"Would to God, my brothers, I had a whole forest of
such Junipers," said Francis of this holy friar.
We don’t know much about Juniper before he joined the friars
in 1210. Francis sent him to establish "places" for the friars in
Gualdo Tadino and Viterbo. When St. Clare was dying, Juniper consoled her. He
was devoted to the passion of Jesus and was known for his simplicity.
Several stories about Juniper in the Little Flowers of
St. Francis illustrate his exasperating generosity. Once Juniper was
taking care of a sick man who had a craving to eat pig’s feet. This helpful
friar went to a nearby field, captured a pig and cut off one foot, and then
served this meal to the sick man. The owner of the pig was furious and
immediately went to Juniper’s superior. When Juniper saw his mistake, he
apologized profusely. He also ended up talking this angry man into donating the
rest of the pig to the friars!
Another time Juniper had been commanded to quit giving part
of his clothing to the half-naked people he met on the road. Desiring to obey
his superior, Juniper once told a man in need that he couldn’t give the man his
tunic, but he wouldn’t prevent the man from taking it either. In time, the
friars learned not to leave anything lying around, for Juniper would probably
give it away.
He died in 1258 and is buried at Ara Coeli Church in Rome.
Comment:
What can we make of Juniper? He certainly seems to be the first of many
Franciscan "characters." No doubt some of the stories about him have
improved considerably in the retelling. Although the stories about Juniper may
seem a little quaint, his virtues were not. He was humble because he knew the
truth about God, himself and others. He was patient because he was willing to
suffer ("patience" comes from patior meaning "to
suffer") in his following of Jesus.
Quote:
It is said that St. Francis once described the perfect friar by citing
"the patience of Brother Juniper, who attained the state of perfect
patience because he kept the truth of his low estate constantly in mind, whose
supreme desire was to follow Christ on the way of the cross" (Mirror of
Perfection, #85).
source: http://www.americancatholic.org/
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