Hollow in the palm of Your hand, see me here, a child hiding in this darkness which is All Light and All Truth. The brightness of Your Sun has blinded me. I grasp Your hand and cling to You, my Three, my One. Bright Angel announce your Truth in my soul. Let me not fear the shadows, but find all things awakening anew my confidence in You, Truth and Trusted one. Reign God of my heart, I have sought You moment by moment, day after day. Holy Solace wrap me as in petals. Heart of healing open in the warmth of a new and holy day the Lord has made, new day, Day of the Lord. No fear here, all comfort, all strength, all joy. I have become a child in the palm of Your hand, ever resting, ever secure, O Holy Love. To You abandoned, to You promised, to You wed.
by Joann Nelander
Archive for Reflections
The Hollow of Your Hand
Posted in Prayer with tags palm, Prayer, promise, Reflections, safety, solace on May 13, 2010 by JoannaAMENDING OUR LIVES
Posted in In a nutshell, Religion with tags Christ, growth, holiness, imitation, In a nutshell, Must Read, Reflections, Religion on May 9, 2010 by JoannaThe Imitation of Christ
Thomas à Kempis
From Book I – Twenty-Fifth Chapter
ZEAL IN AMENDING OUR LIVES
“One day when a certain man who wavered often and anxiously between hope and fear was struck with sadness, he knelt in humble prayer before the altar of a church. While meditating on these things, he said: “Oh if I but knew whether I should persevere to the end!” Instantly he heard within the divine answer: “If you knew this, what would you do? Do now what you would do then and you will be quite secure.” Immediately consoled and comforted, he resigned himself to the divine will and the anxious uncertainty ceased. His curiosity no longer sought to know what the future held for him, and he tried instead to find the perfect, the acceptable will of God in the beginning and end of every good work.
“Trust thou in the Lord and do good,” says the Prophet; “dwell in the land and thou shalt feed on its riches.” “
……………When a man reaches a point where he seeks no solace from any creature, then he begins to relish God perfectly. Then also he will be content no matter what may happen to him. He will neither rejoice over great things nor grieve over small ones, but will place himself entirely and confidently in the hands of God, Who for him is all in all, to Whom nothing ever perishes or dies, for Whom all things live, and Whom they serve as He desires.
Always remember your end and do not forget that lost time never returns. Without care and diligence you will never acquire virtue. When you begin to grow lukewarm, you are falling into the beginning of evil; but if you give yourself to fervor, you will find peace and will experience less hardship because of God’s grace and the love of virtue.
Cyber Liberary – Imitation of Christ
The Eucharist is the Lord’s Passover
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Tradition with tags Catholic, Christ, Communion, Eucharist, passion, Reflections, Tradition on May 6, 2010 by JoannaFrom a treatise by Saint Gaudentius of Brescia, bishop
The Eucharist is the Lord’s Passover
One man has died for all, and now in every church in the mystery of bread and wine he heals those for whom he is offered in sacrifice, giving life to those who believe and holiness to those who consecrate the offering. This is the flesh of the Lamb; this is his blood. The bread that came down from heaven declared: The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. It is significant, too, that his blood should be given to us in the form of wine, for his own words in the gospel, I am the true vine, imply clearly enough that whenever wine is offered as a representation of Christ’s passion, it is offered as his blood. This means that it was of Christ that the blessed patriarch Jacob prophesied when he said: He will wash his tunic in wine and his cloak in the blood of the grape. The tunic was our flesh, which Christ was to put on like a garment and which he was to wash in his own blood.
Creator and Lord of all things, whatever their nature, he brought forth bread from the earth and changed it into his own body. Not only had he the power to do this, but he had promised it; and, as he had changed water into wine, he also changed wine into his own blood. It is the Lord’s passover, Scripture tells us, that is, the Lord’s passing. We are no longer to look upon the bread and wine as earthly substances. They have become heavenly, because Christ has passed into them and changed them into his body and blood. What you receive is the body of him who is the heavenly bread, and the blood of him who is the sacred vine; for when he offered his disciples the consecrated bread and wine, he said: This is my body, this is my blood. We have put our trust in him. I urge you to have faith in him; truth can never deceive.
When Christ told the crowds that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, they were horrified and began to murmur among themselves: This teaching is too hard; who can be expected to listen to it? As I have already told you, thoughts such as these must be banished. The Lord himself used heavenly fire to drive them away by going on to declare: It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Move the Hands of God by Prayer
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, My Journal, Prayer, Religion with tags Catholic, Christ, Christian, Eternity, grace, healing, memory, minister, My Journal, Prayer, Reflections, Religion, silence, time on May 2, 2010 by JoannaIn the silence God invites without words. My prayers are often noisy affairs filled with faces, memories, love and feelings of sorrow. I am often overwhelmed and moved to tears by the poignancy of a fleeting thought. My heart tells me that what seems insignificant holds a treasure. God’s gifts often come in disguise like the beggar at the door who is Christ. The Spirit says minister here in this place at this time; reach back through the years to move the hand of God by prayer.
I am with God, the Lord of All, including Time. I may have missed or misused moments to do good, but God reigns in Eternity, as present in the Past as He is in my heartbeat. God’s hands are not tied by the flow of Time. He is there and here and Eternal Now. My lowly prayer, clothed in The Name, breaks down the wall that stands between my need or regret, and blessing. Like the little donkey that carried the King of Kings, my humble prayer sets in motion the flow of grace to love, to heal, to mend, to restore and bless anew.
Joann Nelander
Update -Yad Vashem
Posted in People with tags Benedict XVI, extermination, holocaust, inscriptions, memorial, People, Reflections, remember, tattoo, yad vashem on April 19, 2010 by JoannaUpdate-Yad Vashem – What’s in a Name
I was reminded of a piece I wrote, God Remembers Their Names on the occasion of Pope Benedict XVI speaking at Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and then I came upon this : A Hand and a Name by Renee Ghert-Zand.
“How ironic it is that celebrities, who live increasingly public lives, would metaphorically die to have their names and handprints immortalized in concrete, while the victims of the Holocaust would have done anything to have been able to live out their natural lives in obscurity, their names never appearing on one of countless Nazi extermination lists recovered and now housed forever at Yad VaShem.”
Yad VaShem Hall of Names by David Shankbone
God, the Fine-tuned Universe/Multi-verse
Posted in Just Thinking Out Loud, life with tags atheists, creation, creator, D'Souza, dimensions, God, Hawkins, Just Thinking Out Loud, life, multi-verse, Reflections, universe on April 15, 2010 by Joanna
Middle-age should be a thoughtful time. You be the judge:
(Speaking of Santa Claus) as unbelievable as those tales are from the north pole, the tales from Jerusalem leave it in the dust. Snakes that can talk, the Universe built from nothing in 7 days flat, procreation without copulation, walking on water, building a single ship to accommodate 3 million animals (1,589,361 species times two), turning water into wine, feeding 5000 people with a couple small fish a few loaves of bread, rising from the dead, etc… It certainly flies in the face of reason based on everything I’ve seen in this world, but it is firmly believed by at least a billion big humans on the planet tonight.
Just because it is the person’s will and desire to make it true, sadly does not make it truth.
I don’t doubt there is much more to this world than what we can see, hear, smell, feel, etc…. Quantum physics has gone much further and deeper than regular old atoms/matter… There are most likely many more dimensions than the four that we experience. I don’t even doubt the power of prayer or other group-think exercises.. I wholeheartedly support many of the values espoused by many of the religions of the world. I just am not buying the unbelievable stories sans proof and with so much proof against.
As to the four last things…
death — empirically it’s looming for all of us, no way around it.. is it final? not too sure — if consciousness survives to go another round, it probably has a more scientific multi-dimensional explanation.
judgment / heaven / hell — empirically haven’t seen any evidence of these, but it sure sounds like a good concept for a king to control a kingdom in the here and now. If I were the man behind the curtain, I’d be telling my subjects all about the this stuff to make sure they didn’t cause too many problems for me.”
This enlightened summation of the Bible, doesn’t actually deal with the Bible. Nowhere here is there evidence of serious inquiry. The understanding and reflection of holy men and scholars are rather ceremonially dismissed with ridicule and from a distance of disdain. The Holy Scripture, an anthology and compilation of priestly, prophetic, scholarly and apostolic construction guided by the Holy Spirit, suffers a verbal sortie of “trash talk.” I look for a sense of respect for the sacred and fail to find it.
What I see in the derision is a sophomoric cliff notes overview filled with disdain and a lack of true familiarity with the revealed Word of God. The foray is little more than a stylish dance of words and ego perhaps for the amusement of others. What is gained? What is lost? Knowledge? Grace? Having brushed aside the pesky gnat of Holy Revelation, the author reaches for the stars or to be more exact, to other dimensions. Though playful, the piece uncovers a well of cynicism usually reserved for the old and broken.
Does the grandeur of the Universe or a multi-verse diminish or dismiss a Creator? Doesn’t the smallest living cell give us a sense of a plan? Doesn’t a plan of necessity infer a planner, somewhat like finding a copy of Hamlet would point to a Shakespeare. Darwin conveniently starts with a creature with cells, so he doesn’t theorize about how they came to be- just how and/or why they might have changed.
Do untold dimensions rule out a Heaven or Hell, or increase the likelihood in the realm of the possibilities raised by new dimensions governed by rules unlike those of our own universe and time?
If the Universe, Time and the Laws that mapped out the direction of our destiny came into being with the Big Bang, what of these other dimensions, other Times and possibilities? “Eternity”, according to Dinesh D’Souza, “has become a coherent concept.” New universes, new dimensions, ergo new equations? While new stuffs and equations don’t equal life or worlds, we can dream dreams and wonder.
Stephen Hawking reveals that even he doesn’t know who or what put the fire into the stuff and equations. (“Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?” Stephen Hawking)
By reaching for fantastic and even far-fetched ideas, the question of a Creator/God doesn’t go away. D’Souza does note that while there is evidence for the Big Bang there is not an iota of evidence for the multi-verse. However, in the multi-dimensional scenario, our existence is no longer improbable. In our Universe fine tuning is necessary for us to exist. Fine tuning is of course indicative of a plan. However in a multi-verse,we are no longer privileged and unique but possible and expected to have popped up along the way. By the same token, however, with the new multi-dimensionalism, the multi-verse, emerges new laws, new realms and new possibilities. The existence of Heaven and Hell now becomes as probable as any other combination of world characteristics. The pièce de résistance… there is nothing in the multi-dimensional theory that precludes a Creator. One can still see in the grandeur of the scheme of things, the One who schemes, just as a thought reveals a thinker.
Matter which is the stuff of atheistic materialism now serves to raise questions to which we thought we had the answers. Quantum theory pokes all kinds of holes in our understanding of matter. Atheists are big on matter but are they prepared to deal with Dark Energy and for that matter, Dark Matter. Ordinary matter and energy make up only 5% of the matter and energy in the universe. If 95% of all energy and matter is made up of dark energy and dark matter doesn’t that make all arguments about matter, as atheist insists on it operation, irrelevant. How can you make any claims for it, if you can only account for 5% of it, or so asks D’Souza.
We haven’t even touched on mind, consciousness which acts as an observer of the creation about us. What are the rules governing mind which is not matter/material. Mind and consciousness do exist but they are immaterial. If you doubt that, tell me how much a mind weighs? What are its dimensions, its length and width?
In the end, Quantum Theory is not an escape from God. It, rather, gives us pause to marvel at how God has chaos under control. Which brings us back to the Bible, the very beginning, Genesis: “the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.” Genesis 1:2 “The waters” in biblical-speak refers to primordial chaos and “a mighty wind,” a poor translation of the Hebrew phrase “ruach Elohim” (literally the “wind/breath of God. ) While Science investigates Nature, God is not probed like a microbe or star dust. He is seen with the eye of Faith, keeping in mind that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor the heart of man imagined, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”1 Corinthians 2:9
Christ Lives in His Church
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Religion, Tradition with tags Catholic, Christ, Christian, Reflections, Religion, sermon, St. Leo the Great, Tradition on April 14, 2010 by JoannaFrom a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope
Christ Lives in His Church
My dear brethren, there is no doubt that the Son of God took our human nature into so close a union with himself that one and the same Christ is present, not only in the firstborn of all creation, but in all his saints as well. The head cannot be separated from the members, nor the members from the head. Not in this life, it is true, but only in eternity will God be all in all, yet even now he dwells, whole and undivided, in his temple the Church. Such was his promise to us when he said: See, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.
And so all that the Son of God did and taught for the world’s reconciliation is not for us simply a matter of past history. Here and now we experience his power at work among us. Born of a virgin mother by the action of the Holy Spirit, Christ keeps his Church spotless and makes her fruitful by the inspiration of the same Spirit. In baptismal regeneration she brings forth children for God beyond all numbering. These are the sons of whom it is written: They are born not of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Read more »
Life After Death: The Evidence
Posted in audio, Christian, Culture, Just Thinking Out Loud, People, Video with tags audio, Christian, Culture, Dinesh D'Souza, Just Thinking Out Loud, Life After Death, People, Reflections, Video on April 13, 2010 by JoannaTime of Mercy Before “Day of Justice”
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Just Thinking Out Loud, Religion, Spiritual, St. Faustina with tags Catholic, Christ, Christian, Divine Mercy, Jesus, Just Thinking Out Loud, Kowalska, Last Days, predictions, prophecy, Reflections, Religion, saint, Spiritual, St. Faustina on April 13, 2010 by JoannaPerhaps, we are always to think of ourselves as living in “the Last Days”? After-all, the Christians of the very first century expected that the return of Jesus was imminent. As each arch-enemy to the Faith lifted his fist, there were those who saw Jesus’ Second Coming just over the horizon. The end didn’t come immediately, but purification came to prepare the way into the future, and with the future the promise of the Day of the Lord. Again and again, the Cross has led the way and with the Victorious Cross looms on the horizon in the East the promised Return.
What are we to make of these days? The Church gives us a new Saint in Sr. Faustina Kowalska, who spoke of “the Last Days,” because the Lord, Himself, put the words on her lips.
St. Faustina wrote in DIVINE MERCY IN MY SOUL The Diary of Sister M. Faustina Kowalska :
(Jesus to Sr. Faustina)
“Write this: before I come as the Just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of Justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the Heaven of this sort:
All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be a great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day. “
St. Faustina wrote at the behest of Jesus. He called her, “My Secretary”.
“…In the old covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to my people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind but I desire to heal it pressing it to My merciful heart…” (Diary 1588)
“Your task is to write down everything that I make known to you about my mercy. For the benefit of those who by reading these things will be comforted in their souls and will have the courage to approach Me. I, therefore want you to devote all your free moments to writing.” (Diary 1693)
“…You are the secretary of My mercy. I have chosen you for that office in this life and the next life” (Diary 1605)
“…I demand that you devote all your free moments to writing about My goodness and mercy. It is your office and your assignment throughout your life to continue to make known to souls the great mercy I have for them and to exhort them to trust in My bottomless mercy” (Diary 1567)
“My daughter; tell souls that I am giving them My mercy as a defense. I, Myself, am fighting for them and am bearing the just anger of My Father.” (Diary 1516)
Greatest Story – They Keep Coming
Posted in Religion with tags homily, miracle, Reflections, Religion, sermon on April 4, 2010 by JoannaFrom the Easter Vigil homily of Deacon Greg Kandra:
Here, and now, we are seeing the ongoing miracle of not just any story, but the Greatest Story Ever Told. You and I are a part of it. The seven people who are candidates and catechumens in our church tonight, about to join our faith, they are a part of it. Over a billion people around the world are a part of it.
The statistics are staggering. In 2008, 19 million people entered the Church. That’s 2,169 every hour. 36 every second. And the numbers just keep growing.
We could speculate why that’s so. But ultimately, it comes to this: they are drawn by hope. It is a hope that is stronger than despair… a truth that towers over a world of falsehood… the Light of the World that scatters every darkness.
That, in all its greatness and mystery and wonder, is our faith.
Read Deacon Greg’s homily here.
Why I Remain Catholic
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Church, Lent, Priesthood, Religion with tags Anchoress, Catholic, Christ, Christian, Church, holiness, Lent, life, NPR, priest, Priesthood, Reflections, Religion, scandal, sexual abuse, sin on April 3, 2010 by JoannaToday, On Good Friday, Here’s Why I Remain Catholic
Though the ill aspects of the Catholic Church have recently been highlighted in the news, commentator Elizabeth Scalia says the good aspects have never gotten enough attention.
Published: April 02, 2010
by Elizabeth Scalia
Elizabeth Scalia is a contributing writer to First Things Magazine as the blogger known as The Anchoress.
The question has come my way several times in the past week: “How do you maintain your faith in light of news stories that bring light to the dark places that exist within your church?”
When have darkness and light been anything but co-existent? How do we recognize either without the other?
I remain within, and love, the Catholic Church because it is a church that has lived and wrestled within the mystery of the shadow lands ever since an innocent man was arrested, sentenced and crucified, while the keeper of “the keys” denied him, and his first priests ran away. Through 2,000 imperfect — sometimes glorious, sometimes heinous — years, the church has contemplated and manifested the truth that dark and light, innocence and guilt, justice and injustice all share a kinship, one that waves back and forth like wind-stirred wheat in a field, churning toward something — as yet — unknowable.
The darkness within my church is real, and it has too often gone unaddressed. The light within my church is also real, and has too often gone unappreciated. A small minority has sinned, gravely, against too many. Another minority has assisted or saved the lives of millions.
But then, my country is the most generous and compassionate nation on Earth; it is also the only country that has ever deployed nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
My government is founded upon a singular appreciation of personal liberty; some of those founders owned slaves.
My family was known for its neighborliness and its work ethic; its patriarch was a serial child molester.
Read the complete essay here.
Surprise – Sin Abounds!
Posted in Catholic, Christian, Church, Faith, Just Thinking Out Loud, Lent with tags Catholic, Christian, Church, Faith, forgiveness, grace, Just Thinking Out Loud, Lent, perfection, Reflections, romans, sin on April 2, 2010 by Joanna
It should be no surprise; Sin abounds! The human race is awash with, riddles with, mired in and drowning under, Sin. It is our natural state of being without a Savior. From the day we are born, leaving Eden, so to speak, we become the star of our universe, maybe, more like a Black Hole. We can’t help trying to draw all things to ourselves. With myiads of rationalizations and excuses to suit our ages and pretensions, the event horizon is approached and we are doomed. Sin in its rational disguises is irrational and drives us like a madman. It is the Dark, clouding out the true Sun.
The real surprise in life is that where sin abounds grace abounds all the more! It can be stated that God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. Romans 5:20.
Our Savior comes still today to save us. Being “churched” does not perfect us; God does, in His own time. If we open our hearts in repentance, Jesus gives us His forgiveness and cancels the debt against us. Perfect comes later, sometimes, much later.
The euphemistic blessing, “May you live in interesting times.” is said to be the least severe of three curses, the others being:
- “May you come to the attention of those in authority.”
“May you find what you are looking for.”
Fortunately, for us, the Living, we live in glorious times. Sin abounds and we are saved! God for His part has done the work, we need but claim the Victory. The offer is always at hand in nail-pierced hands. Grace abounds all the more! Alleluia!
Must Read: Why I Remain A Catholic
by Elizabeth Scalia The Anchoress
“Howling With the Mob”
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian with tags Catholic, change, Christ, Christian, Good Friday, mob, Reflections on April 2, 2010 by JoannaH/T Webster Bull
During these terrible days, when so many are saying so much so loudly against and in favor of our Church, and especially its leader, our dear Pope Benedict XVI, it is hard to stand apart from the mob—the one howling in protest, or the one trying desperately to shout them down. We are all standing along the Way of the Cross, jeering the scourged Christ or bewailing his persecution. How can we possibly be different? How can we change? Read more »
When We Were Dead In Sin
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Lent, Lenten Reading with tags Catholic, Christ, Christian, cross, Jesus, Lent, Lenten Reading, Reflections, savior, sin, St. Basil on March 30, 2010 by JoannaFrom the book On the Holy Spirit by Saint Basil, bishop
By one death and resurrection the world was saved
When mankind was estranged from him by disobedience, God our Saviour made a plan for raising us from our fall and restoring us to friendship with himself. According to this plan Christ came in the flesh, he showed us the gospel way of life, he suffered, died on the cross, was buried and rose from the dead. He did this so that we could be saved by imitation of him, and recover our original status as sons of God by adoption. Read more »
Palm Sunday and Political Correctness Run Amuck
Posted in American, Catholic, Christ, Christian, Culture, Religion, Tradition, Video with tags American, Catholic, Christ, Christian, cross, Culture, Faith, martyr, palm, Palm Sunday, political correctness, Reflections, Religion, Tradition, Video on March 28, 2010 by JoannaThe young maker of this video has been taught well. He bends over backwards not to offend anyone of any other religion who might happen upon this video instruction. He says at the beginning (profusely), “It’s pure entertainment; nothing else!” After transforming the palm frond into a cross, he ends with, ” Don’t take this as anything against your religion; just pure entertainment; no stuff like that.”
Not that it is this young man’s intention, but now that this symbol of the Faith and the palm (distributed to the faithful as a reminder of our fickleness and unfaithfulness) have been devalued to the level of a pass-time, society must be all the better for it; right? The “entertainment” value of the Cross having been established, actually, does emphasize how quickly nice people forget and dissimilate. Little chance here that this young man will die a martyr. Little does he know what he’s missing. Jesus and the message the Cross, does offend and divide.
Who Are You In The Passion of Christ?
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Lent, Lenten Reading, People with tags Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Joanna, John, Joseph of Arimathea, Judas, Lent, Lenten Reading, Magdalen, Nicodemus, passion, People, Pilate, Reflections, story, thief on March 27, 2010 by JoannaFr.Celsus repeatedly and passionately asked, “Who are you in the story?”
He said that if you are church and this is your story, you must be in it. Who are you? Are you Pilate, who knows the truth and yet rejects it out of fear to chose and serve the world? Are you the good thief on the cross, condemned for sins you really did commit? Are you John, the Beloved Disciple, standing with Mary, the Mother of Jesus? Who are you in the story?
From a homily by Saint Gregory Nazianzen,
We are soon going to share in the Passover
We are soon going to share in the Passover, and although we still do so only in a symbolic way, the symbolism already has more clarity than it possessed in former times because, under the law, the Passover was, if I may dare to say so, only a symbol of a symbol. Before long, however, when the Word drinks the new wine with us in the kingdom of his Father, we shall be keeping the Passover in a yet more perfect way, and with deeper understanding. He will then reveal to us and make clear what he has so far only partially disclosed. For this wine, so familiar to us now, is eternally new.
It is for us to learn what this drinking is, and for him to teach us. He has to communicate this knowledge to his disciples, because teaching is food, even for the teacher.
So let us take our part in the Passover prescribed by the law, not in a literal way, but according to the teaching of the Gospel; not in an imperfect way, but perfectly; not only for a time, but eternally. Let us regard as our home the heavenly Jerusalem, not the earthly one; the city glorified by angels, not the one laid waste by armies. We are not required to sacrifice young bulls or rams, beasts with horns and hoofs that are more dead than alive and devoid of feeling; but instead, let us join the choirs of angels in offering God upon his heavenly altar a sacrifice of praise. We must now pass through the first veil and approach the second, turning our eyes toward the Holy of Holies. I will say more: we must sacrifice ourselves to God, each day and in everything we do, accepting all that happens to us for the sake of the Word, imitating his passion by our sufferings, and honoring his blood by shedding our own. We must be ready to be crucified.
If you are a Simon of Cyrene, take up your cross and follow Christ. If you are crucified beside him like one of the thieves, now, like the good thief, acknowledge your God. For your sake, and because of your sin, Christ himself was regarded as a sinner; for his sake, therefore, you must cease to sin. Worship him who was hung on the cross because of you, even if you are hanging there yourself. Derive some benefit from the very shame; purchase salvation with your death. Enter paradise with Jesus, and discover how far you have fallen. Contemplate the glories there, and leave the other scoffing thief to die outside in his blasphemy.
If you are a Joseph of Arimathea, go to the one who ordered his crucifixion, and ask for Christs body. Make your own the expiation for the sins of the whole world. If you are a Nicodemus, like the man who worshipped God by night, bring spices and prepare Christs body for burial. If you are one of the Marys, or Salome, or Joanna, weep in the early morning. Be the first to see the stone rolled back, and even the angels perhaps, and Jesus himself.
Everybody’s Gotta Serve Somebody
Posted in People, Religion with tags freedom, God, Jewish, Man, Passover, Peace Place, People, Reflections, Religion, service, slavery on March 26, 2010 by JoannaA Week’s Journey
Posted in Spiritual with tags anxiety, awe, communing.prayer, dialogue, healing, presence, Reflections, Spiritual on March 22, 2010 by JoannaFrom a new WordPress blog
A reflection by Sr. La Donna Pinkelman:
Anxious, heavy-hearted, thirsting, yearning,
Expecting, wanting to be open, tired, uptight,
Fearful, yet hopeful, searching for a deep walk
With God, with myself.
Probing, getting in touch, drained,
Excited, amazed, awed, presence of the deepest kind,
constantly with me, dialoguing, communing,
Unlocking, emptying, freeing, healing.
Body, mind, spirit, touching, embracing, loving and
Being loved, with inward amazement,
New life penetrating, releasing, accepting,
My God, You deeply entered my life,
Renewed and cleansed and gifted me.
With new eyes, body, and heart, I praise and glorify,
Thank and acknowledge You, my companion, friend, spouse;
My life’s energy and source, continue to abide with me
As I journey with You; following Your lead,
Receiving Your healing, living Your life
As You send it to me in joy and in peace.
by Sister La Donna Pinkelman, OSF Sylvania, Ohio
Helping Jesus Carry the Cross
Posted in Faith, Just Thinking Out Loud, Religion with tags Catholic, Christian, Economy of Grace, Faith, Just Thinking Out Loud, Prayer, Reflections, Religion, Spiritual on February 17, 2010 by JoannaReflection on The Fifth Station: Simon the Cyrene helps Jesus carry His Cross.
Who can understand the humility of God who holds power over the whole universe and yet enlists the help of a Simon to help Him carry His Cross. Richard Garnaut says:
I imagine Simon was reluctant to take part in your shame. He had no idea at all (that those)who watched and jeered at him would pass into oblivion, while his name would go down in history and eternity as the one who helped his God in need.
Is it not so with me, dear Jesus? Even when I carry my cross reluctantly as Simon did it benefits my soul. If I keep my eyes on you and watch how you suffered, I will be able to bear my cross with greater fortitude.
You bore the Cross and looked on it and held it fondly before you passed it on to me. You watch me and give me strength just as you did Simon. When I enter your kingdom, I shall know just as Simon knows, what marvels your Cross has wrought in my soul.
Manifesting the Bit by Bit and Hidden Evil
Posted in Culture of Death, Just Thinking Out Loud, Pro-life, Culture with tags Pro-life, evil, Reflections, Culture, genocide, Just Thinking Out Loud, hitler, Culture of Death, terror, holocaust, Os Guinness, bureaucracy on January 2, 2010 by JoannaOs Guinness in his discourse “Addressing the Question of Evil In An Age of Genocide and Terror” dialogues on the questions of evil: “Where on earth does evil come from? How are we to understand evil?” Guinness asks us to consider the possibility of magnifying evil in modern times:
“The dreadful evil of the Final Solution was not carried out by monsters. Hitler was a monster. Goring was a monster. Goebbels… They were monstrous. They didn’t carry any of it out. It was carried out by millions, and millions and millions of “good ordinary people.”
“You could see how in a world of bureaucracy with division of labor and diffusion of responsibility and a distancing,.. people don’t actually see the effects of the decisions they make. You can see how a modern world and its procedures and its way of doing things has made possible evil on a scale the world never imagined. (paraphrased)
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.- Edmund Burke
