Yes, the Cross is how one loves! I will always cherish these words of wisdom from my nun daughter, Little Sister Hallel on the occasion of her sister, Nancy's engagement to Bill...
" Nancy, Look I am writing you a letter... aren't you impressed? Well, you better be because both you and I know how often this happens. I am writing to tell you now extremely excited I am about your engagement to Bill. I have to admit, when I got the news I wasn't really shocked but that night as it sunk in during adoration and the next day during mass I was so happy. My heart overflowed with joy for you. How beautiful to know that you have found your... most cherished cross. While I have never had the experience of being married, from what I hear is that he will truly be your cross. But not your cross as human eyes look at it, as a thing to run away from, as a thing of torture but rather as that which is truly the tree of life. It is only when clinging to the cross that one can truly live, it is the source of all life and of all love. Your marriage to Bill will be this, not something to run away from when it gets hard and when it hurts, but something to hold tight to, especially when it hurts because it is in this that you will find life and love. Know that it is through your marriage that Jesus wants to show you his great love for you and also that the best example that you can give to the world of Christ's love is a marriage lived in truth. So, in other words, know that I am so happy for you and that I love you a whole lot. Know that you are in my prayers during this crazy time of wedding planning; that you may not go crazy but rather learn to love each other better and that you may both have great joy and great peace. Remember to pray for me too! God Bless, Your little Sister Hallel "
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2
Yes! My rosary is so powerful these days - I am called to pray in pasture, in my chapel on wheels, in our glorious church or adoration chapel in front of Jesus, on the porch remembering my 3p prayer of rosary and chaplet with my father here in my farm monastery for those wonderful last 6 months of his life!
Dad today in the Office of Readings in dad's well worn and marked with his wisdom Prayer book left behind for me to share in our mutual LOVE for ALL that The Church gives to us each day!
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2
From dad to us - I desire GLORY be given the NAME. Glory is the way we praise GOD in the Highest. This is to enter the radiance, the magnificence, the awesome presence of the NAME. GLORY BE TO YOU, O LORD!
Dad revealing his Truth to me today in the Office of Readings!
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16
We are called to die to self so that Jesus can live in us. Bless-bless, Barbara
Jaci Valaquez - God so loved the world
"Blest is the wood
through which
justice comes about."
Wisdom 14:7
Exquisite mosaic ~ Tree of Life, Holy Cross (detail) ~ San Clemente - Roma
“The event of the Cross and Resurrection
abides and draws everything toward life.” (CCC 1085)
Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross
Exaltation of the Cross
September 14
"How splendid the cross of Christ! It brings life, not death;
light, not darkness; Paradise, not its loss. It is the wood on which the Lord,
like a great warrior, was wounded in hands and feet and side,
but healed thereby our wounds. A tree has destroyed us,
a tree now brought us life." ~ St Theodorus the Estudite
Painting (detail) The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Luigi Gregori
Spes Unica: (Our) only Hope
"Recognize in this bread what hung on the cross, and in this chalice what flowed from His side... whatever was in many and varied ways announced beforehand in the sacrifices of the Old Testament pertains to this one sacrifice which is revealed in the New Testament.
Receive in this bread that which was hanged on the cross; receive in this cup that which was poured from Christ's side. For he will gain death, not life, who thinks Christ is a liar." ~ St Augustine
"On the Cross human misery and divine mercy meet. ...The Cross is planted in the earth and would seem to extend its roots in human malice, but it reaches up, pointing as it were to the heavens, pointing to the goodness of God.
By means of the Cross of Christ, the Evil One has been defeated, death is overcome, life is given to us, hope is restored, light is imparted. O Crux, ave spes unica!…" ~ St John Paul II, homily 09.14.03
____________________
"He who runs away from one cross,
will meet a bigger one on his road."- St Philip Neri
"O Jesus, Jesus, I no longer feel my cross
when I think of yours!"- St Bernadette Soubirous
when I think of yours!"- St Bernadette Soubirous
+ + +
Crucifixes on rosaries, worn around one's neck and in one's home
serve as enduring and endearing reminders of the magnitude
serve as enduring and endearing reminders of the magnitude
of Christ's love and serve as focal points for private prayer.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen summarized the reason
for using a crucifix instead of an empty cross when he said,
“Keep your eyes on the crucifix,
for Jesus without the cross is a man without a mission,
and the cross without Jesus is a burden without a reliever.”
We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee
because by Thy holy Cross
Thou hast redeemed the world!
________________________
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