Toledo VisitationPalm Sunday and the Legend of the Donkey
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From The Sermons of Saint Francis de Sales for Lent for Palm Sunday, 1622 (pp 170-172)
Why our Lord chose to ride a donkey for His entry into Jerusalem:
“The first is because of its humility. The ass, though heavy, sluggish and lazy, has great humility. It is neither proud nor vain; in this it is unlike the haughty horse. . . .Now our Lord, who was humble and came to destroy pride , chose not to use this proud animal to carry Him. He chose the most simple and the most humble of all animals because He so loved lowliness and humility that only a humble mount could serve Him. God dwells and abides only in the simple and humble of heart. . .
“The second quality is its patience. . . allowing itself to be beaten and maltreated without ever forgetting its origin. It neither complains, nor bites, nor kicks. . . Our 
Lord so loved patience that He wished to become its mirror and pattern.He endured scourging and ill-treatment with invincible patience; He supported so many blasphemies, so many calumnies, without saying a word.
“The third reason is that this animal is obedient, permitting us to burden it as we want without offering any resistance. It carries the load with remarkable submission and suppleness.So much did our Divine Master love obedience and suppleness that He Himself chose to give us an example of it. So He bore the heavy burden of our iniquities and suffered for them all that we had merited. . . Only when clothed with these qualities of humility, patience and submission can we be worthy to carry our Lord. Then the Savior will mount upon our hearts and, as a divine riding master, conduct us under His obedience.”
The Legend of the Donkey
All purebred donkeys are born with a cross on their back. A legend says it is the gift our Lord gave to the humble donkey that 
carried Him into Jerusalem. According to the legend, the little donkey so loved his Master that he followed Him to Calvary. Grief-striken at the sight, he turned away but remained at his station at the foot of the cross. The shadow of the Cross fell upon him and from that day all purebred donkeys wear the Master’s Cross on their back.
That is so cute, after all a Donkey took Mary and Joesph Bethlehem.
That is cute!!!!
There is no reference to a donkey carrying Mary and/or Joseph to Bethlehem.
Just because there is no reference does not mean she did not ride on a donkey to get there, these little beast of burden were used so much and taken for granted it is no wonder it would escape mention as not important. Not much is stated about Joseph but I doubt he would be so cruel as to make his wife walk so far in the final stage of her pregnancy.
That is so cute. I will keep all the sisters in my prayers.
Our lord is wonderful. Thank God he loves us!
Our Lord is wonderful. Thank God He loves us.
Interesting Biblical story of this particular donkey!!
My husband recalled the history but wanted to confirm on-line.
We just bought 2 mini donkeys and the female (pregnant) is a crossback mini donkey!
Thank you for publishing the Biblical meaning of the Crossback donkey.
Totally untrue, NOT ALL Donkies are born with a cross on their backs.
Especially the ones in Hollywood !
“They’ve all got them, even the dark ones. If you shaved their fur, you would find the cross on their skin,” Western Australia Donkey Society president Dawn Maton said.
Wow, this was enlightening, honestly I was not even aware of the cross at the back of the dankie. Now I have learn the reason why Jesus used donkey to enter Jerusalem. Thank you so much for this in-site.