When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. – John 12:32
I love Webster Bull’s new blog, Why I am Catholic; he’s a terrific writer who manages to convey wonder and joy in every post, and he makes me take renewed joy in being Catholic. But what I most love about the blog is that it has provided me with kind of daily spiritual spritz of windshield cleaner; now, each day, I find myself encountering something and thinking, “it’s one of the reasons I love Catholicism…” and feeling grateful (and as we all know, the road to joy goes right through the hazy town of Effortless Gratitude). Today, opening my breviary, I thought, “I love this; I love praying the Hours each day, noting and sanctifying time in this way, so that each moment is brought to our attention as new.”
Realizing it was the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, and that tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, I thought, “I love this; I love that we sanctify the hours, and the days -that we assign feast days and memorials which keep us connected to Scripture, to important events in the life of Christ, which is the life of Salvation; to those who went before us, to the Communion of Saints. In this way, we are surrounded, all day, every day, with our own history and our future, and with the truth that the All-in-All is outside of time. That time is a constructed illusion which takes us away from God. Enter into the feasts, the memorials, the days and hours, and you are outside of time, “All” together.
The Exaltation of the Cross consists in the fact that “the event of the cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1085. We exalt Christ’s cross whenever we freely take it up, filled with the certainty that the ultimate meaning and fulfillment which we crave in life comes to us through this unending event. “With the cross we are freed from the restraint of the enemy and we clutch on to the strength of salvation (St. Theodorus the Estudite). For salvation means escape from our own inability. At the same time, “we cannot produce of give any other fruit,” writes St. Catherine of Siena, “but the fruit we have taken from the tree of life.” No wonder that “the sign of the cross makes kings of all those reborn in Christ.” (St. Leo the Great). (Magnificat musings before Mass)
Darn that Deacon Greg; he works a lot faster than I do, and he used both the picture and one of the little blurbs I was going to use, today.
But I, of course, subscribe to Magnificat Magazine (and I rarely say others should do anything, I don’t like “should”-ing all over people, but if you’re inclined to prayer and short on time, you should get this magazine). Here’s some of the terrific stuff I gleaned from it, for today:
The cross, instrument of torture and death, raised aloft as a sign of glory, continues to confound the wisdome of this world. God’s work of salvation stands human expectations on their head: humility is exaltation, wounds are healing, death is life. (Thoughts before Morning Prayer, written, I believe, by a Benedictine of St. Walburga’s Abbey )
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son intot he world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. – John 3:13-17
The lifting up of Jesus on the cross heightened the hatred of those that rejected him, and exalted and deepened the faith of those whose hearts were open to him. If you read all four passion accounts, you can even see that John’s faith in Jesus was strengthened by the fact that he stood before the cross.
. . .Both Jews and Gentiles rejected Jesus that day. Both Jews and Gentiles believed in Jesus that day. The cross has thus blurred the distinction between Jew and Gentile, but has starkly delineated the distinction between believer and no-believer.
– Fr. Richard Veras “What is Crucial About the Cross”
“The serpent’s venom has been washed away by the blood of Christ, and the curse of the sin has been lifted by a rightful sentence when the just Christ was condemned unjustly. By god’s plan, death that had come from atree would be conquered by a tree, and suffering would be healed by the suffering of the Lord. Glory be to the active presence of your providence in our lives, O Christ our King: through it, you have wrought ssalvation for all.
– From the book Byzantine Daily Worship
This morning, after praying Morning Prayer and the Office of Readings, I sat for a while on the floor, before the beautiful crucifix which stands by the grace and generosity of God on my oratory. I placed myself at the feet of Christ Crucified, and I prayed for all of us -because we all have crosses to bear- but especially for those whose names I know. Dianne, who is 49 and facing a heart problem. Young Ben, who suffered a heart attack on the soccer field and is still battling to stay alive. Jack, who is facing an important phone call about the rest of his life. Nicholas and Lillian, both autistic, and their loving parents who labor for them every day, lovingly. Terry and her children, dealing with a mentally ill husband/father.
Praying for those, for all of us, I think back to that first quote I offered, which is just jam-packed with meat on which to feed throughout this day: those lines from the Catechism, “the event of the cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life.” How profoundly true. And yet increasingly the “wisdom of the world” is to draw things away from life, de-emphasizing the lives of those individuals upon whom society as as whole may deem a “burden” and over-emphasizing the “welfare of all,” -the nameless, faceless “all”- the amorphous blob that is actually nothing and no one, and remains nothing and no one, until the individuals within are known.
The compassionate folks who deem it the better part of wisdom that 90% of all babies suspected of having Down Syndrome be aborted, that individual people suffering the ravages of age, illness or accident may be persuaded that their lives are not worth living, they probably do not realize that as they draw everything away from life, they are acting in a manner that is profoundly anti-Christ.
And, “We exalt Christ’s cross whenever we freely take it up, filled with the certainty that the ultimate meaning and fulfillment which we crave in life comes to us through this unending event…” well, we know how that speaks to me, yes?
Yes, those wonderful musings before Mass, provided by Magnificat…my lectio for the day.
Also, check out Julie’s thoughts. She finds herself “haunted” by something else she read in Magnificat. Read her whole piece; she links to other goodies.
Related:
Buster and the Gift Freely Given
Presumptions, Illusions and Reality
Also: St. John Chysostom and the Cross, the Fountain of Life
Also, on the Salesian front, good news!
At church on Sunday, the Priest turned to the cross, pointed at it and said something along the lines of:
This is our symbol. This punishment was for Jews and Gentiles of the Roman world one of the worse punishments. Yet, we hold it in reverance. Ask yourself why?
Then with a lot of humor and insight proceeded to explain why.
On the marking of time…
Before I came to my current parish 11 years ago, I was at parishes which had fantastic music carefully chosen to fit each liturgy’s readings and prayers and to mark the passage of liturgical season. And through the year there were subtle and not so subtle shifts in the physical environment of the church to mark each season.
When trying to figure out why I’ve felt rather adrift these last 11 years, I realize that it has a lot to do with wan, perfunctory music, that does not change with the seasons, and a church that looks exactly the same whether it’s ordinary time or lent. I’ve started to pray lauds and compline each day, and it’s really in retrospect that I’ve realized how important it is to “keep time” in prayer.
In my last parish I was on the liturgy committee, and the director of liturgy taught us that our primary mission was to keep the liturgical year, and from a purely practical aspect, for the church to look like, and the music to sound like, the season that it is.
In memory of the Holy Cross, I remember when the Lord called me to attend the Cursillo in Christianity in 1972,I heard Him say “bring back my lost children to me”, I made a solemn vow at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ and told Him these word..Yes Lord, even if it will mean my death like what Rizal did when he offered himself to save our country. For who am I to question, I am just your servant and I have to follow your will and not mine But please Lord help me for without You I am nothing,I cannot carry this cross if You will not help me. Let your will be done according to thy word. Amen”
These messages or story of my life has been written to a priest for safe keeping, until it will be fulfilled. A voice has been telling me about the prophecy and since I have a xerox copy of that letter, I am sharing this to you and it wil be written also in my blogspot.
Remember the Philippines is the only catholic country in Asia and that is the reason why I am writing my letters for the Filipino people. God bless to all of us who remained in the catholic faith, may we all be united and be an example to others so we can bring those who has been lost to God’s Kingdom.
Thanks for the shout out for us Salesians! God bless you in all you do here at the Anchoress site!
I have been pondering that same verse from John for several months now, as I work through a discernment process of what my own particular call and ministry is/will be. Perhaps some may judge me oddly evangelical, but the prologue of 1 John, 1:1-4, has also held my attention, as I realize that my own passion for sharing Jesus with the world (as though He were mine to give), stems from the fact that I have indeed heard, seen, looked at, and touched Him. Telling the story does make my joy complete. And so, I’ve been wondering, how do I “tell the story” in a way that is faithful and true, that gets myself and my words and my agenda out of the way, and is able to “bring others to Christ,” in common parlance (although I really don’t like that phrase at all). And then I realized that Jesus commands us to make disciples, baptize, and teach, but seemingly not to convert. Because it is He who draws all people to Himself, when He is lifted up. And so perhaps our job is simply to lift Him up, to let him be seen, in the way a winning football team hoists the quarterback high atop their shoulders for all the world to see. If what we do and say and think, if how we act and treat others and just simply live our lives from day to day, allows others to well and truly see Christ, He himself will do the difficult work of drawing them to Himself, because for Him, it is not difficult.
I’d like to share St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’ meditation. I found so profound and fitting for our Feast: “”We greet you, Holy Cross, our only hope!” The church puts these words on our lips during the time of the passion which is dedicated to the contemplation of the bitter sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The world is in flames. The struggle between Christ and antichrist rages openly, and so if you decide for Christ you can even be asked to sacrifice your life.
Contemplate the Lord Who hangs before you on the wood, because He was obedient even to the death of the cross. He came into the world not to do His own will but that of the Father. And if you wish to be the spouse of the Crucified, you must renounce completely your own will and have no other aspiration than to do the will of God.
Before your the Redeemer hangs on the cross stripped and naked, because He chose poverty. Those who would follow Him must renounce every earthly possession.
Stand before the Lord Who hangs from the cross with His heart torn open. He poured out the blood of His heart in order to win your heart. In order to follow Him in holy chastity, your heart must be free from every earthly
aspiration. Jesus Crucified must be the object of your every longing, of your every desire, of your every thought.
The world is in flames: the fire can spread even to our house, but above all the flames the cross stands on high, and it cannot be burnt. The cross is the way which leads from earth to heaven. Those who embrace it with faith, love, and hope are taken up, right into the heart of the Trinity.
The world is in flames: do you wish to put them out? Contemplate the cross: from His open heart the blood of the Redeemer pours, blood which can put out even the flames of hell. Through the faithful observance of the vows you make your heart free and open; and then the
floods of that divine love will be able to flow into it, making it overflow and bear fruit to the furthest reaches of the earth.
Through the power of the cross you can be present wherever there is pain, carried there by your compassionate charity, by that very charity, which you draw from the divine heart. That charity enables you to spread every- where
the most precious blood in order to ease pain, save and redeem.
The eyes of the Crucified gaze upon you. They question you and appeal to you. Do you wish seriously to renew your alliance with Him What will your response be? “Lord, where shall I go? You alone have the words of life.” Ave Crux, spes unica”
p.s. God bless you, Anchoress! I always enjoy reading your posts!
Holy Cross is the symbol of Christianity, of our faith and salvation. Christ died on the cross for us, to save us from punishment. Let us reflect the word cross: Our…
C-ommitment to propagate the Gospel through
R-elationship between you and your God,
O-bedient to the teaching of Christ, our
S-acrifice for others for our
S-alvation to inherit the eternal life.
Let the cross of Jesus be our guide, to the path of righteousness.
Dear Miss A,
When I read this:
“that individual people suffering the ravages of age, illness or accident may be persuaded that their lives are not worth living,”
and I think back on the stories you wrote of your brother in his last days; and, as I learned of a dear friends mother-in-law in her last days who says she has been visited by an angel; I can’t help but be convinced such behavior is stealing something from us we are meant to have.
Regards,
Sarah