Mar 31, 2015 |
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Meditations on the Wounds of Christ
The Head of Christ~ The Head of Christ, which is eternally adorned with the glorious halo of His Father’s Love, consented to be crowned instead with thorns, placed on His Head by unworthy human hands, pierced over and over by those thorns. Lord, may I suffer as You did, bearing all sufferings, great and small, in love.
The Back of Christ~ Ah, those first wounds of Christ, scourged mercilessly at the pillar. No words can describe Your suffering, beaten and bloodied for no sins of Your own. For us You bore this pain. Lord give me strength to bear any sufferings You grant me this day.
The Feet of Christ~ The Precious Feet of Jesus, that bore His weight and the weight of the Cross up to Calvary. I love those Feet that had nails driven into them, all for love. Lord, may I always walk in Your Footsteps.
The Hands of Christ~ The poor, wounded, bloodied Hands of Christ, outstretched to envelop the whole world; how could one not rush into His Hands? They were pierced as punishment for our sins, their open sores speak of such love and pain, suffering and compassion. Lord, may I always rush into Your loving Hands.
The Side of Christ~ Oh, most holy Side of Christ, pierced for my sake; how could I not love You, Lord, who bore this wound for me? A wound so close to Your divine Heart, and yet You loved me even then, and still do love me now. Oh, Side of Christ, in which the cruel lance of the soldier plunged, I adore and take refuge there, so close to my Saviour’s Heart.
~John 19:1-37~
By Josephine.
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Mar 29, 2015 |
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Ever since the Fall, nakedness has been associated with shame.
In the beginning it was not so. St John Paul II reminded us in his catechesis sessions that “Original Man” was naked without shame.
Consider that the Artist responsible for the beauty of the human body was disrobed at the hands of the descendants of the original “vandals” who introduced shame and caused the body to require covering.
This is not an event peripheral to the Redemptive Act. Rich in its symbolism, this is a stunning reversal of the harm we did. Our Lord reunites dignity and nakedness, and in allowing Himself to be so treated, stands in silent insistence that we were made in His image.
Inviting us to return to intimacy with the Blessed Trinity, Our Lord gives Himself in a gift that is total, down to the very garment on His back, and the flesh that would have been torn off along with it.
Faced with such love beyond measure, how can we not be moved to give our everything (including perhaps our broken hopes and dreams) to Him – love for Love?
By AfterEpiphany.
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Mar 26, 2015 |
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Oh Jesus! You are so close to the end, and yet You fall this third time. By now, Your strength is gone. Your body is crumpled on the ground, blood mixing with the dirt. As you lay there, I wonder if You will really stand and continue.
Lord, there are times in my life when the pain is too great to continue and my heart is crumpled in a heap on the rocky, dusty ground. I fall under the weight of my own sins, inadequacies, and past hurts. The weight of my own shattered dreams, too, drives me to the ground. I have carried them so far – must I continue? These shattered dreams – so painful, yet somehow part of Your plan and therefore good for me – have pushed me to the ground before. Then, I rose and continued, only to fall again…and now again. This third time is simply too much. Will this never end? I say this and then bite my tongue. The end is so close. I know how it ends. How can I take one more step towards the end, towards THAT end?
Lord, I give up. I cannot continue. This cross is too heavy to bear. I give up.
I give IT up. Take it, Lord, and carry it for me, because I cannot continue. Take my cross, these hurts, these sins, these shattered dreams. I surrender them all to You. In this moment, as I lie bloody and exhausted, in makes no sense to me. I cannot see how this is good. And yet You are good, and somehow this makes sense to YOU. So take it – here. Take it, please, for I need Your help. Help me to trust You. Help me to trust that You are good, that even this pain will work for good. Give me the patience to wait in hope. Calvary will not be the end. This suffering will not be wasted. Death leads to a life more glorious than before. Jesus, help me.
By Amata.
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Mar 25, 2015 |
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
I slept, but with my heart awake
To hear His footsteps passing by;
His hair was damp with blood and sweat.
He had no looks to draw the eye,
Flayed bare and crowned with thorns and yet
I loved. He fell, and rose to die;
My spirit languished for His sake.
“My love, My sister, come to Me”
His anguish called me, and I came
My veil God-stained for all to see.
O women of Jerusalem
Who walk with us to Calvary
Swear now by all that bears His name
You will not part my love from me.
By Spiritu.
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Mar 24, 2015 |
Shape us in the likeness of the divine nature of our Redeemer,
Whom we believe to be true God and true Man,
since it was Your Will, Lord God,
that He, Your Word, should take to Himself our human nature
in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mar 22, 2015 |
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
This second fall serves as a powerful reminder that we follow both a human and a divine Savior. Neither He nor we are immune from suffering in this life. Take a moment and ponder: if Christ had given up the whole project of redemption at this moment, where would that leave humanity? How tempting is it for us to walk away when life gets uncomfortable? No person enjoys being face to face with their weaknesses and shortcomings.
Yet, there is good news in this dark moment. St. Paul reminds us that when we are weak, Christ’s strength is all the greater. Fortunately for us, Christ does get up after the second fall. He continues, not out of stubborness, but out of love. This self-giving love is the true message of the second fall. Only when we are willing to suffer for love do we continue on the path to freedom and salavation in Christ. When we embrace our second, third, fourth, and (so many other) falls – we share Christ’s path to love.
By Sister Madeleine Miller OSB.
Back to Lent 2015 Stations of the Cross Reflections
The Feet of Christ~ The Precious Feet of Jesus, that bore His weight and the weight of the Cross up to Calvary. I love those Feet that had nails driven into them, all for love. Lord, may I always walk in Your Footsteps.
You, Lord, who bore this wound for me? A wound so close to Your divine Heart, and yet You loved me even then, and still do love me now. Oh, Side of Christ, in which the cruel lance of the soldier plunged, I adore and take refuge there, so close to my Saviour’s Heart.
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Shape us in the likeness of the divine nature of our Redeemer,
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
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