April 23rd is predominantly St. George Day. Precisely the feast day on which Brother Giles sought out St. Francis at the Portiuncula and joined the Little Brothers. And in a synchronistic twist, also the date of Giles' death 54 years later!
BLESSED Brother Giles of Assisi
c.1190-1262
April 23
Giles, one of the first followers
of St. Francis, was a very simple and prayerful man.
Giles
the farmer distributed his goods to the poor and became one of Francis’ first
disciples on April 23, 1208. The Poverello introduced Giles to the others
saying, “Here is a good brother God has sent us! Let us sit down to table and
celebrate his coming.”
Early
in his life as a Franciscan, Giles went on pilgrimages to Rome, to the Holy
Land and to the famous shrine of St. James at Compostella, Spain. His 1219 preaching mission to the Moslems of
Tunis was cut short when Christians there, fearing he would cause trouble for
them, put him on the boat back to Italy.
In 1234 he retired to Monte Ripido near Perugia to pursue a
contemplative life. Giles lived there until his death.
Giles
always worked for his day’s bread even if he was a guest someplace. Once when
he was staying with a cardinal, the morning brought a hard rain. The cardinal
happily thought Giles would miss a day’s work and have to accept his charity.
The ingenious friar, however, went to the kitchen of the palace and spent the
day helping the cook clean it and prepare the evening meal!
When
St. Bonaventure came to Perugia, Giles asked him if an ignorant person could
love God as much as a scholar. Bonaventure, one of the leading theologians from
the University of Paris and at the time minister general of the friars,
responded, “A little old woman can love God even more than a master of
theology.” Giles immediately ran out, met an old woman and told her, “O poor
little old woman, though you are simple and uneducated, just love the Lord God
and you can be greater than brother Bonaventure.”
Pope
Gregory IX, the former Cardinal Hugolino and a great admirer of St. Francis,
once brought Giles to Viterbo in order to experience his holiness
firsthand. They began speaking of
heaven, and Giles twice went into ecstasy for long periods of time. The pope
was convinced. Another time the pope asked Giles for some advice about
fulfilling the duties of a pope. Giles told him that he should have two eyes in
his soul: one to contemplate heavenly things and the other to direct earthly
things.
As
the pope and Bonaventure agreed, Giles was a master of the spiritual life. The
Golden Saying of Brother Giles records some of his most memorable quotes.
One
of the last of Francis’ early followers to die, Giles denounced any relaxation
of discipline in the Rule of St. Francis. He was particularly worried that some
of the young friars being educated at the University of Paris would develop the
intellectual pride so foreign to St. Francis. Giles was beatified in 1777.
QUOTE: “The birds of the air and
the beasts of the earth and the fishes of the sea are satisfied when they have
enough food for themselves. But since humans are not satisfied with the things
of this world and always long for others, it is clear that humans were not made
primarily for them, but for the Other. For the body was made for the sake of
the soul, and this world for the sake of the other world.” (Golden Sayings)
COMMENT:
We are created for a purpose. Giles knew that our goal is life with God and
happily prepared himself for it.
St.
Fidelis of Sigmaringen
1578-1622
April 24
Fidelis
gave up a profession he considered too dangerous and then died a martyr!
Born when the Reformation had
already taken firm root in Germany, Holland, France and Switzerland, Fidelis
came from a leading family in Sigmaringen, Germany. After receiving doctorates
in philosophy and in law (canon and civil) at the University of Freiburg in
Breisgau, he became a lawyer. When he saw how many lawyers were corrupted by
greed, however, he began to fear for his soul and joined the Capuchins.
The superior’s words to him at
profession of vows, “Remain faithful until death and I will give you the crown
of life” (Rev 2:10), proved prophetic. After ordination Fidelis began a
preaching career which was interrupted by his appointment as guardian at
Feldkirch and in several other places. In one place Fidelis distinguished
himself by nursing soldiers felled by an epidemic. Insisting on strict poverty, Fidelis was an
inspiration to the friars.
In 1622, the newly-established
Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Propaganda Fide) named
Fidelis to head a mission to the Calvinists in Switzerland. He converted a fair
number of them. Killed while preaching in the church at Seewis, Fidelis is
considered the first martyr of the Propaganda. Fidelis, the patron of
lawyers, was canonized in 1746.
QUOTE:
“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the
world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the
gospel or, in other words, of the Church’s mission of redemption of the human
race and its liberation from every oppressive situation (Synod of Bishops, Justice
in the World, 1971).
COMMENT:
Fidelis can inspire us in two ways: to work for justice on behalf of the poor
and to work for the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His reservation about
practicing law was not shared by St. Ivo of Britanny (May 10) or St. Thomas
More (June 22).
Fidelis used to pray that he might
never be halfhearted in his service of Jesus; the same temptation is present
for us. Working for justice is dangerous work and is sometimes mistakenly
considered an “extra” in the following of Jesus. Without championing any one
political party or system, the followers of Jesus must help all peoples realize
their God-given dignity.
SOURCE (for both biographies): McCloskey,
Patrick. Franciscan Saint of the Day. St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1981.
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