“Where is God when I sin?” I asked a spiritual director. “Suffering with you on the Cross,” he said. And I began to understand Christianity. — Fr. Charles Stanley, OFM Cap., source
“Where is God when I sin?” I asked a spiritual director. “Suffering with you on the Cross,” he said. And I began to understand Christianity. — Fr. Charles Stanley, OFM Cap., source
The name Barabbas means “son of the father” (bar-abba). Before Pilate and the crowd, there were two sons of the father, one innocent, one guilty. They chose one to free, one to condemn. Which son of the father was Adam, and the rest of us, suppose to be like? Two sons of the father, that […]
Nowhere other than looking at himself in the mirror of the Cross can man better understand how much he is worth. — St. Anthony of Padua
That I did always love I bring thee Proof That till I loved I never lived—Enough— That I shall love alway— I argue thee That love is life— And life hath Immortality— This—dost thou doubt—Sweet— Then have I Nothing to show But Calvary— — Emily Dickinson (Poem 549)
Accidentally and pleasantly discovered this song by William Fitzsimmons called “Passion Play.” (listen) I should not have hid Where my heart can’t follow Cause this grace gets so far And too hard to swallow I’ve been running from Saul, He’s been giving chase When I look in his eyes All I see is his face […]
I think there is a choice possible to us at any moment, as long as we live. But there is no sacrifice. There is a choice, and the rest falls away. Second choice does not exist. Beware of those who talk about sacrifice. — Muriel Rukeyser She is mostly correct, but her warning needs clarification. […]
From Br. Joseph — We have all seen pictures of the crucifixion. There is one particular picture, a bit different from most, which I want to describe. The viewpoint of the picture is from above the Cross, a little higher than His right hand and a little behind, looking downward over Jesus on the Cross, […]
My heart is a little giddy with excitement and anticipation for tonight’s Easter Vigil Mass. It is my favorite Mass of the whole year, with Christmas Midnight Mass a close second. It has been a long and dark Lent for me, and the hope Easter brings is fresh and renewed. It is easy to live […]
O wondrous exchange, eternal life is promised to us by the humility of the Lord, who bowed himself down to our pride. — St. Augustine, Confessions Thank You.
It is so challenging to lead when one can not grasp the Way. Even more challenging when one knows from experience too many of the irrelevant detours available, to hear the voice of one crying out in a self imposed wilderness because this is the only way one perceives the Light… through intimacy with darkness. […]
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux asked Jesus what was His greatest unrecorded suffering. The Lord answered, “I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound, which was more painful than the others, and which is not recorded by men.” Saint Bernard composed this prayer: O Loving Jesus, […]
Fr. Ken told this parable during last week’s homily on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: There was a man standing beside a river and saw a scorpion floating on top of the water, helpless in the river current. The man reached out to save the scorpion and was stung. He instinctively reacted by jerking […]
Back in April, I wrote about a problem I had with understanding Jesus’ words on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) In my prior, faithless life as a skeptic and agnostic, I saw this as a big hole in all of the reasons for believing in […]
I was reading at Disputations a discussion about Jesus’ words on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) The traditional explanation is that He said this in reference to, or in fulfillment to scripture, namely Psalm 22. I posted a comment on his weblog: Has anybody ever thought that maybe […]