Myrrh-Bearing Women

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”  Then they remembered his words."  ~Luke 24:1-8

Myrrh-Bearing Women by C.J.

 I have a friend who is an extremely talented artist. She uses her gift to prayerfully paint icons, and more than that, she shares her vast knowledge of prayerful art with me, increasing my appreciation for the gifts of beauty which are inspired by the very breath of God, the Holy Spirit. When she was working on the above icon, she brought it to my house and invited me to add gold to the halo of one of the three women standing outside of the tomb at the Resurrection of our Lord. I chose the woman that I thought would be Mary Magdalene.  She is depicted as the woman in red, representing her sin, covered by green representing her new life in Christ. I carefully applied the gold by first holding a prayer in my heart and then breathing upon the image. They say that every stroke and motion of icon painting is a prayer. So on that not so distant day I breathed a prayer to one of my favorite saints who always holds a favored place in my heart because she loved much and I long to emulate that quality in my own life. I want to cast my soul at the feet of our Lord and breathe continuous prayers of love to His Most Sacred Heart. I want to carry an alabaster jar of fragrant oil into the world and spread His love to others. I want to love much.

The following poem was written by Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood.  It's one of my favorites.  Wishing you a joyous Easter as we glory in our own redemption from our sins and cast our sorrow aside while rejoicing in the beauty of our own new life in our Risen Lord!

To Saint Mary Magdalene

You claimed
the false
until you found
the True;
your beauty
wounded
until Beauty
wounded you,
and plunged your soul
into a spring so sweet
your tears
fell as chaste pearls
at Mercy's
feet.

(a partial re-post from the archives)

In The Garden by Fr. Mark Kirby

Are you familiar with Fr. Mark Kirby's Vultus Christi blog?  His prolific writings are always achingly beautiful and his prayers for priests are especially touching.  I have always felt a strong connection to Jesus' Agony in the Garden, and after reading Fr. Kirby's reflection about how the Blessed Mother suffered during Christ's agony there, that connection feels even stronger, for I too, am a mother who knows of the sorrows of her sons born of her flesh as well as her spiritual priest sons, yet must stand by helplessly, unable to offer physical relief.  I pray that God sends the comfort of angels at the moments when they are most in need.  What follows below is Fr. Kirby's reflection, In the Garden.  In these final moments as we await Easter joy, won't you reflect and pray upon this scene with me?  Please visit and bookmark his blog for more inspiration.



In the garden,
His Face was unseen,
for the eyes of His friends had grown heavy with sleep,
and there was none to meet the gaze of the Sorrowing Son
other than the Sorrowing Father
and the Consoling Angel whom He had sent
to wipe His brow,
to caress His head
and, for a moment, to hold His hand.

This the Sorrowing Mother would have done
had she been there,
but even that was denied her.
The Mother was replaced by an Angel!
The consolation that only she could have given
was given by another,
and yet He knew the difference:
though sweet, it was an angel’s, not a mother’s.

Weeping like Eve outside the garden,
she consented to the bitter Chalice:
“Be it done unto me as to your Word!”
Chosen for this, she elected to remain
cloistered in the Father’s Will,
hidden and veiled in grief,
to drink there of the Chalice of her Son, the Priest,
and savour it, bitter against the palate of her soul,
for nought can taste a child’s suffering
like a mother’s palate.

Then the Angel too was gone
and the Father hid behind the veil of blood and of tears,
leaving the Son alone with His sorrow
and with His fear,
to proceed with the Sacrifice:
the priest on the way to the altar
with the chalice already in his hands.
~Fr. Mark Kirby

Good Friday Stone by Sherry Antonetti

On this day when we remember our many weaknesses and thank Jesus for His deep and sacrificial love which washes away our sins, I came across this poem which spoke to me of my own frailty in faith.  It was written by Sherry Antonetti who graciously agreed to let me share it here.  Sherry blogs at Chocolate for Your Brain.

Good Friday Stone

How brave we all feel
saying something daring
when it is popular.
How terrified when
we must speak against the grain.
Everyone loves to think
they are standing at the precipice
but only those who can see the down side
the great expanse ready to swallow them whole
really are.

Peter knew the absolute truth
and he ran, he swore, he lied.
I am not ready
I haven't the steel
I like too much to be liked.
I'd like to warm myself by the fire
and be silent.
I could still believe, still follow
if no one noticed me.
It doesn't work that way
and I knew it. I always knew.
So I will pray not to be put to the test,
or if I am, and I fail, that I return
again and again and again
until I pass.

The mountain falling on me would be easier.

~Sherry Antonetti

Mary, Untier of Knots

Mary, Untier of Knots

Early in the morning I was rushing to great dressed while keeping one eye on the clock hoping that I wouldn't be late for Mass and fearing that I was losing the battle against time.  Each morning I slip my wedding ring on my finger and clasp my favorite necklace around my throat before I rush out the door. No matter how many layers of clothing I put on to adjust to the weather outside, I'm not fully dressed without my wedding ring and my necklace.  The chain of my necklace holds four symbols of my faith that are as much a part of me as my wedding ring-I wear the emblem of the Oblates of the Precious Blood, a Miraculous Medal, a cross with a dove on it which was the first gift my husband ever gave to me so many years ago when we were dating, and a red sea glass heart which I stumbled across on a beach hunt while I was praying a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The sea glass heart is one of my most prized possessions because I felt it was a sign of love from Jesus Himself just for me.  I had it blessed by Bishop Hying, wrapped it in wire and wear it every day, frequently reaching up to touch it and offer a silent prayer of trust to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Well on this particularly hectic morning, as I reached for my necklace, I found a huge knot in the chain.  I fumbled around with it a bit but didn't have any luck in undoing the knot.  So I shoved my necklace into my pocket and headed out to Mass.  After Mass I like to stay in the silent church to make a little holy hour, but this time instead of praying my usual prayers or walking the Stations of the Cross, I silently sat and tried to gently work the knot out of that chain.  My attempt to untie the knot became my prayer that day.  I thought about how our wonderful new Pope Francis has a devotion to Mary, and recently I learned that he prays to her as the Untier of Knots, and so, not knowing too much about her under this title, but being inspired by Pope Francis, I turned to her in prayer asking for her assistance not only with the knot in my necklace, but also for her guidance in helping me work through the other knots and problems in my life that could benefit from her loving, motherly attention. 

After 15 minutes of praying with my knotted necklace, I gave up that prayer for the time being, tucked the necklace back into my pocket and returned to my normal daily prayers.  Later, upon returning home, I took a paper clip and used it's sharp point to finally free the knot from the chain.  Sometimes our problems require not the only patience and perseverance that comes from setting them aside for a while, but also a sharp instrument to cut to the heart of the issue and finally bring about a resolution.  In the story that makes up our lives, we often find that the sharp instrument could come in the form of a hardship or suffering that we must learn to accept before we can finally be free to fully love the Lord and turn back from the sinfulness that often becomes knotted within our souls. And the Blessed Mother is a sure help to us as we work through those knots.

We are always at an advantage when we turn to our Blessed Mother for assistance, aren't we?  How sweetly she helps us work out our problems all the while pointing to God from whom all of our help originates.  To learn more about Mary, Untier of Knots, visit here.

Prayer to Mary, Untier of Knots

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. 
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain, and how I am bound by these knots. 
Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. 
No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. 
Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot. (Prayer by Scott R. Richert)

Honor Your Mother

As are so many others, I am filled with gratitude to God for our new Pope Francis and am so honored to see the deep respect that he has for mothers.  This picture has become my very favorite of him.  I get goosebumps every time I look at it and read the quote that goes with it.  What a beautiful man who so openly reverences motherhood and remembers his own mother as well!  I pray that we may all follow his loving and holy example!

Earlier, in February 2005, Pope Francis chose to celebrate the Mass for Holy Thursday in a maternity hospital in Buenos Aires, where he washed the feet of 12 expectant and new mothers. Before he washed their feet, he told them that “Some of you are holding your babies in your arms. Others of you are carrying them in your womb. All of you are women who have chosen life. I, as a priest, am going to repeat the act of Jesus, and carry out a concrete act of service for women who have said yes to life. In washing your feet, I am washing those of all mothers, and of my mother, who felt me in her womb."  

~from "Love Being Catholic

Virgin Salus Populi Romani-the Protectress of the Roman People, the icon to whom Pope Francis brought flowers on his first day as Pope

Pope Francis offering flowers to the Virgin Salus Populi Romani

And what mother doesn't love to receive flowers from her children?  This image reminds me of the pudgy, often dirty hands of my own children, lovingly reaching up to me to offer a fistful of dandelions on a warm summer day.  Even our beloved Holy Father forever remains a child in the eyes of his Mother.  How sweet!  There is much to admire about a humble man who loves his Mother and brings her colorful and fragrant offerings of love!  Viva il Papa Francis!

At the Foot of the Cross

The expressions on the face of Christ and of His Blessed Mother speak the only necessary words...

Artwork by Hippolytes Lazerges 1817-1887

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XIV-Jesus is laid in the tomb

(The fourteenth  in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Calm as a summer evening when no breezes are abroad, quiet as a noonday wood when all birds are songless, the Face of Jesus rests in death.  The Holy Countenance breathes by its very silence its last and final message:  "it is Consummated."  Not the malice of men, nor their ingratitude, is consummated, but the atonement for all human malice and ingratitude by the Sacrifice of that fair but now broken Humanity of God's Son.  With thoughtfulness too deep for words, with grief too deep for tears, the faithful disciples carry in tender haste the body of their Master to Joseph's tomb.

Jesus, because You were born in a cave and laid to rest in another man's tomb, I find courage to ask You to rest in this poor soul of mine.  It must have value in Your eyes, for You paid so readily a great price for its possession.  Take then, Jesus, what You have bought, and give me in return Your forgiveness and Your love.

Sorrowful Mother, rejoice with Jesus; He shall not have died in vain for me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XIII-Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed in His Mother's arms

(The thirteenth  in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is the gentle majesty of Holiness, something suggestive of the calm sleep of innocent childhood, on the Face of Jesus taken down from the cross and placed in His Mother's arms.  It would seem as if the years had been suddenly turned back and the peace of a Nazareth eventide had settled with the lips of Mary upon the Face of God.

Jesus, whatever the cost, and I have surely cost You much, do not let me die without heartfelt repentance for my sins, without the absolution of Your priest, the blessing of Your vicar, the Unction of the Holy Oils, and Your Kiss of Peace in Holy Viaticum.

Blessed Mother, as you stood by Jesus dying, stand by me and those I love, in that dread hour when into fearful darkness the Light of Justice reaches, to fall with fearful brightness on our souls.


(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XII-Jesus dies on the cross

(The twelfth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

In this twelfth station the hatred of men and the love of Jesus reach flood-tide, and then His ebbing Blood leaves at last His Sacred Body lifeless on the Cross.  Greater love than this no man hath-than that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Jesus laid down His for His enemies.

Jesus, no one can deny the grandeur of Your sacrifice, even though he fail to comprehend its widest extension and its fullest meaning.  Have mercy on me, my Jesus, that turning from the world like the penitent thief, I may claim the heaven of Your love.

Mother of God, Refuge of sinners, pray for me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XI-Jesus is nailed to the cross

(The eleventh in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is a calm expectance on the Face of Jesus upturned upon the wood of the Cross.  He is waiting for the iron nails of man's ingratitude to confirm for all time the limitations of man's comprehension of God and the limitlessness of God's comprehension of man.  Only God-or the God-sustained-could bear with a prayer of forgiveness the torture of the nails.

Jesus, remembering your great pain, the Precious Blood pouring from Your hands and feet, let me be patient with all men, even with myself; let me be confident of the adequacy of Your redemption, and use that confidence not as a license for sinful indulgence but as an inspiration to more God-like living.

Blessed Mother, the hammer-blows on Calvary beat upon your heart; let me hear them, too.


(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross X-Jesus is stripped of His garments

(The tenth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

The mental suffering of Jesus is indicated in His Face in this, the tenth station.  Men drop their eyes in Christian modesty, which in the pure and humble is but instinctive shame for the stains of original sin.  Jesus lifts His eyes, because He is unsullied by any sin and stands clothed in Innocence and in His own Blood, symbolizing our poor, torn humanity restored to innocence and grace by this Most Holy Victim.

Jesus, when death strips me of all things else, let my soul appear for judgment clothed in the red mantle of Your Blood.

Mother Most Pure, pray for me to Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross IX-Jesus falls the third time

(The ninth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is an utter weariness in the Holy Face drooping like a tired flower back to the breast of the earth.  Eyes and mouth have not the strength to close, so complete is the exhaustion of the Master.  Only the will to sacrifice remains in vigor, and that will endures because its strength is nourished by Love Divine.

Jesus, somewhere along the road ahead, a last disappointing failure may be waiting for me, a last moment of bodily weariness, perhaps a last moment of moral weariness.  Jesus, on my bodily and spiritual infirmities have mercy, remembering your own last fall.

Blessed Mother, pity the tired ones of the world. 

 (From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VIII-Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem

(The eighth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is dignity that no indignity can destroy manifest in the Face of Jesus as He turns towards the daughters of Jerusalem in recognition of their sympathy.  A light suggestive of surprise lingers in His eyes.

Jesus, even in this moment, when these think of You with the ready sympathy of true women, Your thoughts are not of Your sorrows but of the sufferings of others, and more especially the loss of souls immortal.  Master, teach me to weigh all things, even as You do, in the scales of salvation.  Make me ready, even as You, to purchase at any price my own and my neighbor's eternal well-being.

Blessed Mother, surely your prayer, your example, stirred the quick sympathy of the daughters of Jerusalem.  Secure for me, if not tears for the suffering of Jesus, at least repentance for my sins.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

 The above picture is the original one used in Fr. Fitzgerald's version of The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross but the Columban Fathers used the picture at the beginning of this post in their version.  Considering the words, "A light suggestive of surprise lingers in his eyes", this picture makes more sense, don't you agree?

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VII-Jesus falls the second time

(The seventh in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

Jesus was mindful of the abiding character of human frailty and in this His second fall beneath the Cross, His very exhaustion provided for all time courage and strength, grace for souls that find themselves constantly in need of beginning again.

Jesus, in a very special manner I thank You for the second fall beneath the Cross, for repeated falls with repeated need to begin again are characteristics of my life, and indeed of the lives of thousands.  Your second fall assured me of Your patience with human weakness and inspires me to lift myself by Your grace and to begin again.

Mother dearest, your only weakness was that of love; extend your pitying love to me and to all who fall in sin and need must rise again.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VI-A holy woman wipes the Face of Jesus

(The sixth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

No less a symbol than Simon of Cyrene, as well as more admirable, is the holy woman whom we call Veronica.  Breaking through the crowd of morbid, curious people, unmindful of rabble jeers or soldier brawn, this holy woman-representative of the more generous lovers of Jesus-threw herself at the feet of the suffering Master and rising, offered her veil to wipe from His Sacred Face the Blood of Divine Love and the spittle of human hate.

Jesus, How swift, how gracious Your recognition of Veronica's heroic action!  Upon her veil You left an image of Your outraged Face, and thus sanctioned for all time devotion thereto.

Sorrowful Mother, lift my soul as a Veronica's veil to the outraged Face of Jesus.  Beg him to leave thereon the image of His Holiness and Beauty so clearly impressed that the beauty of creatures may not draw me from my allegiance to the beauty of Christ.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross V-Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His cross

(The fifth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Simon of Cyrene is more than an historic figure; he is as well a symbol of untold millions of Christians.  He did not choose the Cross, it was thrust upon him.  He embraced it because there seemed no other possible course of action, yet before he finished his forced journey, there had come to him the initial grace of realizing his privilege of sharing with the Saviour the road to Calvary.

Jesus, look upon me as You did upon Simon of Cyrene, with a love comprehensive of my limitations.  Grant me the grace You gave to him.  In so far as is necessary, force me to carry the cross, and as I bear it, awaken by Your grace in the depth of my soul appreciation of the privilege of even the most insignificant part in Your Saving Passion.

Mother of Sorrows, you who participated so perfectly in the sufferings of Jesus, secure for me the grace of a deepening love of Jesus, like that granted to Simon of Cyrene.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross IV-Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother

(The fourth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

It would be hard to conceive a moment at once of deeper anguish and of higher exaltation than that moment when the eyes of Jesus met the eyes of His Mother, as the Son passed by on the way to Calvary.  In that brief instant two worlds, two suns of burning love, fused into one universe, mutually attracting and balancing each other, with their love for each other as the attracting, and their love for men as the repulsing force.  In that moment the perfection of their mutual love revealed itself, as so often must our loves on earth, not by retarding but by encouraging each other in sacrifice.

Jesus, You could not have given me more striking proof of love than this: for me and for my salvation You passed Your sinless Mother by.  For human love it is written that a man shall leave his father and mother, and yet on the way to Calvary I witness a mystical yet no less real manifestation of that mysterious love which has drawn me out of the womb of nothingness and destines me by Your saving grace for life eternal.

Dearest Mother, on the way to Calvary, you gave up Your Son-the Bridegroom of souls-to me; that I may be less unworthy of that sacrifice, help me this day to give up some small thing for you.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's FathersForeign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross III-Jesus Falls Under the Weight of the Cross

(The third in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Moral failure, moral weakness, was not possible to Jesus, the All-Holy Son of God; but He knew how often in us moral and physical infirmities are allied; how often, as a result of original sin, man's corporeal being drags upon his spirit.  Therefore, Jesus willed to accept as much of our weakness as was compatible with the perfection of moral integrity.  He willed to suffer fatigue even to the exhaustion of His body and then by lifting Himself by His Divine Power, He taught us how in our weakness we might rise by His Strength and go forward to ultimate victory, salvation and sanctification.

Jesus, You have known the agony of exhaustion; how close that brings You to me!  Never am I more aware of the completeness of Your love than when I behold You crushed and exhausted beneath the weight of the Cross.

Sorrowful Mother, you were not permitted to help Jesus, but I am also your child; he permits you-as your love ever wills-to help me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross II-Jesus is Laden with the Cross

(The second in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

In this second Station we see the Face of Christ uplifted in anticipation of oblation.  Before Pilate, Jesus is the Lamb of God; before the Cross, He is the Lion of the House of Juda, on whose countenance gleams the light of sacrifice.

Beloved Master, You have made of the instrument of Your suffering a symbol of sublimest sacrifice; Your Cross has given to every cross a hidden value that can sustain me when my own grows heavy.  In that hour, Jesus, let me glimpse the exaltation of Your Face as You embraced the Cross.

Mother, who in spirit so perfectly accompanied and shared the Cross of Jesus, assist me also to bear mine. Teach me that crosses have many disguises.  Help me to remember Jesus, that however my cross be disguised, I may recognize and accept it for love of Him.

(from The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP,  founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood published by  St. Columban's Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross I-Jesus Before Pilate

(The first in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...come back daily during the next fourteen days to pray along.)

The Stations of the Cross have always been my favorite devotion.  Today I had the great joy of attending a Living Stations of the Cross that was held at the school where my two youngest children attend.  It was so beautiful that I was actually moved to tears at the fourth station and thirteenth station by how tenderly the girl who portrayed the Blessed Mother treated Jesus.  It was the first time that they have held a Living Stations at the school and I do hope it will become an annual tradition!

I have always been particularly fond of the Stations of the Cross version that was written by St. Alphonsus Liguori.  His words of prayer- "I love you,  Jesus my love, with all my heart; I am sorry for ever having offended You.  Never permit me to offend You again.  Grant that I may love You always and then do with me as You will"- are deeply moving.  But last year I came across The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross written by Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood and it has become my new favorite form of the stations.

Fr. Fitzgerald's version was written as a reflection on the artwork of Hippolyte Lazerges and he wrote under the pseudonym of Fr. Page, C.S.C.  The prayer book was published by the St. Columban's Foreign Mission Society in 1940.  I believe that I had the good fortune to purchase one of the last available original books which is now out of print, but facsimile copies are available here.

My friend Patricia, who writes at I Want to See God, has recently written a blog post about the Stations of the Cross and after reading her words, I was inspired to share Fr. Fitzgerald's version here in a 14 part series, sharing one station to meditate upon each day for the next two weeks.  Won't you pray along with me?  I was happy to stumble across the Columban Father's webpage where all of the images for the Holy Face can be found.  They also have a revised version of the Holy Face in the Way of the Cross available with meditations by Columban Father Patrick Sayles which can be found here.

Fr. Fitzgerald's Forword:

Hippolyte Lazerges' magnificent studies of the Holy Face in the Way of the Cross appeared first in this country in 1939 in The Far East, the missionary magazine of the St. Columban Fathers.  These little known etchings speak with an eloquence beyond the reach of words.  Yet they move one to words, to a grateful and humble attempt to express the meaning of their beauty, to interpret them in the light of that mystical extension of the Passion of Christ in which each true Christian shares.

The Stations of the Cross, richly endowed with spiritual favors by Mother Church and promoting as they do, so readily, interior recollection and the remembrance of Christ's Passion, are admirably suited for private devotion.  In these trying times what will prove of greater profit to souls than that they learn to follow daily in the footsteps of the Master, and seeking, Veronica-like, to make reparation to Christ, receive like her consolation from His Holy Face?

Finally, I desire to dedicate this task of love to one who has followed the Master quietly and bravely these many years-my mother.  ~Father Page, C.S.C.

The Face of Jesus as He stands before Pilate is the Face of the Lamb, of the Lamb of God who takes upon Himself the sins of all mankind.  Gentleness and forbearance, thoughtful acceptance of a sentence unjust....and yet not unjust if we remember, as Jesus did, His loving Will of vicarious suffering.  His Will to take upon Himself the weight of our sins; the penalty of our guilt.

O Gentle Saviour, impress upon my soul the image of Your Sacred Countenance and teach me to deepen that likeness by the quiet acceptance of the daily injustices with which men afflict men.  Let me strive to be very just to others even in my interior judgments; give me courage not to compromise my convictions and to accept, in union with Your silence before Pilate, all injustices that fall to my lot today.

Sorrowful Mother, commend my prayer to Your Son.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

Dance to the Music That is the Love of God

You know I'm always on the search for inspiration and I love it when it falls right into my lap.  On the drive home from Mass yesterday, I opened the bulletin to read the news (my husband was driving-do you think I'm crazy?  Well, maybe a little, but not enough to read while I'm driving!) and I was instantly moved by my pastor's words.  Just have to share them with you....

From  Fr. Dave Cooper's column on Luke 13:1-9:

"You take your partner by the hand, you hold each other close, and you look into each other's eyes...For most of us, our first dance is a discovery of this amazing person you have fallen in love with-then, with family and friends and champagne and roses,  you begin a new dance as spouses.  The next dances are jigs and skips around your first apartment or starter house.  Soon the dance includes new partners, the colicky baby, the first-grader, the teenager and the angst of being fifteen, the young adult off to college.  The next time that it's just the two of you again is at the wedding of your son or daughter and their first with their spouses.  Your delight becomes your children and grandchildren; you travel to new places, you finally stop and dance closer together once again.  But eventually the rhythm will slow as you will find your joy in the memories of the steps you have danced together.  You become each other's caregiver and protector as you glimpse together into eternity.  You wheel your spouse to the doctor, you slowly help your spouse to the bathroom, you gently dress and feed and prepare the medications for your beloved.  You take your spouse's hand for the last time.  Different steps, different rhythms, different settings.  Before you know it, the whirl of courtship becomes the shuffle of old age.  But the choreography is the same:  you take your partner by the hand, you hold each other close, you look into each other's eyes...And you dance to the music that is the love of God.

Jesus' parable of the fig tree reminds us of the ever-changing choreography of our lives-in keeping tune to the love of God in our lives, every season of our lives can be productive and meaningful.  The life of God is always about continuing the "dance" with hope and trust.  Despite the sadness and tragedy that can cut down our lives in disappointment and despair, God continues to plant in our midst opportunities to start over, to try again, to rework things, to move beyond our hurt and pain to make things right.  As God's mercy and compassion continue to "play" we are able to continue the choreography of a life of purpose and happiness."

Laziness-The Original Sin

I'm always easily suggestible, especially when it comes to books, so when Fr. Jim Kubicki, SJ, the National Director of the Apostleship of Prayer, began his talk on Heroic Catholicism by mentioning the book The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, and specifically mentioned that what was so interesting about it was that it began with three little words, "Life is difficult", my interest was piqued and it was off to the Salzmann Library at St. Francis de Sales Seminary to pick up a copy.

Now The Road Less Traveled is not a religion book, it's a psychology book, with four sections explaining how to deal with this difficult life:  Discipline, Love, Religion and Grace.  Dr. Peck shares stories of his past patients and how he helped them cope with their neuroses and psychoses.  I admit that at several points I felt as though he was really writing about me personally and maybe I should put the book down and head over to my nearest psychoanalyst to spend some time laying down on his couch and letting him analyze just what it is about me that makes me so neurotic.   And when I came to the section on religion where he speaks about a woman whose entire problems stemmed from the fact that her mother made her go to Mass and follow the teachings of the Catholic Church I thought that maybe I'd better bring all of my children along with me on that visit to the psychoanalyst's couch.  After all, they surely will all be headed there in the future anyway since I also make my children go to Mass and follow the teachings of the Catholic Church.  Why not save time and energy and just take them there now before I mess them up too much?

You'd think that since I do most of my reading while getting my daily exercise on the elliptical machine, with headphones blasting classic rock or current pop songs into my ears, that it would be hard for me to really get much benefit or understanding out of the books I read, but when I got to the section on Grace, Dr. Peck's words got through to me loud and clear.  I found his ideas about the opposite of love to be fascinating.  In his opinion, the opposite of love isn't hate, it's laziness.

Regarding Adam and Eve and original sin he says:

"The key issue lies in what is missing.  The story suggests that God was in the habit of "walking in the garden in the cool of the day" and that there were open channels of communication between Him and man.  But if this was so, then why was it that Adam and Eve, separately or together, before or after the serpent's urging, did not say to God, "We're curious as to why You don't want us to eat any of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  We really like it here, and we don't want to seem ungrateful, but Your law on this matter doesn't make sense to us, and we'd really appreciate it if you explained it to us"?  But of course they did not say this.  Instead they went ahead and broke God's law without ever understanding the reason behind the law, without taking the effort to challenge God directly, question His authority or even communicate with Him on a reasonably adult level.  They listened to the serpent, but they failed to get God's side of the story before they acted.

Why this failure?  Why was no step taken between the temptation and the action?  It is this missing step that is the essence of sin.  The step missing is the step of debate.  Adam and Eve could have set up a debate between the serpent and God, but in failing to do so they failed to obtain God's side of the question.  The debate between the serpent and God is symbolic of the dialogue between good and evil which can and should occur within the minds of human beings.  Our failure to conduct-or to conduct fully and wholeheartedly-this internal debate between good and evil is the cause of those evil actions that constitute sin.  In debating the wisdom of a proposed course of action, human beings routinely fail to obtain God's side of the issue.  They fail to consult or listen to the God within them, the knowledge of rightness which inherently resides within the minds of all mankind.  We make this failure because we are lazy.  It is work to hold these internal debates.  They require time and energy just to conduct them.  And if we take them seriously-if we seriously listen to this "God within us"-we usually find ourselves being urged to take the more difficult path, the path of more effort rather than less.  To conduct debate is to open ourselves to suffering and struggle.  Each and every one of us, more or less frequently, will hold back from this work, will also seek to avoid this painful step.  Like Adam and Eve, and every one of our ancestors before us, we are all lazy.

So original sin does exist; it is our laziness.  It is very real...laziness takes forms other than that related to one's responsibilities to others.  A major form that laziness takes is fear...Adam and Eve can again be used to illustrate this.  One might say, for instance, that it was not laziness that prevented Adam and Eve from questioning God as to the reasons behind His law but fear-fear in the face of the awesomeness of God, fear of the wrath of God.  But while all fear is not laziness, much fear is exactly that....So it is quite probable that Adam and Eve were afraid of what might happen to them if they were to openly question God; instead they attempted to take the easy way out, the illegitimate shortcut of sneakiness, to achieve knowledge not worked for, and hope they could get away with it.  But they did not."

Dr. Peck's reasoning makes sense to me, and it reminded me of Archbishop Fulton Sheen's poem, "Complain!" that I recently shared here on this blog, because both Dr. Peck's idea and Fulton Sheen's poem encourage complaining to God, not others, whenever we are troubled, unhappy or indecisive.  We should take our concerns to God alone and then silently wait for His answer.  That the silent waiting may take days, weeks, months or years, it doesn't matter.  The point is that God's will for our lives will always be made known to us if we are only willing to do the hard work of asking God, "What do You want from me?  Why did You allow this suffering to take place in my life?  How can I use this experience for Your glory?  What is Your will for this situation and for all of my life?"  And then wait in humble and quiet anticipation for His answer to be revealed to us through the people and events of our lives.