Posts Tagged ‘The Cross’
Crowned with Thorns: Embracing the Scandal That Saves Us
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, As we raise our palms today shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David!” with joy, we are ushered into the most sacred and intense week of the Christian journey, the Holy Week. Palm Sunday invites us to walk with Jesus on a road that defies human logic, a road…
Read MoreWas It Necessary That Christ Should Suffer?
The readings of today (Numbers 21,4-9; John 8:21-30) put forward the image of the cross and its symbolic role for the restoration of human brokenness. The first reading is an excerpt of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land. The Israelites, out of weariness from the long journey in the wilderness,…
Read MoreBetween Joy and Healing: A Lenten Trust in God’s Providence
Once, my birthday was on a Sunday. I was quite new to the parish, and only a few knew, which was fine for me. After Mass, a sister greeted me (well, she remembered…), and just then a parishioner approached me. She has been looking for me to give me a book she thought of giving…
Read MoreMy Ways Are Not Your Ways
Dear brothers and sisters, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Man thinks and approbates in terms of success, glory, human honor, first places, and the like. But God’s ways are different. He stated, “My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are…
Read MoreExaltation of the Holy Cross
Today we observe the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Two distinct events are rolled into this special day, to make today significant for Catholics and Christians alike. Tradition says that Roman Emperor Constantine’s mother, St. Helena, discovered the true cross in Jerusalem on this date in 326. It was taken away in an invasion, but…
Read MoreFor God So Loved
Growing up in a Hindu family, I went to the temple once or twice a year and was perplexed by the large idols I saw there. They loomed silently over the people like alien figures, expressionless and unfeeling. The silence I felt there was deafening. In stark contrast, the Cross stands like an exclamation point…
Read MoreFeast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
On 13 September 335, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (also called the Church of the Resurrection) was dedicated. The following day, the cross that Empress Helena had discovered on 14 September 320, was venerated in a solemn ceremony. In 614, the Persian King, Chosroes II, waged war on the Romans. After conquering Jerusalem, he…
Read MoreThe Old Rugged Cross: The Memorial of Paul Miki and Companions
The old rugged cross, an absurdity, a paradox, an ancient torturous path of contradiction! In Adam, humanity died but in Christ, humanity was reborn through the old rugged cross. Out of death comes life and life is swallowed by death to be reborn once again. Jesus loved his own who were in the world to…
Read MoreSo Must the Son of Man Be Lifted Up
Have you ever considered the strangeness of the Cross? Out of all the means possible, why did God accept death on a Cross as the means of our redemption? Among the world religions, only Christianity puts forth this startling image of crucifixion. Indeed, there is no definitive sign in other world religions by which we…
Read MoreThe Calling of Matthew
If you happen to enter the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, Caravaggio’s genius offers the visitor a view of The Calling of Matthew. It comes alive in all its dramatic force. It is well worth the time spent contemplating this painting, a form of graphic catechetical piece that recalls today’s gospel on…
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