Bernardine of
Siena was a Friar Minor
who was born in Massa de Carrara, Italy in 1380, and died of natural causes in
Aquila, Italy in 1444. He was a priest, itinerant preacher, and theological
writer. His preaching skills were so great, and the conversions so numerous
that he has become associated with all areas of speaking, advertising and
public relations. He was a renowned peacemaker, in the Franciscan tradition,
who tried to calm feuding clans and factions in the turbulent political world
of the Renaissance. His preaching visits (which would sometimes last for four
hours) would often culminate in mass reconciliations, as listeners were
persuaded to exchange the bacio
di pace, or kiss of peace.
The crowds were so large that they had to be held in the open air, rather than
in a church.
Bernardine was sensitive to the demands of secular life, and tried to
negotiate between Christian ethics and a conflicting code of honor that
stressed retaining face in a public world. He wrote theological works in both
Latin and Italian and established schools of theology for his fellow friars,
insisting that ignorance in a friar was as dangerous as riches. He is known as
well for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus – which he protected, defended
and touted with all his might. It is he who designed the "IHS" emblem surrounded by rays, as if from the sun
(these are the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek) – this emblem was
adopted by the Jesuit community as its logo.
This from a sermon of St. Bernardine:
When a fire is lit to clear a field,
it burns off all the dry and useless weeds and thorns. When the sun rises and
darkness is dispelled, robbers, night-prowlers and burglars hide away. So when
Paul's voice was raised to preach the Gospel to the nations, like a great clap
of thunder in the sky, his preaching was a blazing fire carrying all before it.
It was the sun rising in full glory. Infidelity was consumed by it, false
beliefs fled away, and the truth appeared like a great candle lighting the
whole world with its brilliant flame.
By word of mouth, by letters, by
miracles, and by the example of his own life, Saint Paul bore the name of Jesus wherever he went. He
praised the name of Jesus "at all times," but never more than when
"bearing witness to his faith."
May we with St. Paul, with St. Bernardine and with all the saints in
God's family bear witness to the faith by proclaiming his deeds in our lives,
and uplifting, protecting and professing his precious and glorious Name
wherever we go, whatever we do. AMEN!
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