Holy Week - Wednesday

Maurice Denis. The Road to Calvary/Montace au calvaire ou Le Calvaire. 1889.

THE WAY TO CALVARY

Forming part of the procession, their presence making his impending death yet more shameful, are two convicted criminals, described as two thieves. A recently-arrived spectator to the scene would see three men, each laden with a cross, walking towards death. But only one is the Saviour of the world. Only one of the crosses is the redeeming Cross.

Today, too, the cross can be carried in different ways. There is the cross carried furiously or sullenly, in a rage; man writhes and squirms, filled with hate, or at least, with a deep and burning resentment. It is a cross without meaning and without any explanation, useless; such a cross may even separate one from God. It is the cross of those in this world who seek comfort and material well-being, who will put up with neither suffering nor setbacks, for they have no wish to understand the supernatural meaning of pain. It is a cross which does not redeem. It is the cross carried by one of the thieves.

On the road to Calvary is a second cross, carried this time with resignation, perhaps even with some dignity, with an acceptance of the situation simply because there is no alternative to it. This is the one carried by the other thief. Little by little he realizes that close by him is the sovereign figure of Christ, who will radically change the final moments of his life on earth, and for eternity; he will be the one converted into the good thief.

There is a third way of carrying the cross. Jesus embraces the saving wood and teaches us how we ought to carry our own cross: with love, co-redeeming all souls with him, making reparation at the same time for our own sins. Our Lord has conferred on human suffering a deep meaning. Being able, as he was, to redeem us in a multitude of ways, he chose to do so through suffering, for greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

In Conversation with God: Lent and Eastertide

Source: Chant Art

I Really, Really, Really Liked This Book

My review of Faith, Family and Fishing: a 21-Day Devotional by Tony Gerdes.

I Confess ... to Knowing Too Many Monty Python Routines

Our entire family went to confession last night and headed straight for where our favorite confessor was always stationed. There was no line so I popped in first.

When I came out, Rose said, "We could hear both of you laughing in there."

Father O. had said, "Ok, here's what I want you to do. This is a two step process. The first step is for you to put this issue on the back burner in your mind. Just let it sit there and don't worry about it. Then, the second step is ... wait, there are three steps to this process."

I said, "Amongst the many steps in this process ..."

And we both just broke up guffawing.

(Actually, I realized later on ... it is a four-step process ... which made the whole thing even funnier when I was telling the story.)

Peasant: I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.

Cardinal Ximinez: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise.... I'll come in again.

Holy Week - Tuesday

Nikolay Gay. "Quod Est Veritas?" Christ and Pilate. 1890.
(CowPi Journal has a very good reflection about light and dark inspired by this painting.)

The Passion of Our Lord
BEFORE PILATE: JESUS CHRIST, THE KING

Thinking that in this way he might placate the hatred of the Jews, Pilate, took Jesus and scourged him (John 19:1). This is the scene we contemplate in the second sorrowful mystery of the Rosary, Bound to the pillar. Covered with wounds.

The blows of the lash sound on his torn flesh, upon his undefiled flesh, which suffers for your sinful flesh. More blows. More fury. Still more ... It is the last extreme of human cruelty.

Finally, exhausted, they untie Jesus. And the body of Christ yields to pain and falls, limp, broken and half-dead.

You and I cannot speak. Words are not needed. Look at him, look at him ... slowly.

After this ... can you ever fear penance? (J. Escriva, Holy Rosary, Second Sorrowful Mystery)

When this has happened, the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe; they came up to him, saying, "Hail King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands (John 19:4-5). Today as we contemplate Jesus proclaiming his kingship before Pilate, we should also meditate upon that scene contained in the third sorrowful mystery of the Rosary.

The crown of thorns, driven in by blows, makes him a mock king ... And with their blows they wound his head. And they strike him ... and spit on him ...

You and I ... haven't we crowned him anew with thorns and struck him and spat on him?

Never again, Jesus, never again ... (J. Escriva, Holy Rosary, Third Sorrowful Mystery)

In Conversation with God: Lent and Eastertide

Caravaggio. The Flagellation of Christ. 1607.

Holy Week - Monday

Duccio di Buoninsegna. Maestà (back, central panel): Jesus Accused by the Pharisees. 1308-11.

The Passion of Our Lord
PETER'S DENIALS

Jesus having been much ill-used, is led into one of the courtyards. He then turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61). Their looks meet. Peter would like to bow his head, but he cannot tear his eyes from Him, Whom he has just denied. He knows the Saviour's looks well; that look that had determined his vocation, he had not been able to resist either its authority or its charm; and that tender look of the Master's on the day He had affirmed, looking at His disciples, "Here are my brethren, my sisters, my mother!" And that look that had made him tremble when he, Simon, had wanted to banish the Cross from Jesus' path! And the affectionately pitying look with which he had invited the too-rich young man to follow him! And His look, clouded with tears, before Lazarus' tomb ... He knows them well, the Saviour's looks.

And yet never, never had he seen on the Saviour's face the expression he sees there at this moment, the eyes marked with sadness but without any severity. A look of reproach without a doubt, but which becomes suppliant at the same time and seems to repeat to him, "Simon, I have prayed for thee!"

This look only rests on him for an instant; Jesus is violently dragged away by the soldiers, but Peter sees Him all the time (G. Chevrot, Simon Peter). He sees that compassionate look of Jesus fixed upon the deep wound of his guilt. He now understands the enormity of his sin, and the fulfillment of Our Lord's prophecy about his betrayal ...

Contrition gives special strength to the soul; it restores hope, makes the Christian forget himself and draw close to God once more with a deeper act of love. Contrition proves the quality of interior life and always attracts God's mercy; ... this is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit ... (Isaiah 66:2)

Christ found no difficulty in building his Church upon a man who was able to fall and who did fall. God also counts on weak instruments, provided they repent, to carry out his big project: the salvation of mankind.

In Conversation with God: Lent and Eastertide

I will never forget when I first read the Gospel where Jesus turns and looks at Peter. I don't know why I never noticed that part before but it is one of the most meaningful to me. What a terrible moment of sudden knowledge that must have been. I know that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you are "found out" and the remorse and shame that flooded Peter on that instant. How many times have I given Jesus reason to look at me like that?

Beginning Easter Sunday

Catholic catechism dialogue blog, a new group blog, is being launched with the hope of inspiring people to become consistent, daily readers of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can read all about it here.

I really am honored to be included in the writers of the blog. This will be especially good for me as reading the entire Catechism is something that I've always meant to do. Of course, I never have though I have a great copy of the Catechism sitting on my bookshelves as a reference.

I am so looking forward to printing out that schedule Owen mentions and getting into a daily routine of the CCC to supplement the Bible. Also, there is a crack team of diverse writers assembled. I can't wait to see what insights they have to share. This is definitely gonna keep me on my toes!

It Really Happened

Mk 11:1-10

When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem
to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives,
he sent two of his disciples and said to them,
“Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately on entering it,
you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone should say to you,
‘Why are you doing this?’ reply,
‘The Master has need of it
and will send it back here at once.’”
So they went off
and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street,
and they untied it.
Some of the bystanders said to them,
“What are you doing, untying the colt?”
They answered them just as Jesus had told them to,
and they permitted them to do it.
So they brought the colt to Jesus
and put their cloaks over it.
And he sat on it.
Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
and others spread leafy branches
that they had cut from the fields.
Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:
“Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!”

This was the opening Gospel, read when we were all facing the cross in the center of the church.

Our pastor made a brief commentary after it was read before processing behind the cross throughout the rest of the church. He said, "Why is this in the Gospel?" and read this part again.

If anyone should say to you,
‘Why are you doing this?’ reply,
‘The Master has need of it
and will send it back here at once.’”
So they went off
and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street,
and they untied it.
Some of the bystanders said to them,
“What are you doing, untying the colt?”
They answered them just as Jesus had told them to,
and they permitted them to do it.

He said that no scholars have puzzled over the hidden meanings of those simple words. Why were they even included? Because they are the little details that are remembered and told by someone who was there. An eyewitness.

He said, "This really happened. It is not some ancient mythology with which we fool ourselves. It is not made up. It really happened. Jesus really died for our sins to bring us salvation. He is real. It really happened."

That was the first time I cried at today's Mass. The second was when I had to read aloud, "Crucify him!"

Because it really happened.

My Crush on Cardinal Arinze Continues

Y'all may remember my full-fledged crush.

I see no sign of it abating. In fact, it might be getting worse.

The Mass is the supreme act of adoration, praise and thanksgiving which humanity can offer to God. We owe everything to God: life, family, talents, work, country. Moreover God has sent us his only-begotten Son for our salvation. At Mass we offer God this supreme acknowledgment of his transcendent majesty and thanksgiving for his magnificent goodness towards us. Moreover, at Mass we associate ourselves with all creation in acknowledging the greatness of God. God is not our equal. He is not our colleague. He is our Creator. Without him we would not exist at all. He is the only necessary being. It is normal that we acknowledge this fact. Those who refuse to adore God must not decorate themselves with the apparently nice title of liberal intellectuals.

If we are to call a spade a spade, we shall inform such people that they are unreasonable, ignorant and blind to most obvious facts. A child who refuses to recognise his parents is not a liberal. He is a brat. Would it be wrong to call him stupid, and unaware of common sense, and even of his own best interest? And God is to us much more than parents are to their children. On the other hand, God is not a rival to us human beings. He is not a threat. He is not a killjoy.

God is our loving Father. He is Providence. He takes care of every detail regarding our life. When we adore him, praise him and thank him, we not only do not demean ourselves. Rather we begin to realise our greatness. Our acknowledgment of God's transcendent reality elevates us. The shepherds in Bethlehem and the Magi were all the better because they adore the Child Jesus. St Anselm, St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, St Teresa of Avila, St Therese of the Holy Child Jesus, St Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and Albert Einstein were all the greater because they offered the sacrifice of t eir intelligence to God the Creator. Christians must not allow themselves to be misled by the errors of a secularistic mentality which lives as if God did not exist. Man is not the centre of reality. God is. By adoring God through the Holy Eucharist, we pay this due tribute to God's transcendence.

Read the full text of his speech here. Thanks to Fr. Stephanos for the scoop and link.

You HAVE to See This

Watch this all the way through.

And make sure you have the sound on.

Thanks to SC&A for the heads up. How does Siggy always know what I'll like?

Eaking-Spay Ussian-Ray

Disputations mentions Pig Latin which reminds me of this funny story about my brother.

Once upon a time, he and some other Americans were learning Russian on the U.S. Army's dime (he later went into Military Intelligence, but that's another story). The other students at the language school were all German. The instructors were Russian.

The instructors would not allow the Americans to speak anything except Russian. However, they would allow the Germans to also speak German.

Naturally, this unfair discrimination angered the Americans. With native ingenuity, they came upon the answer. They spoke Russian ... in Pig Latin.

This confused and enraged the instructors. They could tell it was some sort of Russian but couldn't figure it out. They also never could understand how all the Americans instantly knew this new language.

Who knew that the "talent" every American schoolchild picks up with so little trouble would be used to such good effect?

My brother. He's a clever one all right!

APB on John B.

Anyone seen The Catholic Packer Fan lately?

Or have did I just miss something?

Bryan and I are wondering where he is.

A Trend in the Making

Via Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam comes this warning label generator.

I found the street sign generator on my own
(ok, so the link was at the bottom of the other generator...).

I found this poster generator so long ago that I forgot it until Jules reminded me.

The Miraculous Haul

To me this addresses so perfectly that feeling of astonishment and directness we feel when God suddenly addresses us ... in a way that means more to us than anyone else around, because it is a message tailored for us specifically. And, then, suddenly we can see.

He told Peter to row out into the deep and lower the nets again. And now for the first time we hear Peter speak: he must have said a good deal before this, for he was almost too ready a talker; but this is the first utterance of his that the Holy Spirit thought worth recording. "Master," he said, "we have labored all the night, and have taken nothing; but at thy word I will let down the net." All Peter's discipleship was in that answer — "It seems impossible, but if you say so —!"

We know what followed — a haul of fish that burst the net. Peter and Andrew called to James and John, their partners, who were in another boat near by, and both boats were loaded with fish to the gunwales, nearly sinking under the weight. What was the exact nature of the miracle? Either Jesus knew that the fish would be there — if so, it was by no natural knowledge that a carpenter would read signs that the fishermen missed; or he willed them to be there.

Peter's reaction is fascinating: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." After all, this was not the first miracle Peter has seen Jesus work. He had been there when his new Master spoke to Nathanael of an incident that his bodily eyes had not seen — Peter may well have thought that he was reading the other's mind. He had been at the wedding feast in Cana when the water was changed into wine, he had been there all through the week of miracles following Passover in Jerusalem. Only recently his mother-in-law had been cured of fever at a touch of Christ's hand and a word from his lips. But reading minds and healing bodies, even making wine — such things lay outside his experience: even without miracle, these were mysteries to Peter. But fish were different: he knew all about fish. This miracle hit home to him as the others had not.

So we understand the special intensity of his astonishment. But why the fear? Why was his first reaction to a vast haul of fish an overpowering sense of his own sinfulness?He had see the money-changers scourged from the Temple — and probably was delighted to see it, feeling that they were getting what they deserved. Evidently it had not occurred to him that he was a sinner himself. This time, precisely because the miracle hit home to him in all the reality of its miraculousness, he suddenly saw Christ for the first time. Seeing Christ, he at last saw himself.

To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed

Thanks Be to God

Ron Rolling's latest update. God is good and so are y'all for answering the call.

Water Into Wine

This excerpt is talking about when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana.

But how could he work a miracle immediately after he had said, "My hour is not yet come"? In those words is the mystery of Cana. What did he mean by his hour? Once he has begun his public teaching, it always means the time when he should die and be glorified by his Father. That meaning would not fit here. Evidently he means that the moment has not yet come to show his power to the eyes of men. Then two surprises: Mary knows that he will show it all the same. One minute his hour had not come, the next it had.

Surely the Holy Spirit was at work. We know that Jesus went into the desert to be tempted by the devil because the Holy Spirit sent him there. His certainty that his hour had not yet come would have meant that the Holy Spirit had not yet told him that he was to show his power publicly. And now, suddenly, his Mother asks for a miracle. As we have seen, the life of the family at Nazareth had not been strewn with miracles ... Nazareth did not believe in him, was indeed the only town that wanted to kill him.

Mary could have asked him to work a miracle thus publicly, only at the command of the Holy Spirit: it was not in her nature to thrust bright ideas of her own on her Son. She asked him as she was bid, and the Holy Spirit moved him to do what she asked. Thus Mary, who by her obedience had brought her Son into life, now by his obedience brought him into public life.

To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed

Tim Burton Terry Gilliam Would Be Proud

MIRRORMASK

We all found ourselves at a strange loss for words after watching this movie. On one hand it is a typical adventure teenage quest story of the sort found in fantasy novels. A girl must find the Mirrormask to restore her world and a parallel one to balance in order to save her mother from dying.

The way the story is illustrated with extremely odd special effects at first brought Tim Burton to mind. We soon saw that Tim Burton just wasn't odd enough (and how often do you hear that said?) and had to revise our opinion to the WeirdMeister ... Terry Gilliam.

We watched with a strange fascination to see what would happen next, not because we were caught up the story which at the base was fairly straight forward. The fascination was in the way the story moved along its predictable lines but made so very, very odd by the effects. It was like the time we watched Time Bandits (except Mirrormask's plot was more normal) ... unable to look away because we were wondering what would happen next in the weirdness.

In the end, neither Tom, Rose, or me could say that we liked or disliked this movie. That in itself probably is the strangest thing about the movie for we are an opinionated crowd. If you like this sort of movie, then this is the sort of movie you will like (to misquote The Car Guys).

HC RATING: Undefinable

Encounter at the Grocery Store

Picking up some things on the way to work yesterday, I overheard the guy checking my groceries talking to another checker about making sure they had Easter Sunday off. Then they were comparing times for their respective churches' sunrise services.

Memories of a chilly, windy, gray, wet outdoor Easter morning at 6 a.m. filled my head as I suddenly thought of attending an Easter service with my best friend from high school who attended the Church of the Nazarene. I asked the checker if his service was outside or inside.

That's all it took. We were off on a whirlwind conversation that covered why Easter is timed when it is, how many people only come to Easter and Christmas services, how hard it is to get up for a sunrise service ("You know you're a soldier when you're doing that," he said). It ended with a surprisingly personal moment of sharing as he reflectively said, "You know, I like to go somewhere by myself on Easter. I think about Jesus and what he did for us. I mean, I know he came to do it but ... still. Think of it. If it wasn't for him, none of us would be here. There'd be no Christians at all. No salvation."

We both were silent for a second. Then he handed me my driver's license and returned to his usual brisk manner. I turned away to see the bag boy grinning at both of us ... a couple of softies talking about Jesus at the grocery store.

That's ok. I'm used to it. Somehow I get caught up in those sorts of conversations fairly regularly. I like it. I like knowing so many people love their Savior and their faith and aren't afraid to talk about it with someone they don't know. Jesus is what connects us, makes us one.

Body of Christ ... it pops up all over the place. Even at the grocery store.

Back to Basics: Three Forms of Baptism

I am so used to Baptism by water that I tend to forget the other two forms.

Baptizing with Water

The most common form of Baptism is by water. The Gospels say that one must be born again of water and the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). The early Christians and their successors have been baptizing with water for almost two millennia but with some slight differences:

• Immersion: Some Christian denominations fully immerse a person in water three times while saying the invocation of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarian formula, "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
• Aspersion: Other Christians sprinkle water on the forehead of the one being baptized and then invoke the Trinitarian formula.
• Infusion: Catholics (mostly Latin) baptize by pouring water over the head of the one being baptized while the Trinitarian formula is pronounced.

All three methods use water and the invocation of the Holy Trinity. Only water can be used — no other substance. But immersion or infusion are preferred.

Baptism of Blood

The notion of being baptized by shedding your own blood for Christ and/or his Church grew up during the Roman persecutions. And the Catholic Church has always revered these unbaptized martyrs — people who die for their faith — maintaining that the divine mercy of God wouldn't penalize them or ignore their sacrifice merely because they died before their Baptism by water.

In addition, Herod killed many infants (Matthew 2:16) in an failed effort to kill the newborn Christ. These infants, known as the Holy Innocents, are martyrs, too, because they shed their blood, so Christ could live. So Baptism by blood is as valid as Baptism by water. The following quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church shows what the Church has to say about Baptism by blood:

The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without like being a sacrament (1258).

Baptism by Desire

Part of Catholic theology is the Universal Salvific Will of God, which is just a fancy way of saying that God basically would like for everyone, all men and women, to join him in heaven. Men and women have free will, though, so he offers the gift of grace, but men and women must freely accept and then cooperate with it...

People who lack any knowledge of Christ and his teachings are sometimes called anonymous Christians, and they don't consciously, deliberately, and willingly reject Christ and his Catholic Church, so they aren't responsible for not knowing the whole truth. Therefore, the Church believes in Baptism by desire, which allows salvation for non-Christians who, through no fault of their own, haven't yet accepted Christ explicitly but nonetheless live good, moral lives as if already Christian. Only those who consciously, deliberately, and willingly reject Christ are considered liable.

If people in their heart of hearts are sincerely disposed to God's will but, through no fault of their own, don't know about Jesus Christ — or they've never been shown by word and good example — then the Church presumes that they possess an implicit desire to be baptized. If someone had told them and given good example, they would've freely and willingly embraced Christianity and asked for Baptism by water.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about Baptism by desire:

Since Christ died for all ... we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility ... Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God ... can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity. (1260)

Catholicism for Dummies by John Trigilio

Mensa By the Numbers

Jake is one-fourth of Molly's age. Two years ago, he was one-seventh her age.

How old are they now?

You Know, Jesus Did Take It With Him

His body, that is.

I did a double-take when this author attempted to explain details of Roman Catholicism as a key to grasping Bosch's paintings.

The ceremony takes place at an altar that contains precious relics, which are real pieces either of the body of Christ or of a saint, or of something they have touched.

The Essential Hieronymus Bosch

Ok, that's not Christian theology at all. No editor caught this one? Luckily, the author seems to be much better at writing about art than theology.