I love donkeys! When I am with one, it is as though I am so close to Jesus. I can feel the moments in Jerusalem just by stroking its ears and I can see in its eyes a certain sorrowful beauty as it stands as a modern day sentinel of the past. The donkey has been a part of stories in both the Old and New Testaments. Saints have praised them and they served Our Lord on several historical occasions.

There are marvelous legends of the little donkey and how it derived the cross on its back. One legend tells us:

The donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday followed Him to Calvary. Appalled by the sight of Jesus on the cross, the donkey turned away but could not leave. It is said that the shadow of the cross fell upon the shoulders and back of the donkey. A cross marking found on many donkeys today remains a testimony of the love and devotion of a humble, little donkey.

Another legend tells us:

A poor farmer near Jerusalem had a small donkey which seemed to be too small to do any work. The man could not make the beast to carry very much on its back. He felt that he could not continue to feed a little animal like this, one that could do him no good whatsoever. So at the supper table he told his family that he was going to kill the donkey.

His children, who loved the little creature, begged him to sell it rather than harm it. But the farmer said, “How can I sell an animal that can’t do a good day’s work?”

His son suggested, “Father, tie the donkey to a tree on the road to town, and let it be known that whoever wants it may have it for nothing.” The next morning, that’s what the farmer did.

Soon, two men approached and asked to take the animal. “It can carry almost nothing,” the farmer warned them.

“The Lord has need of it,” replied one of the men. The farmer could not imagine what the Lord would want with such a useless donkey, but handed it over. The men took the animal to Jesus. Now, in Jesus’s mind, he had seen that the donkey was in danger, and so he had put the idea of giving the animal away into the mouth of the farmer’s son.

Jesus stroked the sweet animal’s face, and then mounted it with no trouble.

So it was that on the day we now call Palm Sunday, riding on the back of this tiny donkey, the Son of God led his followers into the city of Jerusalem.

If you look at the back of a donkey, you will notice that there is a dark patch of hair that goes the length of its back, and another that crosses its shoulders. Legend has it that the donkey has worn this cross since the day it carried Jesus.

The little donkey has played into my life a time or two just recently.

My book Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know! was being released in November of last year, and I was looking to plan a Book Launch in Saint Augustine, Florida. It had to be a place that had a spiritual significance, something that I would “know” when I found it.

I did indeed find it. The book was launched at The Old City House Inn which was constructed in 1873. Holmes Ammidown (1801-1883), a wealthy merchant from Boston and New York built the Ammidown Mansion in downtown Saint Augustine and the Old City House originally served as its stable. When the mansion was destroyed by fire, the stable served the Flagler hotels. Like the birth of Jesus, my book was blessed with a humble beginning in a stable…one
I am sure a donkey or two resided in.

In March of this year, I was honored with THE BRAYER, the official Journal of the American Donkey and Mule Society publishing an article of mine.

So, my love affair with the donkey continues.

However you may view a donkey, don’t forget to ask yourself this question; Was it just a coincidence that Jesus chose to ride a donkey into Jerusalem? Or did the Lord of the Universe see in this humble animal the greatness its persona could bring to those of us who seek true humility in service to all creation?

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