All on our knees asking The Lord, Jesus Christ - eleison.... have mercy! Up on the wall ahead of me is the familiar huge crucifixion scene that hit me solidly in the face, heart, mind, and soul as a new Catholic 43 years ago. To see Christ on the cross was something new and real and powerful as I had always seen the empty cross in all my Protestant years. It is so real to see the suffering and the answer to this question from Jesus is right there in front of us!
The question from Peter; "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Matthew 18
"I say to you, not seven time but seventy-seven times." Jesus tells us and just looking at this crucifixion scene is the answer in visual form. Did Jesus/God with us do anything wrong in his entire life? No! He was without sin and yet he was falsely accused and suffered death on the cross in the most brutal fashion known to man as ransom for our sins! Forgiving his brothers and sisters that have sinned against him to the millionth degree! This is the visual picture of forgiveness! That we are called upon to humbly apologize to our brothers and sisters, and even if they do not ask us for forgiveness in return we are to forgive them! We are not called upon to explain over and over and over how we were justified in doing what we did to anger our brother or sister. We need to say "I am sorry, forgive me." We then are to forgive them in return!
Pondering this sight of true humility - the spotless Lamb slain for us... The words of Psalm 25 from mass today are answered and brought to LIFE!
Your ways, O Lord, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
Remember, your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble in justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
Remember, your mercies, O Lord.
Notice, as I do over and over in the Word, how we are called upon to be humble as Jesus and to return the mercy we have been given over and over and over!
The final word of Jesus today in the Gospel after sharing the parable of the debtor, who although forgiven much did not in turn forgive, is this "unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart... so will my heavenly Father do to you." A hugely hard request of us - to forgive truly and totally from our hearts! I find that even though I am hurt and feel wronged that if I say those words humbly - "I am sorry, please forgive me." that the healing can begin and the anger and resentment can begin to diminish and eventually become so much hot air that rises and evaporates! Listening to arguments in which much is hashed over again and again with each trying to convince the other that they are wrong... I can begin to see how pointless it all is, and that a simple apology would end it all and the healing could start.
Mary in her moment of supreme suffering as she stands by her Son throughout his agony, death and yes, later his resurrection! Above is Mary in her splendor and glory raised to be with Christ at his right hand! She is there to intercede for us always. I recently came across this amazing video of the famous musician Eric Clapton singing a song he wrote to Mary at his lowest point while in rehab...
This is with Pavorotti in 1996
Eric wrote that since he prayed to her at his lowest point - he does not miss a morning without coming to her on his knees to start each day and has found an ally in facing all that life brings to us!
“I was in complete despair,” wrote Clapton. “In the privacy of my room, I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether . . . and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered. Within a few days I realized that . . . I had found a place to turn to, a place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety.”
My little Hispanic girl and her mother lighting a candle to St Anthony at Basilica on Sunday!
Jesus, I know how hard it is for me to forgive when my brother sins against me. I am wronged and hurt and how do you expect me not to be angry and retaliate? Wounded, I will not cease to LOVE. This is what The Community of the Lamb lives by and yes, it is so hard to do. But as we look upon you on the Cross, the spotless Lamb that was slain for us! "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24 There it is!!!! The Truth, the answer to our life of pain and misery - we are called to love and serve Jesus through doing all for those in our domestic Church/family! When we are living closely with family we are hurt from time to time and wronged, yet we are called to always and without hesitation to forgive! To return the mercy we have been shown as we are debtors owing so much to God for all our sins, and we in return are called to humbly forgive! Jesus, we trust in you. Amen
Now at the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe!
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
Peeking out at me... the Best!
Danielle Rose - Mother's Song - The Crucifixion from her rosary CD
Maria shared some great pics with great-grandma on her blog today!
With the 4
Meeting Romeo for the first time... How I hope and pray he can make it to KC and meet his Aunt Hallel for the first time in a few weeks. Lord, hear my prayer!
Father Delp is quoted often in my daily prayer book - The Magnificat and rightly so as he was a Jesuit priest who died in the concentration camps in 1945
God bids us place our hope of mercy in the mercy we are prepared to show. The sins of the world must vanish with transcendental guilt so that the world now and then may breathe again. As far as we are concerned this means that we must refrain from all bitterness against those who have wronged us. I bear them no grudge; I forgive even that charlatan who made such a travesty of German justice. They even arouse my pity. But I pity more the people who have delivered themselves and their holy spirit into the hands of such monsters. God help us.
Truly a man that can teach us about forgiveness and mercy - now he may intercede for us from heaven.
Kathy Trocolli - Go LIGHT your world
A fun project from yesterday in the mud - rubber boot time!
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