeglass case that read VERSACE. “Are those real Versaces”? I asked. Willie grinned and when I put them on he showed me how to use them, the top part for distance, the bottom for close-ups, we discussed our similar sight difficulty in seeing the computer screen with out strong glasses and Willie explained why, but I’m not technically wound and I still don’t know what he meant. I put the glasses on, for some reason I asked if he ever wore the glasses on stage as I thought these would look cool, he replied by saying, “Chas I never wear glasses on stage because they fall down my nose (at this he let the glasses fall down on his beak and changed his sound to a nasal tone) and I sound like Willie Nelson”. I replied, “that’s not all that bad a way to sound”. We all smiled.

Joe Hall had to go do some work and he promised to come back that night, as Wednesdays are the night for the big weekly game. I moved over to an old comfortable easy chair by a window, the sun was beaming in, I pointed to Joe the Hippy the dead plants to my left, Joe said, “they’ve been dead for years” Their branches had mostly fallen on to the ochre red painted floor. I commented on what a wonderful room it was to sit in when the sun was shining in and Joe Hall, responded by saying he often sat in here alone when he’d come over, just pick up a book and relax. As Joe left he said, ‘goodbye friends’ and he was gone.

Joe Stable took the photos I had brought and put them in his room to look at later. When he came back from his room he had with him a small bottle of port from the year 1988. He placed it by my black winter coat. I thanked him and made a comment something like, ‘at least I’ll have something to drink next week’. We continued gabbing, and I don’t think it’s so wrong to say that both of us spoke about our woes, Joe talked about his financial situation, myself I didn’t perk things up much as my last living brother Kevins failing health was added to the chat. The sun shone in. From Willies room the sound of an instrument being plucked carried through the hallway to us and then Willie strolled in like a wandering minstrel, gently plucking the tiny instrument, he spoke some soft words, “how beautiful a sound the ukulele makes, is that a twenty year old bottle of port?” he turned and left the room, at the doorway, he turned back took a small bow and said with a Cheshire grin, “Pardon me for Interrupting”.

Shortly after, Joe and I were continuing our chat, our business completed and Willie the rascal padded gently into the sun filled room, this time he was plucking the missing strings of an odd looking instrument he called a ukejo. There was a silly grin on his face, that came from his eyes, he offered me a glass of wine, I declined saying it was a little early in the day for me. We admired the small instrument, he handed it to me. The white leather skin taughtly covered the circular section, I tapped on it like a drum and asked if it could be used for that and Willie said, “it could, but I have lots of drums, I would not have to use this”. Our attentions then went to the construction of this fine old piece of American folk History. I asked where it came from, ‘oh some pawn shop in the States’. I knew of Willies penchant for collecting old instruments. Willie said, “it looks as if the string turners are made of Bakelite and that will help me catalog it and find out its origins, all it needs is a bridge and some strings and it will work just fine, collecting these things is a good way to stay out of the bars when you are on the road”. As he left the room, again, he turned and said, “Pardon me for Interrupting”.

I had gotten up at one point to put my coat on and the bottle of Port that Joe had given me sort of softly fell to the carpeted section of the floor, a small fall that did no damage to the bottle. Willie told me, “you can’t drink that right away, you’ll have to let that sit a week to settle, you’ve bruised it. If you don’t believe me, take any bottle of booze that you have and give it a shake then pour yourself a shot, you’ll see, it won’t taste any good”. Willie knew much more about spirits than I. Joe stated, “we’re going to pick up Willies laundry”. Willie asked how the weather was, I said, ‘about thirty F, real nice’, “so I won’t need these pair of pants to go out”? ‘No it’s beautiful out’. I said goodbye, ‘see you guys soon’.

The sun was shining, I was full of friendship, there is no greater feeling.

  

"Behold, what I longed for, I now see. What I hoped for, I now have. On earth I loved him devotedly; now, in heaven, I am united with him."

 

- Benedictus antiphon for the feast of St Agnes.

 

This stained glass window by Burne Jones and executed by Morris is in Harris Manchester College, Oxford. It shows a virginal girl holding a lamb, and is meant to be a personification of Humility. But in each of his depictions of the virtues he chose a saint or Biblical figure, and in hagiographical art the saint holding the lamb is Saint Agnes of Rome, whose feast is celebrated on 21 January.

"With fascination and humility, animals remind us how many feelings, instincts, postures and even facial expressions we regard as typically human are actually typically animal." - Diane Ackerman

Work on your humility...

Humility is the gateway into the grace and the favor of God. ~

Harold Warner

 

Thanks again to www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess/ for His aged parchment texture.

Giorgione Workshop, active in Venice

Adoration of the Shepherds, around 1510

An evening atmosphere full of peace and pastoral magic embeds the miracle of Christ incarnate in a natural setting. Most of the painting is taken up by this poetic depiction. The shepherds and parents are united by awe and humility whilst in their midst Christ lies on the ground, defenceless and naked, about to begin his earthly life. The picture is an incomplete copy of the "Adoration" in Washington considered to be an authentic early work of Giorgione.

 

Giorgione Werkstatt, tätig in Venedig

Anbetung der Hirten, um 1510

Eine abendliche Stimmung voll Frieden und pastoralem Zauber bettet das Wunder der Menschwerdung Christi in die Natur. Ihre poetische Schilderung nimmt den größten Teil des Gemäldes ein. Ehrfurcht und Demut eint Hirten und Eltern, in deren Mitte am Boden liegend, schutzlos und nackt, Christus sein Erdenleben beginnt. Das Bild ist eine unvollendet gebliebene Wiederholung der als eigenhändiges Frühwerk Giorgiones geltenden "Anbetung" in Washington.

 

Austria Kunsthistorisches Museum

Federal Museum

Logo KHM

Regulatory authority (ies)/organs to the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture

Founded 17 October 1891

Headquartered Castle Ring (Burgring), Vienna 1, Austria

Management Sabine Haag

www.khm.at website

Main building of the Kunsthistorisches Museum at Maria-Theresa-Square

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM abbreviated) is an art museum in Vienna. It is one of the largest and most important museums in the world. It was opened in 1891 and 2012 visited of 1.351.940 million people.

The museum

The Kunsthistorisches Museum is with its opposite sister building, the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum), the most important historicist large buildings of the Ringstrasse time. Together they stand around the Maria Theresa square, on which also the Maria Theresa monument stands. This course spans the former glacis between today's ring road and 2-line, and is forming a historical landmark that also belongs to World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Vienna.

History

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery

The Museum came from the collections of the Habsburgs, especially from the portrait and armor collections of Ferdinand of Tyrol, the collection of Emperor Rudolf II (most of which, however scattered) and the art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm into existence. Already In 1833 asked Joseph Arneth, curator (and later director) of the Imperial Coins and Antiquities Cabinet, bringing together all the imperial collections in a single building .

Architectural History

The contract to build the museum in the city had been given in 1858 by Emperor Franz Joseph. Subsequently, many designs were submitted for the ring road zone. Plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Null planned to build two museum buildings in the immediate aftermath of the Imperial Palace on the left and right of the Heroes' Square (Heldenplatz). The architect Ludwig Förster planned museum buildings between the Schwarzenberg Square and the City Park, Martin Ritter von Kink favored buildings at the corner Währingerstraße/ Scots ring (Schottenring), Peter Joseph, the area Bellariastraße, Moritz von Loehr the south side of the opera ring, and Ludwig Zettl the southeast side of the grain market (Getreidemarkt).

From 1867, a competition was announced for the museums, and thereby set their current position - at the request of the Emperor, the museum should not be too close to the Imperial Palace, but arise beyond the ring road. The architect Carl von Hasenauer participated in this competition and was able the at that time in Zürich operating Gottfried Semper to encourage to work together. The two museum buildings should be built here in the sense of the style of the Italian Renaissance. The plans got the benevolence of the imperial family. In April 1869, there was an audience with of Joseph Semper at the Emperor Franz Joseph and an oral contract was concluded, in July 1870 was issued the written order to Semper and Hasenauer.

Crucial for the success of Semper and Hasenauer against the projects of other architects were among others Semper's vision of a large building complex called "Imperial Forum", in which the museums would have been a part of. Not least by the death of Semper in 1879 came the Imperial Forum not as planned for execution, the two museums were built, however.

Construction of the two museums began without ceremony on 27 November 1871 instead. Semper moved to Vienna in the sequence. From the beginning, there were considerable personal differences between him and Hasenauer, who finally in 1877 took over sole construction management. 1874, the scaffolds were placed up to the attic and the first floor completed, built in 1878, the first windows installed in 1879, the Attica and the balustrade from 1880 to 1881 and built the dome and the Tabernacle. The dome is topped with a bronze statue of Pallas Athena by Johannes Benk.

The lighting and air conditioning concept with double glazing of the ceilings made ​​the renunciation of artificial light (especially at that time, as gas light) possible, but this resulted due to seasonal variations depending on daylight to different opening times .

Kuppelhalle

Entrance (by clicking the link at the end of the side you can see all the pictures here indicated!)

Grand staircase

Hall

Empire

The Kunsthistorisches Museum was on 17 October 1891 officially opened by Emperor Franz Joseph I. Since 22 October 1891 , the museum is accessible to the public. Two years earlier, on 3 November 1889, the collection of arms, Arms and Armour today, had their doors open. On 1 January 1890 the library service resumed its operations. The merger and listing of other collections of the Highest Imperial Family from the Upper and Lower Belvedere, the Hofburg Palace and Ambras in Tyrol will need another two years.

189, the farm museum was organized in seven collections with three directorates:

Directorate of coins, medals and antiquities collection

The Egyptian Collection

The Antique Collection

The coins and medals collection

Management of the collection of weapons, art and industrial objects

Weapons collection

Collection of industrial art objects

Directorate of Art Gallery and Restaurieranstalt (Restoration Office)

Collection of watercolors, drawings, sketches, etc.

Restoration Office

Library

Very soon the room the Court Museum (Hofmuseum) for the imperial collections was offering became too narrow. To provide temporary help, an exhibition of ancient artifacts from Ephesus in the Theseus Temple was designed. However, additional space had to be rented in the Lower Belvedere.

1914, after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne, his " Estonian Forensic Collection " passed to the administration of the Court Museum. This collection, which emerged from the art collection of the house of d' Este and world travel collection of Franz Ferdinand, was placed in the New Imperial Palace since 1908. For these stocks, the present collection of old musical instruments and the Museum of Ethnology emerged.

The First World War went by, apart from the oppressive economic situation without loss. The farm museum remained during the five years of war regularly open to the public.

Until 1919 the K.K. Art Historical Court Museum was under the authority of the Oberstkämmereramt (head chamberlain office) and belonged to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. The officials and employees were part of the royal household.

First Republic

The transition from monarchy to republic, in the museum took place in complete tranquility. On 19 November 1918 the two imperial museums on Maria Theresa Square were placed under the state protection of the young Republic of German Austria. Threatening to the stocks of the museum were the claims raised in the following weeks and months of the "successor states" of the monarchy as well as Italy and Belgium on Austrian art collection. In fact, it came on 12th February 1919 to the violent removal of 62 paintings by armed Italian units. This "art theft" left a long time trauma among curators and art historians.

It was not until the Treaty of Saint-Germain of 10 September 1919, providing in Article 195 and 196 the settlement of rights in the cultural field by negotiations. The claims of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Italy again could mostly being averted in this way. Only Hungary, which presented the greatest demands by far, was met by more than ten years of negotiation in 147 cases.

On 3 April 1919 was the expropriation of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine by law and the acquisition of its property, including the "Collections of the Imperial House" , by the Republic. Of 18 June 1920 the then provisional administration of the former imperial museums and collections of Este and the secular and clergy treasury passed to the State Office of Internal Affairs and Education, since 10 November 1920, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Education. A few days later it was renamed the Art History Court Museum in the "Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna State", 1921 "Kunsthistorisches Museum" . Of 1st January 1921 the employees of the museum staff passed to the state of the Republic.

Through the acquisition of the former imperial collections owned by the state, the museum found itself in a complete new situation. In order to meet the changed circumstances in the museum area, designed Hans Tietze in 1919 the "Vienna Museum program". It provided a close cooperation between the individual museums to focus at different houses on main collections. So dominated exchange, sales and equalizing the acquisition policy in the interwar period. Thus resulting until today still valid collection trends. Also pointing the way was the relocation of the weapons collection from 1934 in its present premises in the New Castle, where since 1916 the collection of ancient musical instruments was placed.

With the change of the imperial collections in the ownership of the Republic the reorganization of the internal organization went hand in hand, too. Thus the museum was divided in 1919 into the Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection (with the Oriental coins)

Collection of Classical Antiquities

Collection of ancient coins

Collection of modern coins and medals

Weapons collection

Collection of sculptures and crafts with the Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments

Picture Gallery

The Museum 1938-1945

Count Philipp Ludwig Wenzel Sinzendorf according to Rigaud. Clarisse 1948 by Baroness de Rothschildt "dedicated" to the memory of Baron Alphonse de Rothschildt; restituted to the Rothschilds in 1999, and in 1999 donated by Bettina Looram Rothschild, the last Austrian heiress.

With the "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich all Jewish art collections such as the Rothschilds were forcibly "Aryanised". Collections were either "paid" or simply distributed by the Gestapo at the museums. This resulted in a significant increase in stocks. But the KHM was not the only museum that benefited from the linearization. Systematically looted Jewish property was sold to museums, collections or in pawnshops throughout the empire.

After the war, the museum struggled to reimburse the "Aryanised" art to the owners or their heirs. They forced the Rothschild family to leave the most important part of their own collection to the museum and called this "dedications", or "donations". As a reason, was the export law stated, which does not allow owners to perform certain works of art out of the country. Similar methods were used with other former owners. Only on the basis of international diplomatic and media pressure, to a large extent from the United States, the Austrian government decided to make a change in the law (Art Restitution Act of 1998, the so-called Lex Rothschild). The art objects were the Rothschild family refunded only in the 1990s.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum operates on the basis of the federal law on the restitution of art objects from the 4th December 1998 (Federal Law Gazette I, 181 /1998) extensive provenance research. Even before this decree was carried out in-house provenance research at the initiative of the then archive director Herbert Haupt. This was submitted in 1998 by him in collaboration with Lydia Grobl a comprehensive presentation of the facts about the changes in the inventory levels of the Kunsthistorisches Museum during the Nazi era and in the years leading up to the State Treaty of 1955, an important basis for further research provenance.

The two historians Susanne Hehenberger and Monika Löscher are since 1st April 2009 as provenance researchers at the Kunsthistorisches Museum on behalf of the Commission for Provenance Research operating and they deal with the investigation period from 1933 to the recent past.

The museum today

Today the museum is as a federal museum, with 1st January 1999 released to the full legal capacity - it was thus the first of the state museums of Austria, implementing the far-reaching self-financing. It is by far the most visited museum in Austria with 1.3 million visitors (2007).

The Kunsthistorisches Museum is under the name Kunsthistorisches Museum and Museum of Ethnology and the Austrian Theatre Museum with company number 182081t since 11 June 1999 as a research institution under public law of the Federal virtue of the Federal Museums Act, Federal Law Gazette I/115/1998 and the Museum of Procedure of the Kunsthistorisches Museum and Museum of Ethnology and the Austrian Theatre Museum, 3 January 2001, BGBl II 2/ 2001, in force since 1 January 2001, registered.

In fiscal 2008, the turnover was 37.185 million EUR and total assets amounted to EUR 22.204 million. In 2008 an average of 410 workers were employed.

Management

1919-1923: Gustav Glück as the first chairman of the College of science officials

1924-1933: Hermann Julius Hermann 1924-1925 as the first chairman of the College of the scientific officers in 1925 as first director

1933: Arpad Weixlgärtner first director

1934-1938: Alfred Stix first director

1938-1945: Fritz Dworschak 1938 as acting head, from 1938 as a chief in 1941 as first director

1945-1949: August von Loehr 1945-1948 as executive director of the State Art Collections in 1949 as general director of the historical collections of the Federation

1945-1949: Alfred Stix 1945-1948 as executive director of the State Art Collections in 1949 as general director of art historical collections of the Federation

1949-1950: Hans Demel as administrative director

1950: Karl Wisoko-Meytsky as general director of art and historical collections of the Federation

1951-1952: Fritz Eichler as administrative director

1953-1954: Ernst H. Buschbeck as administrative director

1955-1966: Vincent Oberhammer 1955-1959 as administrative director, from 1959 as first director

1967: Edward Holzmair as managing director

1968-1972: Erwin Auer first director

1973-1981: Friderike Klauner first director

1982-1990: Hermann Fillitz first director

1990: George Kugler as interim first director

1990-2008: Wilfried Seipel as general director

2009-2019: Sabine Haag as general director

2019– : Eike Schmidt (art historian, designated)

Collections

To the Kunsthistorisches Museum are also belonging the collections of the New Castle, the Austrian Theatre Museum in Palais Lobkowitz, the Museum of Ethnology and the Wagenburg (wagon fortress) in an outbuilding of Schönbrunn Palace. A branch office is also Ambras in Innsbruck.

Kunsthistorisches Museum (main building)

Picture Gallery

Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection

Collection of Classical Antiquities

Vienna Chamber of Art

Numismatic Collection

Library

New Castle

Ephesus Museum

Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments

Arms and Armour

Archive

Hofburg

The imperial crown in the Treasury

Imperial Treasury of Vienna

Insignia of the Austrian Hereditary Homage

Insignia of imperial Austria

Insignia of the Holy Roman Empire

Burgundian Inheritance and the Order of the Golden Fleece

Habsburg-Lorraine Household Treasure

Ecclesiastical Treasury

Schönbrunn Palace

Imperial Carriage Museum Vienna

Armory in Ambras Castle

Ambras Castle

Collections of Ambras Castle

Major exhibits

Among the most important exhibits of the Art Gallery rank inter alia:

Jan van Eyck: Cardinal Niccolò Albergati, 1438

Martin Schongauer: Holy Family, 1475-80

Albrecht Dürer : Trinity Altar, 1509-16

Portrait Johann Kleeberger, 1526

Parmigianino: Self Portrait in Convex Mirror, 1523/24

Giuseppe Arcimboldo: Summer 1563

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio: Madonna of the Rosary 1606/ 07

Caravaggio: Madonna of the Rosary (1606-1607)

Titian: Nymph and Shepherd to 1570-75

Portrait of Jacopo de Strada, 1567/68

Raffaello Santi: Madonna of the Meadow, 1505 /06

Lorenzo Lotto: Portrait of a young man against white curtain, 1508

Peter Paul Rubens: The altar of St. Ildefonso, 1630-32

The Little Fur, about 1638

Jan Vermeer: The Art of Painting, 1665/66

Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Fight between Carnival and Lent, 1559

Kids, 1560

Tower of Babel, 1563

Christ Carrying the Cross, 1564

Gloomy Day (Early Spring), 1565

Return of the Herd (Autumn), 1565

Hunters in the Snow (Winter) 1565

Bauer and bird thief, 1568

Peasant Wedding, 1568/69

Peasant Dance, 1568/69

Paul's conversion (Conversion of St Paul), 1567

Cabinet of Curiosities:

Saliera from Benvenuto Cellini 1539-1543

Egyptian-Oriental Collection:

Mastaba of Ka Ni Nisut

Collection of Classical Antiquities:

Gemma Augustea

Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós

Gallery: Major exhibits

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunsthistorisches_Museum

This is a tiny wooden statue that stands about 3 inches high.

 

Taken for Macro Mondays.

6/20/2011: Theme: Humility

Took this picture awhile back when birding Canaveral area. John is still in Greece so I'm still sending the Sunday School lessons along to him via internet.

  

(Luke 20:1a) “And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel…”

 

A.) Jesus had cleansed the temple of the vendors and moneychangers.

 

1.) Now in these last few days before His betrayal and crucifixion Jesus teaches in the temple.

 

2.) Jesus does not just teach, but notice, the Bible said that He also preached the Gospel.

 

a.) The Greek word for Gospel, (Euaggalizo), from which we get “Evangelize” is defined as “Announce Good News”.

 

b.) God’s Word clearly delineates between teaching and preaching.

 

3.) Jesus taught many different things to the people over the course of His ministry; (As Luke here says He did in those last days.)

 

a.) The golden rule, humility, and how to pray, just name three;

 

(Luke 6:31) And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

 

(Luke 14:8) When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;

 

(Luke 11:2-4) And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

 

4.) Jesus also preached the Gospel to them throughout His ministry.

 

(John 6:35) And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

 

(John 6:47) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

 

(John 7:38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

 

(John 11:25) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

 

(John 14:1-3) Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

 

(John 14:6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

(Luke 20:1b-2) “…the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?”

 

A.) While Jesus was teaching and preaching in the temple the head men of the Jews came to Him with this question.

 

1.) “Where do you get the power and authority to come in here and usurp our authority and power?”

 

a.) The people wanted Jesus for King, the leaders wanted to keep the status quo.

 

b.) Even though the Romans ruled militarily, they allowed these Jewish leaders to continue their own little fiefdom.

 

c.) This was their biggest problem, Jesus was a threat to their prestige, power, and position.

 

(Luke 20:3-4) And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

 

(Matthew 21:24) And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

 

A.) Jesus poses a test for them, which if they pass He will in turn answer their query.

 

1.) Remember where they are;

 

a.) They’re in the temple surrounded by Jesus’ followers.

 

b.) Many of whom have been with him since John Baptist’s ministry and subsequent death.

 

c.) These folk have seen the miracles, accepted the preaching, and heard the teaching.

 

d.) This is not a crowd that the leaders can trifle with.

 

(Luke 20:5-6) And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.

 

A.) John had been a prophet with the people from his youth, they had great respect for him.

 

1.) The people held his memory with great regard.

 

B.) The priests, Pharisees, politicos, and pitiful pretenders were not stupid.

 

1.) They knew exactly how the people felt about John.

 

C.) They were between the proverbial “Rock and a hard spot.”

 

1.) The hard spot was John, the Rock was, of course, Jesus.

 

(Luke 20:7-8) And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

 

A.) The fact is, that their question was already answered by Jesus previously, and coincidentally, when speaking of John.

 

(John 5:36) But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

 

(Luke 20:9) Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

 

A.) Jesus doesn’t really change the subject here when He starts this parable.

 

1.) The parable is aimed directly at the men who have been questioning Him.

 

a.) The “certain man” is God the Father.

 

b.) The “vineyard” is kingdom of God.

 

c.) The “husbandmen” is Israel.

 

d.) The “far country” is heaven.

 

e.) The “long time” is Israel’s time to up to the parable.

 

(Luke 20:10-12) And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.

 

A.) The certain man sends servants to get fruit from the vineyard.

 

1.) The “servants” are the prophets.

 

2.) The “fruit” is growth in God’s kingdom.

 

B.) We know from the history of the O.T. that, with very few notable bright spots, Israel grew methodically away from God.

 

1.) She bore no fruit in the world, and in fact, the vine became an eyesore.

 

(Luke 20:13) Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.

 

A.) God the “certain man and lord of the vineyard” asks Himself a question; “What am I going to do now?”

 

1.) Here is God’s problem; He loves mankind, and He is not willing that any should perish. II Peter 3:9

 

a.) God wants to see fruit in His vineyard. Souls for His kingdom.

 

B.) The “certain man, the lord of the vineyard” decides to send his beloved son whom he hopes will be respected by the husbandmen.

 

1.) The “beloved son” is, of course Jesus.

 

(Luke 20:14) But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

 

A.) The husbandmen do not want to bow to the authority of the “lord of the vineyard” they want the power and the kingdom for themselves.

 

1.) Their decision is to kill the son.

 

2.) Their logic is that the “lord of the vineyard” will give up on his desire for fruit.

 

a.) They believe that if they just get rid of the “son” they can continue with the “status quo” and their “little fiefdom”.

 

B.) Thus far in the parable Jesus has laid the groundwork for what will happen in the next few days in Jerusalem.

 

(Luke 20:15a) “So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him…”

 

A.) The husbandmen kill the son.

 

(Luke 23:20-21) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.

 

(Luke 20:15b-16a) "…What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others…”

 

A.) Jesus asks a question and answers it Himself;

 

1.) The “lord of the vineyard” will destroy the “husbandmen” and let out the “vineyard” to other caretakers.

 

(Luke 20:16b) “…And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.”

 

A.) The men that the parable is aimed at miss the point completely.

 

1.) They judge the husbandmen’s actions to be horrible, shake their heads, and say; “God forbid such a thing to happen to that certain lord’s business and family.”

 

B.) Jesus, on the other hand, decides to quote Scripture to them which He knows will help them to “get the point”.

 

(Luke 20:17-18) And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

 

A.) Jesus uses the Sword of the Word of God in both Psalm 118:22 & Daniel 2:34-35 to send the point of the blade home.

 

(Psalms 118:22) The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

 

(Daniel 2:34-35) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

 

B.) Look back at the first part of verse 16;

 

1.) In Matthew’s account of this scene he records Jesus as saying this as well;

 

(Matthew 21:43) Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

 

a.) The “nation” is the Church, and we must not fail in our duty to bear fruit to God.

 

(Luke 20:19) And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

 

A.) Those in power would like to have taken Jesus away right then and there, but were powerless because of the people.

 

In the field of city planning the limitations on artistry of arrangement have, to be sure, narrowed greatly in our day. Today such a masterpiece of city planning as the Acropolis of

Athens is simply unthinkable. That sort of thing is for us, at the moment, an impossibility. Even if the millions were provided that such a project would entail, we would still be unable to create something of the kind, because we lack both the artistic basis for it and any universally valid

philosophy of life that has sufficient vigor in the soul of the people to find physical expression in the work.

  

Yet even if the commission be devoid of content and merely decorative—as is the case with art today—it would be frightfully difficult for our realistic man of the nineteenth century. Today's city builder must, before all, acquire the noble virtue of an utmost humility, and, what is remarkable in this case, less for economic considerations than for really basic reasons.

  

Assuming that in any new development the cityscape [Stadtbild] must be made as splendid and pictorial as possible, if only decoratively in order to glorify the locality—such a purpose cannot be accomplished with the ruler or with our geometrically-straight street lines. In order to produce the effects of the old masters, their colors as well must form part of our palette. Sundry curves, twisted streets and irregularities would have to be included artificially in the plan;

an affected artlessness, a purposeful unintentionalness. But can the accidents of history over the course of centuries be invented and constructed ex novo in the plan?

  

Could one, then, truly and sincerely enjoy such a fabricated ingenuousness, such a studied naturalness? Certainly not. The satisfaction of a spontaneous gaiety is denied to any cultural level in which building does not proceed at apparent random from day to day, but instead constructs its plans intellectually on the drawing board. This whole course of events, moreover, cannot be reversed, and consequently a

large portion of the picturesque beauties we have mentioned will probably be irretrievably lost to use in contemporary planning. Modern living as well as modern building techniques no longer permit the faithful imitation of old townscapes, a fact which we cannot overlook without falling

prey to barren fantasies. The exemplary creations of the old masters must remain alive with us in some other way than through slavish copying; only if we can determine in what the essentials of these creations consist, and if we can apply these meaningfully to modern conditions, will it be

possible to harvest a new and flourishing crop from the apparently sterile soil. […] Works of art cannot be created by a committee or through office activity, but only by a

single individual; an artistically effective city plan is also a work of art and not merely an administrative matter. This is the crux of the whole situation. Granting that each individual

member of a municipal building office, by virtue of his ability and knowledge, his numerous travels and other studies, as well as his innate artistic sensibility and lively imagination, could design an excellent town plan, yet several in association in the office will never produce anything

but dry, pedantic stuff that smacks of the dust of documents.

  

The head of the office has, of course, no time to do the job himself, because he is inundated with meetings, reports,

committees, administration, etc.; his subordinate, on the other hand, would not dare to have ideas of his own; he must stick to the official norms, and his drafting board will always reflect only these, not because he cannot do any better, no!—but because it is an official drafting board on

which he is working, and his personal ambition, his individuality as a creative and sensitive being, and his enthusiasm for a thing for which he alone will be responsible before the world, do not, for reason of his official function, enter into the matter. Yes, strictly speaking, any such

tendencies would represent a breach of discipline. […]

No! These shortcomings will not be eliminated merely by leaving matters of city planning to chance. It is absolutely essential to make a positive formulation of the requirements

of art because today we can no longer count on an instinctive taste in art; this no longer exists. It is imperative to study the works of the past, and for the artistic tradition that we have lost there must be substituted a theoretical understanding of the reasons for the excellence of ancient layouts.

  

Their effective bases must be spelled out as positive requirements, as rules for city planning: only this can really advance the cause, if it is still possible to do so. Having examined our predecessors' works in the first part of this book it is clear that, as a final result of our whole analysis, we must try to establish rules for today. In so doing, one thing must be borne in mind: artistically satisfactory parceling of a new section of town cannot be attempted without first having some idea as to what purpose this section will serve in the long run and what public buildings and plazas might be intended for it.

 

Without any idea at all about what buildings and plazas are to make up a part of town or what purpose it is ultimately to serve, one cannot begin either to make a distribution in keeping with the site and its conditions or to attain any measure of artistic effectiveness. It is just as if a patron were to show a building lot to his architect and say to him: 'Build something on this for me for about one hundred thousand florins: 'You mean an apartment house?' 'No!' 'Or a villa?' 'No!' 'Perhaps a factory?' 'No!' etc.—This would be simply ridiculous, indeed crazy, and could not really happen because nobody builds without a purpose, and nobody approaches a builder without very definite intentions or without a building program.

 

Only in town planning is it considered reasonable to go ahead with a building plan without a definite program, and this derives from the fact that one simply does not know how any specific new district will develop. The consequence of this absence of a program is the familiar building-block system, which tells us in all bluntness: 'We could perhaps create something beautiful and useful here, but we do not know just what, so we humbly decline to deal with such a vague problem, and therefore present merely a division of the surface area so that its sale by the square foot can begin: What a contrast to the ideal of old! But this is no joke. It faithfully portrays reality. In Vienna such a gridiron plan was drawn up for the X District and turned out as one might expect; right now an identical one is on paper for the so-called New Donaustadt, and it could not be more inadequate and awkward.

 

Our assumption that a lack of program is one of the reasons for such unimaginative layouts is confirmed by the very largest parceling known—the division of North America into

states. That vast new land has been everywhere divided according to the same rectangular .system, its straight lines corresponding to latitude and longitude. This is obviously due to the fact that the terrain was not well-known at the time and its future development could not be predicted, since America lacked a past, had no history, and did not yet signify anything else in the civilization of mankind but so many square miles of land. For America, Australia, and other unopened lands, the gridiron plan may for the time being still suffice. Wherever people are concerned merely with colonizing land, live only for earning money, and earn money only in order to live, it may be appropriate to pack people into blocks of buildings like herring in a barrel. […] When this [program] has been decided, then the most advantageous siting, grouping, and necessary inter-relationships should be worked out. With this the designing of the city plan proper begins, and for it public competitions would certainly have to be held. Apart from the preliminary data already mentioned, the program for the competition would have to include an exact survey of the terrain (showing all existing roads and other details) as well as information about wind-directions, important water-table data, and whatever else might be of local significance. The task of the contestants would first be to arrange the required public buildings,gardens, etc., in proper relationship to each other and at the most appropriate spots.

 

For example, several public gardens should be placed at an equal distance from each other if possible. None of these large garden areas should be left open to the street, but instead ought to be surrounded by buildings (for reasons cited earlier* and made accessible through two or more gateways that ar in keeping with their surroundings but in any case not identical. The gardens would thereby be as sheltered as possible, and long building frontages of considerable value would result, the whole serving as a bulwark against the spread of the block system.

 

In contrast to the dispersal recommended for gardens, buildings ought to be united in a suitable manner, for instance, parish house, public school, and related buildings adjoining the church. Certainly monuments, fountains, and public buildings should be integrated as far as possible, so as to produce plazas of more impressive effect. If there are to be several plazas it is best to combine them as a group instead of scattering them. Each plaza should through its site, its

size, and its shape possess distinct and unique character, and at the same time attention should be paid to the correct opening of streets into it and to the enclosed character of the plaza-wall.

  

Perspective vistas are to be considered as well as the exploitation of natural panoramas. The commendable horse-shoe format of the Baroque, a system of fore-courts after the manner of ancient atriums, etc., known to be unfailingly effective, should be kept in mind for occasional

use. Churches and monumental buildings should certainly not be isolated, but rather built into the plaza-wall, thereby creating suitable spots for the future placement of fountains and monuments around the edge of the plaza. Irregularities of terrain, existing waterways and roads should not be

forcibly eliminated simply to achieve a banal rectangularity, but should instead be preserved as a

welcome excuse for crooked streets and other diversities. These irregularities, nowadays so often

eliminated at great expense, are, in fact, most essential. Without them even the most exquisitely designed plan would seem stiff and stilted in its total effect. Furthermore it is precisely these factors which afford one an easy orientation within the maze of streets.

 

They can also be heartily recommended from the point of view of public health, since it is the curvature and crookedness of streets in the old parts of town which stop and deflect the prevailing winds, so that the

strongest storms, however violent, only sweep over the roof tops, while in the regularized sections of town they blow right along the straight streets in a highly disagreeable and unhealthy manner. This is easy to observe wherever new and old parts of town coexist, perhaps best of all in Vienna which is more than blessed with winds. While anyone can cross the inner city in a medium wind without annoyance, he is immediately enveloped in clouds of dust on entering any new part. […] Using this argument one might more likely be able to convince our predominantly materialistic age about the virtues of an artistically-developed town plan. To be sure, much has already been written about the economic importance of the fine arts to a nation, and this has become a generally accepted fact. This is significant because the purely ideal value of art as an end in itself—as perhaps the highest aspiration of our cultural endeavors and of human activity in general—is, on the other hand, not at all so universally accepted. However, since the arts also possess a social and economic significance, it might be that even hardheaded city officials will eventually discover that it would not be so bad for once to invest some sums in the artistry of town layouts in hopes of reaping civic sentiment, local pride, and, perhaps, more tourism. […] Our study has certainly demonstrated that it is not at all necessary to design modern city plans in as stereotyped a fashion as is the custom, that it is quite unnecessary to forego in them all the beauties of art and the attainments of the past. It is not true that modern traffic forces us to do so; it is not true that hygienic requirements compel us. It is downright laziness, a lack of imagination and of good intentions, which condemn us modern city dwellers to pass our lives in formless mass- housing with the depressing sight of eternally similar apartment house blocks and unbroken frontage lines. It is probably the gentle force of habit that hardens us to them. We ought to consider, however, the impression we receive upon returning home from Venice or Florence—how painfully our banal modernity affects us. This may be one of the basic reasons why the fortunate inhabitants of those marvelously artistic cities have no need to leave them, while we every year for a few weeks must get away into nature in order to be able to endure our city for another year.

 

By Camillo Sitte