On the cover of this month’s Magnificat magazine rides the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Mary and Jesus ride on the back of a donkey, whom, as the magazine’s editor points out, is … us! “This brave, sympathetic, yet sometimes stubborn and ill-tempered donkey,” writes Pierre Marie Dumont, “represents us Christians.” The donkey is not too clever but smart enough, and his great virtue is pushing on from start to finish. His great vocation is to carry the King of Kings.
We do indeed carry Christ, especially after having received Holy Communion. “Mother Teresa,” Jesus asked the young nun, “will you carry me into the dark holes of the poor? They don’t know me, and so they don’t want me.” And that is why Teresa of Calcutta founded the “Missionaries of Charity:” to bring Charity Himself where no one else was bringing Him. Mother Teresa often said the Mary was the first Missionary of Charity because she first brought the newly-conceived Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary was the first Eucharistic monstrance in history in history’s first Corpus Christi procession. But who carried Our Lady, who carried Jesus? A donkey.
And that donkey is you. And me. And Pierre-Marie.
What a joy to be a donkey! What a joy to be “brave and sympathetic” and, even when we are stubborn and ill-tempered, to be still useful for God’s purposes. The devil tries to convince us that, when we are ill-tempered and not too clever, the game is up. Old hairy legs tells us that we are hopelessly inadequate to carry Jesus. And some donkeys give up when that old lizard whispers into their ears.
But most donkeys do not give up. They are stubborn, and they are faithful. They plod on, bearing their burdens with a grim and deeply joyful smile. God needs me! I am useful after all! Who was the most unlikely hero in the Chronicles of Narnia (with Reepicheep the Mouse as runner-up)? None other than Puzzle the Donkey. Who was the most endearing character in the Shrek movie? It was the donkey, ably voiced by Eddie Murphy.
Be that donkey for the Holy Family!
We do indeed carry Christ, especially after having received Holy Communion. “Mother Teresa,” Jesus asked the young nun, “will you carry me into the dark holes of the poor? They don’t know me, and so they don’t want me.” And that is why Teresa of Calcutta founded the “Missionaries of Charity:” to bring Charity Himself where no one else was bringing Him. Mother Teresa often said the Mary was the first Missionary of Charity because she first brought the newly-conceived Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary was the first Eucharistic monstrance in history in history’s first Corpus Christi procession. But who carried Our Lady, who carried Jesus? A donkey.
And that donkey is you. And me. And Pierre-Marie.
What a joy to be a donkey! What a joy to be “brave and sympathetic” and, even when we are stubborn and ill-tempered, to be still useful for God’s purposes. The devil tries to convince us that, when we are ill-tempered and not too clever, the game is up. Old hairy legs tells us that we are hopelessly inadequate to carry Jesus. And some donkeys give up when that old lizard whispers into their ears.
But most donkeys do not give up. They are stubborn, and they are faithful. They plod on, bearing their burdens with a grim and deeply joyful smile. God needs me! I am useful after all! Who was the most unlikely hero in the Chronicles of Narnia (with Reepicheep the Mouse as runner-up)? None other than Puzzle the Donkey. Who was the most endearing character in the Shrek movie? It was the donkey, ably voiced by Eddie Murphy.
Be that donkey for the Holy Family!
Donkey Slippers; photo credit: Walmart
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