"And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples: You know that after two days shall be the pasch: and the Son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified." Mathew 26:1-2
The Scriptural Rosary has highlighted verses of Scripture for me that enlightened my understanding of many things.
The 4th Luminous mystery: The Institution of the Eucharist
"And he said to them: With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you, before I suffer. " Luke 22:15
He desired with desire to eat with them, before he suffered. This is the translation from the Duoay Rheims bible.
Jesus wanted to eat with these men, to celebrate the deliverance from Egypt, to feast with them. Why would this matter to God, who knows us as his creation and will enjoy eternity with us in heaven?
I believe this was the humanity of Our Lord. He loved the Apostles as his friends:
"I will not now call you servants: for the servant knows not what his lord does. But I have called you friends because all things, whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you." John 15:15
To think the apostles had a friendship with Jesus like we have with our own companions and it seems that John was treated as Jesus' little brother, for John refers to himself as the "beloved apostle".
How wonderful it must have been for Jesus to feast with his friends and then to give them his gift of himself: the Eucharist.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Praying the Bible
My sola scriptura friends, many of you refuse to pray prayers to Mary, or to any saint for that matter completely rejecting the doctrine of the communion of saints. But you read the bible.
The Bible, I think that vast majority of serious Christians would agree, is the Word of God. It is pure truth. "In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God" John 1:1
"...Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women." Luke 1:28 Is it really so bad to relive this message in history. In fact is it so bad to repeat it and meditate on it? Why did God send His Angel Gabriel to Mary? Why did he say to her, "Hail full of grace." could you imagine hearing that? what if you were there and you saw this happen. Would you repeat those words? prayers should come from the heart, but to pray with your brain so your heart can live in God's word is a much more complete way of praying. Father Corapi once said that contemplation is the soul of prayer.
The Bible, I think that vast majority of serious Christians would agree, is the Word of God. It is pure truth. "In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God" John 1:1
"...Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women." Luke 1:28 Is it really so bad to relive this message in history. In fact is it so bad to repeat it and meditate on it? Why did God send His Angel Gabriel to Mary? Why did he say to her, "Hail full of grace." could you imagine hearing that? what if you were there and you saw this happen. Would you repeat those words? prayers should come from the heart, but to pray with your brain so your heart can live in God's word is a much more complete way of praying. Father Corapi once said that contemplation is the soul of prayer.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The New Covenant
Recently I read that the Orthodox focus mainly on the Resurrection mystery of the Christian faith, while Catholics focus on the Crucifixion. Now that we are in Holy Week, or especially now that we are in Holy Week, I am meditating on the this.
I would say that yes we do focus a lot of attention on the Crucifixion of Our Lord. That is why catholic churches are required to have a crucifix behind or above the altar. Why most Roman Catholic churches have the Stations of the Cross. Droga Krzyzowa, Polish for the Way of the Cross, is popular Lenten prayer.
Christ redeemed us through his death. During Holy Week, we remember Christ's passion, "For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believes in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting." John 3:16
It is Catholic Doctrine that Christ would have suffered this passion even to save only one soul. He suffered to save your soul. His passion was His ultimate act of love! " Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends.." John 15:13
The Eucharist is called the sacrifice of the mass. Eucharist, Thanksgiving, is the gift Christ gave to us of His own body to receive, to eat, to consume! It is the consummation of the new covenant. Christ, our pascal lamb, sacrificed on the cross. That is the mystery we relive every mass. That is the highest point of the Mass. "This is My Body!" The words of consecration. The consummation of the redemption of souls was when Christ died for us, thus He says, "...It is consummated!" John 19:30
We are able to share in Christ's act of love. Every Lent we fast and pray as a special remembrance of the suffering of our Lord. And we offer these sufferings for the poor souls in purgatory and for the poor sinners here on earth. We love our Lord and, through his passion and death, we learn that suffering is redemptive. Christ showed us how we should live. He even commands the faithful, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it." Mathew 16:24-25
Holy week is the most solemn part of the year. The most cleansing and liberating part of the year.
May God be with you.
I would say that yes we do focus a lot of attention on the Crucifixion of Our Lord. That is why catholic churches are required to have a crucifix behind or above the altar. Why most Roman Catholic churches have the Stations of the Cross. Droga Krzyzowa, Polish for the Way of the Cross, is popular Lenten prayer.
Christ redeemed us through his death. During Holy Week, we remember Christ's passion, "For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believes in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting." John 3:16
It is Catholic Doctrine that Christ would have suffered this passion even to save only one soul. He suffered to save your soul. His passion was His ultimate act of love! " Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends.." John 15:13
The Eucharist is called the sacrifice of the mass. Eucharist, Thanksgiving, is the gift Christ gave to us of His own body to receive, to eat, to consume! It is the consummation of the new covenant. Christ, our pascal lamb, sacrificed on the cross. That is the mystery we relive every mass. That is the highest point of the Mass. "This is My Body!" The words of consecration. The consummation of the redemption of souls was when Christ died for us, thus He says, "...It is consummated!" John 19:30
We are able to share in Christ's act of love. Every Lent we fast and pray as a special remembrance of the suffering of our Lord. And we offer these sufferings for the poor souls in purgatory and for the poor sinners here on earth. We love our Lord and, through his passion and death, we learn that suffering is redemptive. Christ showed us how we should live. He even commands the faithful, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it." Mathew 16:24-25
Holy week is the most solemn part of the year. The most cleansing and liberating part of the year.
May God be with you.
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