Recent Posts

Most Used Categories

Tag: Prayer

You are Here :
Saints and Martyrs

Solemnity – Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The cross is Christ’s glory and triumph

We are celebrating the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and brought in the light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the things above. So great and outstanding a possession is the cross that he who wins it has won a treasure. Rightly could I call this treasure the fairest of all fair things and the costliest, in fact as well as in name, for on it and through it and for its sake the riches of salvation that had been lost were restored to us.

Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be cancelled, we should not have attained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.

Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honourable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation —“ very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honourable because it is both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world.

The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as his his triumph. We recognise it as the cup he longed to drink and the climax of the sufferings he endured for our sake. As to the cross being Christ’s glory, listen to his words: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in him God is glorified, and God will glorify him at once. And again: Father, glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world came to be. And once more: —Father, glorify your name—. Then a voice came from heaven: —I have glorified it and will glorify it again—. Here he speaks of the glory that would accrue to him through the cross. And if you would understand that the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what he himself also said: When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself. Now you can see that the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph.

— A discourse of St. Andrew of Crete from today’s Office of Readings.

Current Events, Perspective

September 11 reflection

I’ve always loved this reading from Wisdom – Wisdom 3:1-9. I frequently use it at Requiem Holy Mass. For me, it and verses 10-12 are a great reflection for this sad day.

It is also fitting to remember that justice is the justice of God, not the justice we determine. We fail to see as God sees and for that reason we should all pay close attention to the last three verses.

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the LORD shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with the elect.

But the wicked shall receive a punishment to match their thoughts, since they neglected justice and forsook the LORD.
For he who despises wisdom and instruction is doomed. Vain is their hope, fruitless are their labors, and worthless are their works.
Their wives are foolish and their children wicked; accursed is their brood.

I pray that the Lord grant us wisdom and peace, that He look on us in mercy, and that He bring about the repentance and conversion of evildoers.

For all who died, Eternal rest grant onto them O Lord.
For all who suffered injury and loss, Hail Mary…
For all those who selflessly sacrificed for their brothers and sisters, Hail Mary…
For police officers, firefighters, public servants, and the members of our armed forces, Hail Mary…

Have mercy on us O Lord.

Everything Else,

My first anniversary – one year blogging

I’ve been blogging for one year now —“ glad I made it, and I hope to continue.

I’m sure that my postings have been many things to many people, enlightening, challenging, maddening, frustrating, and funny. If they have moved you to consider something differently then they are of value.

I appreciate all of you who visit and read, or read via RSS or Atom. I appreciate all who comment. I pray for all of you.

Even in this modern age we keep reinventing ways to achieve community. Blogs are part of that, and they connect us in ways that span time, distance, and technology. They are simply an archetype of what God intends for us —“ that we join in community. The Kingdom of God, in its fullness, will be just that, a community joined in praise and worship around the throne of God.

Come Lord Jesus.

Everything Else

Prayer to the Theotokos

Fr Joseph Huneycutt posted this prayer from St. Ephraim: Prayer to the Theotokos in preparation for the Dormition Fast observed in the Orthodox Church.

O most holy Mother of God, O only Lady who art utterly pure in both soul and body, look upon me, abominable and unclean, who have blackened soul and body with the stains of my passionate and gluttonous life. Cleanse my passionate mind; set aright my blind and wandering thoughts and make them incorrupt; bring my senses to order and guide them; free me from my evil and repulsive addiction to unclean prejudices and passions which torment me; grant my clouded and wretched mind the sobriety and discernment to correct my intentions and failings that, freed from the darkness of sin, I might be worthy to boldly glorify and praise thee, O only true Mother of the true Light, Christ our God; for all creation, visible and invisible, blesses and glorifies thee, both with Him and in Him.

After I read it, all I could think of was that it is a perfect prayer for bloggers to make – asking Our Lady’s intercession. Besides the outward petition for help in freeing ourselves of improper bodily passions, this prayer might also help us keep our words free from prejudice and improper passion, seeking only a clear mind set on the glory of God.

Everything Else

Can we all be contemplative mystics?

Ben Johnson from Western Orthodoxy comments on people seeking a mystical experience in every liturgical service in A Thirst for Spooky Religion. He works off a post on the same subject by Huw Raphael.

He states that people are looking for:

…something otherworldly, exotic, cryptic, ethereal, irrationally exuberant, a spiritual high, etc…

The experience of liturgies and most especially of the Holy Mass is to lift the eyes of our hearts and minds to God. The architecture, the music, the prayer, the postures and actions we undertake are meant to set us apart —“ for a time. It is a time of refreshment and nourishment for our souls. Each experience of the Holy Mass is a moment in the presence of the Godhead.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus and the apostles couldn’t even get away to rest. They didn’t have time to eat. We too are only allowed a brief break before we get back to working on our own journey to God and to witnessing Christ’s truth to others.

I agree. Seeking the ‘other worldly’ all the time, to the exclusion of our brothers and sisters in the world is sinful. It is escapism rather than acting in accordance with our mandate and our gifts.

Pope Benedict XVI stated in commending terrorists to a cloister’s prayers:

“Contemplative life, rich in charity opens heaven to humanity, which so needs it, as today in the world it is as if God did not exist. And where God is not, there is violence and terrorism,”

Contemplative life can indeed lead to the mystical experience of God. It can open us, and through us the world, to the experience of heaven. However, like all gifts and crosses, it is not for everyone.

Those truly called to such a life have received the grace necessary for the journey. Those seeking that unity with God have a very long and hard road to follow —“ often a lifetime’s journey —“ that may still leave them desiring at the point of death.

Each of us is on a path to God with gifts necessary for the journey. We simply need to remember that:

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit;
to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.

Poland - Polish - Polonia

Roadside Shrines in Poland

Gillibrand at Catholic Church Conservation provides a link to photos of roadside shrines in Poland in his post: Poland, still Catholic.

During my time in Poland what impressed me more than the shrines themselves, was that people still doffed their hats, bowed, or crossed themselves when they passed these shrines, even while driving by.

The shrines are often memorials to those executed by the Nazi Germans or the Soviets at those places. If you visit major cities you will see small shrines in the foundations of buildings or plaques in the pavement. Memorials to those killed there.

May they be of Holy Memory.

From a Treatise on Caring for the Dead by Augustine of Hippo (Cap. 2, 3)

Nevertheless, it doth not follow that the bodies of the departed are to be despised, or treated as naught, and specially in the case of just men and faithful; for the bodies of such men were used by their spirits in the life for godly purposes, that is, as organs and vessels of all good works.

…

HENCE, remembrance of the departed, and prayers for them, are tokens of true affection. And since the faithful are moved thereto by filial piety, doubt not that this same remembrance and prayer is profitable unto everyone that so lived in this world, as to attain profit from such things after death.

But even if some necessity permitteth not the body to be buried, or from lack of proper facilities giveth no opportunity for burial in a sacred place, yet should not prayers for the soul of the departed be omitted. The duty of such prayers is taught us by the Church, which hath undertaken, as an obligation, to offer them for all the departed of the Christian and Catholic fellowship in a general commemoration without mention of names.

The Polish American Journal has more information on this subject in Kapliczki: Poland’s Small Treasures.

Current Events

Dispatches from Beirut

Samer al-Batal has been writing from Beirut at A Conservative Blog for Peace. In More from Beirut he writes:

This has long grown out of all proportion and especially now to beyond the point where the most duplicitous liar can attempt to summon a rationale to explain how military operations are solely aimed at eradicating Hizbullah. This entire country is under threat. They’ve destroyed the lighthouse in Beirut and struck its port, along with the ports of other areas, including the city of Tripoli! This is no area that hosts either Shi’ites or elements of Hizbullah. They’ve reached all the way to the north! They’ve hit both wheat and water reserves, attacked the Lebanese army, and have committed atrocious murders in particular the devastating attack on a truck of refugees fleeing from one of the southern villages.

Offer your prayers tonight and your Holy Mass tomorrow for peace in Lebanon and for the repose of all the innocent who have been murdered.

Media,

Where charity and love prevail

The Buffalo News reports: Humble grocer quietly gave away millions: Waldemar Kaminski’s death unlocks his story by Owen Hearey.

Waldemar Kaminski, who quietly ran a food stand in Broadway Market for more than 50 years, has been revealed to be a self-made millionaire and philanthropist who anonymously gave millions to Buffalo charities and neighbors in need.

He died at home Wednesday night from complications of a long illness. He was 88.

…

Kaminski gave so much to so many that it’s difficult to quantify just how much he’s given.

He donated millions to Roswell Park – including $1 million for an endowed chair in pediatrics and $1 million to build a two-acre park on the institute’s campus.

He gave handsomely to other groups as well, including the Father Baker Home, the Salvation Army, Hilbert College and Camp Good Days and Special Times. He even helped neighboring families with mortgage payments, college tuition and lines of credit at his stand.

…

Those who knew Kaminski said he felt most fulfilled when he was giving back to society. “He didn’t need the material things for happiness. He enjoyed just being with people and doing what he could for them,” Marsha Kaminski said.

And a quote from Mr. Kaminski: “Sometimes I feel so guilty that there’s so much, and it’s just me.”

Eternal rest grant unto him o Lord and may the perpetual light shine upon him.

All Right Reserved © 2005 - 2023