the spectrum heart cathedral system

HONY comments =

1. The love of God is tangible in this man, honestly. What sweetness and sincerity– what purity of heart! It aches that he is so hard on himself, but even that is a sign of his compassion– he wants so badly to help and care for others, to understand and do as much good as he can– and the very fear of not doing as much good as his heart yearns to do, hurts him. God bless him, so much. He is a blessing to so many!

2. …God bless this man. He gets it. He gets entirely what our faith is about. Lord, heal his hurting soul. Comfort him in his aching questions. He already is Your friend, Your son, Your beloved child. Always let him feel and know Your care, forgiveness, and mercy… let him know, that You did cry. You did, and You do. And yes– You do love him, no matter what. No matter what.

3. This, right here– this is Christianity. Faith, hope, and love, lived in communion, embracing all who suffer, never rejecting reality… bringing Christ to all who need Him. God bless these women! Eternal rest grant unto her mother, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.

4. There is such a beautifully strange irony in this gem of a father having been quadriplegic– his severely limited movement made him into an anchor, a rock, a faithful foundation. Furthermore I am thoroughly impressed by his undaunted love, using his gifts of intelligence and creative thinking to help his daughter in frankly amazing ways. And yet, I am moved the most by the simple power of his faith in her, in his unspoken trust that she’d make it through the tough times, not only because she was stronger, but also because if she ever did stumble or falter, he’d still be there with his unconditional and unshakable love, encouraging her still. God bless his soul, and God bless his daughter, whose future life is still lit by the enduring light of that love, and the priceless reassurance of countless dollars worth of faith.

5. This man’s ardent love for his wife is deeply moving and genuinely beautiful. The sweetness, the sincerity, the dedication, the depth… his love lit up her life, carried her through sickness, comforted her in suffering, and followed her even to death and beyond. This is a man who loved his wife with all his heart and made every effort possible to show that love in words and actions both. The strength of his faith is also notable, pure and honest, and was undoubtedly the anchor of that love. He was a shining example to his daughters, and to us, of what true love looks like, and we all honor and recognize it effortlessly. It’s so hard to lose a parent, and excruciating to lose both, especially so close together, even once you have grown old yourself. Familial love is precious and enduring. But spousal love is its anchor, and in a case like this, I am unsurprised that he followed her to the afterlife. They were meant to be together, and so it was. May God bless his soul, and his wife’s. May God bless and comfort his beloved daughters, conceived and born from such a true and lasting love. May God bless their husbands and children too, that they may have the joy and grace of experiencing and living that same spousal love that their own parents exemplified.

6. This is fatherhood– and motherhood! This sort of unconditional, self-sacrificing, generous and joyous love is what makes parenthood so sacred. Tragically, not all parents live up to this calling, but for those who do, in them we see reflected the very love of God in the gift of family. This story is so beautiful because this man, and his mother, are utterly undaunted by the obstacles and challenges of life when it comes to caring for their family. They are simply dedicated to love– to love as much as possible at all times, not counting the cost. And that love always pulls through, shining brightest in the face of struggle, victorious regardless of circumstance, its beauty and tenderness memorable even when all else fades. Mothers and fathers exemplify this love in our lives, and there is truly no one else on earth who can love you like a parent can. May our all-loving God, Father of all mankind, continue to bless this man, his daughter, his mother, and all their extended family… and may He bless us, too, who are all part of our own families, to love each other more and more each day, remembering and imitating the sweet example of those whose stories touch our hearts like this one.

7. I’m moved to tears by the genuine, unshakable, and unconditional love of this gentle man. His life story here, summarized by the daughter he cared for so tenderly and joyfully, is a beautiful illustration of just how Christ calls us to love and forgive one another. May we all humbly strive to live as well as he did. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul rest in peace. 🙏❤

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“Prefer nothing, absolutely nothing, to the love of Christ.”

— St. Benedict

It is, objectively, the only thing worth anything, in any world. The love of Christ is the only real thing, the only true thing. It is beauty and joy itself. It is the foundation of all existence. It is the sole and root desire of your entire heart. You were created for and from it.

If you have His Love, you have everything.

“I assure you that God is much better than you believe. He is content with a glance, a sigh of love.”

— St. Therese of Lisieux

This is both incomparably sweet and achingly tender. What a God we serve! What love He has for us– for you, personally, specifically, intimately! How He yearns for communion with us, for the tiniest return, from His beloved children. Just a glance, just a sigh, and I am sure He sings! Wouldn’t you, from the one you adore? Do you understand, even just a little, the purest beauty and ardor of the Heart of Our Lord? How can we not fall in love, too, knowing this?

“Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering. The love of God is of a different nature altogether. It does not hate tragedy. It never denies reality. It stands in the very teeth of suffering.”

— Elisabeth Elliott

This speaks volumes. God IS Love. His Love is true Love. Therefore, if His Love accepts and thrives even within suffering and pain, tragedy and trials, we have to love others in the same way. And isn’t that joyous, truly? Real Love is so powerful that it does not need to be protected from dangers– it overcomes them all, facing them outright with open arms, and transmuting them into opportunities to prove His glory– despite nothing, through everything.

So remember this. God’s Love may not deliver you from struggle– it does not need to. That struggle is no threat to Love. Instead, He meets you there, victorious and compassionate, embracing it all, you and your pain both, and so saturating even your darkest moments with purest Light.

"Should the soul say to those who forcefully seized it, “Release me, that I might repent a bit,“ no one will any longer pay him heed. Rather his fearful and relentless escorts will answer him: “When you had time at your disposal you did not repent, and yet now you intend to repent? When the stadium was open for all, you did not wrestle in any of the spiritual matches, yet now when all of the doors have been closed and the time for the matches has passed, do you want to enter into combat? Did you not hear what the Lord said, “Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come?”
Think about these and similar things, my beloved, and struggle all of the time to maintain unextinguished the lamp of your soul through works of virtue, until the Bridegroom comes and finds you ready to go with Him to the bridal chamber of the heavens, together with all of the other pure souls who also conducted themselves in the present life in accordance with His Holy Will."
- The Evergetinos, from St. Ephraim

Procrastination will murder your soul. Punctuality is a virtue. Do good now– right now, however small. It is still virtue! Pennies add up to a fortune, raindrops add up to an ocean, with persistence and faith and the grace of God. A few tiny loaves and fish can feed thousands by His Hands. Do not despair, but persevere in doing good. Start now.

Fight off every temptation; always resist them and strive to uproot their roots even when off the battlefield. Say prayers in every spare moment, even a few seconds, even just the Name of Jesus. Saturate all those tiny empty spaces with God. Carry a Bible, read a verse whenever you can. It will grow on & in you. Carry a rosary, pray it even if only in short bursts. Carry sacramentals and remind yourself of their present reality & truth. If you have even two spare minutes, stop at a church and pray or adore the Blessed Sacrament. Yes, even for only a minute! Make this a habit. Alongside this, watch a Mass or do Adoration online whenever you can. Say the Liturgy of the Hours, even if you can only manage one hour at first. Set an alarm for it. Smile at a stranger you’d otherwise avoid or ignore. Be a little extra patient and kind. Make a phone call, write a letter, say hello. Share a meal. Buy a gift. Visit the sick, the aged, the afflicted. Visit a grave. Do good always and everywhere, in the spirit of Christ, Who lovingly & mercifully helped all who came to Him. Be merciful. Strive to be holy.

All we have, by grace, is this moment. The next is a gift from God’s Hands, and on until we die. Are you using this moment gratefully, for Him? Are you sanctifying your actions with holy love & service? You are in the Stadium of Life now– are you watching from the stands, or are you wrestling in the ring? Yes you may fail & fall at first, but so what! There is no final judgment call until the end, when the King returns for you! Will He be satisfied with your persevering efforts to earn His Crown at last, despite all your weakness and frailty? For He is rewarding your love, not your power– power is His alone. Will He smile at your dedication, or will He be cut to the heart at your negligence, your laxity, your dearth of fervor and devotion? Do not fear the pain, the effort, the exhaustion– it is all worth the cost. No good thing comes easily. Be a warrior for God, a soldier for Christ, against the onslaught of demonic attacks and moral relativism and your human pride. You will only regret not picking up your sword. Even a child’s effort is viewed with genuine admiration, for we see their burning heart, not their inexperienced arms. They do not fear, or even concern themselves with, the size of the task, the struggle of the fight. They know only what must be done, and without any doubt or hesitancy, they rise to face it. Childlike courage is still pure courage, and it is true, albeit immature. They will grow into a great saint, if they persist in the grace of God. But it all starts small, so small, so vitally small. Start there, with the seeds of great trees. A spark is needed to kindle even the greatest fire. Do not give up.

Fight the good fight, right now!

"Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection."
- Saint Pope Paul VI

 

Similarly, I fear women may be affected in the same manner! When a woman sees the gift of pregnancy– and by extension, the blessing of having a body that can conceive and bear a child– as something expendable and unimportant, even annoying or a hindrance, then she sees the entire reality of her womanhood as worthless. When a woman accepts and uses contraception, then she sees the miracle of sex as irrelevant… truly, she doesn’t see it at all. When sex becomes separated from conception, there can only be disaster, for you have mangled and sliced up the natures of your own bodies. Affection, care, tenderness, reverence, and deep love all vanish when the seed of life is stomped upon. When the blessing of children is labeled as a curse, then sex itself becomes a curse, too– something disfigured beyond recognition, bringing only death.

This is why sex and marriage must be united, never separated, just as sex and conception must be revered as one and the same. The family unit is a reflection of God, of the love and relationship of the Trinity, so perfectly seen through God’s tender work in the Holy Family. Marriage must emulate this beautiful example. Sexuality must be so respected and honored. Children, the natural fruit of the womb, must be equally cherished and never cut off. This all begins with how we see the disturbing phenomenon of artificial contraception, produced and used solely for the sake of turning sex into an empty and dirty play-thing instead of recognizing it as an inherently sacred and intimate act of life.

We must never understate the absolutely central significance of this issue to the very heart of society and human culture as a whole.

“The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body— The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation… What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this; to be a mother?”
- Venerable Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty

Reflect on this awe-inspiring reality for a moment, a truth we take for granted and tragically forget the holiness of... every soul incarnate on this earth is here because of a mother. Women are the gates of love through which God sends life into the world. Yes, a man must unite with her as a key, but this beautiful cooperation serves to further dignify both! The man who unlocks and the woman who opens are both reverently, wonderfully dignified in the work of God, Who gives them a child through that gate of love.

But oh, what a marvel is motherhood. Nothing else on earth can do what a mother does: to form a human body to house a human soul. And-- do we truly grasp the gorgeous gravity of it?-- she forms that tiny body from her own body, from the materials that her own cathedral consists of. As she breathes and builds her own temple, as we all do daily, she now naturally takes from those same sacred resources and, with God's invisibility perfect direction, gives them up to God for the sake of sheltering another soul. This deeply loving sacrifice of life is so amazing, so worthy of the greatest respect! Every mother works with the Master Architect Himself, the One Who knits bone and sinew and blood all together, by giving her womb as His workshop of wonders, and there He gives us life anew. Life! Real, fragile, true, breathing and blessed with a heartbeat-- a baby. What joy.

Yes, what suffering too, but what is love without suffering? Do we not adore the Cross in its eternal testament to this fact? The joy is worth infinitely more than the pain. The miracle is worth any and every price to accomplish-- just ask a mother. My own mother went through so much to get me into this world, and she has never once regretted it-- indeed, she now rejoices that her sacrifices allowed for my birth to occur. She sees me and does not mourn the struggle at all; she remembers seeing my tiny face for the first time, and cherishes it to this day. She is my mother, the gate and guardian of my life, through whom God Himself put me here, and I will honor her always. Thank God for motherhood.

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Protect all children! Protect all mothers!

"Don’t worry if your heart won't respond: do the best you can. You are certainly under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, or you wouldn’t have come where you now are: and the love that matters is His for you - yours for Him may at present exist only in the form of obedience. He will see to the rest."
-C.S. Lewis

No matter how deep the desolation, God is with you.

When you feel utterly hollow, when you cannot even remember what love and joy feel like, then lift your poor ragged heart to Him nevertheless and pray– “Lord, I want to love You. I want to obey You. I want to rejoice in You. But I have no strength of my own; I cannot feel anything at all. Without Your help I am lost, and I know You do not want to lose me. So please– help me.”

Pray no matter what. “God, my heart feels empty, but I still love You. I choose to love You even if I cannot feel it. And I know You love me even if I cannot perceive it. Please give me the grace to act accordingly. Do not let me give in to despair.” Trust God, radically so, and hold on to hope like the life-raft it is.

Love is the most powerful when it is tried by fire. When love is given the opportunity to prove itself in the face of great opposition, it secretly rejoices to crush the odds. Oh, it does. Watch a dandelion bloom through solid concrete. Watch a billion breezes carve out the Grand Canyon. Love is unstoppable, by virtue of its existence– feelings don’t affect that fact whatsoever. Yes, it is wonderful and good and right to feel it, but it can and does exist outside of them at times, vital times, to show you that it will. Act upon the reality of Love, despite every obstacle, and you will soon find that it has taken up deeper roots in your heart than it ever could have otherwise.

Consider the spiritual dryness to be a form of anesthetic, if you will. God has to do deep work to plant His holiness ever the more strongly and solidly in your soul. So, at times, you won’t be able to feel things. But those are the times when the most profound growth can occur… if you cooperate with it. So, beloved, do not fear. Do not despair. Hope carries you like a mother, Faith protects you like a father, Love makes you His child. Live according to that calling, no matter the numbness, and watch miracles eventually occur– for the Holy Spirit will, indeed, see to the rest.

"Remember that true holiness is accompanied by pains and tribulations from within and without, by attacks of visible and invisible enemies, by trials of body and mind, by desolations and prolonged aridities; “and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. iii. 12) —that is to say, all sorts of trials from demons, from men, and from our rebellious flesh. Be generous, and remember that you ought to walk in the footsteps of your Redeemer. We must not serve God for the sake of His consolations, but because He is worthy of being served."
-St. Paul of the Cross

 

 

I’ve been reflecting on this frequently lately, and taking note on how it feels in my heart, with the immense struggles, pains, trials, & confusions I have been recently afflicted with.

When love is deep, true and honest, consolations are cherished indeed but not sought. It’s so wondrous. True love will and does love the beloved for their own dear sake– not because of any gain, recompense, acknowledgement, or even personal comfort.

I love God, and when He lays His Hand upon my life in suffering, I may indeed become frustrated and frightened because I feel lost and helpless, but does this make me angry at God? No! Do I spurn Him? Never! I instead realize all the more that I need Him and must trust Him more completely. And I can only do this because I love Him.

Demonic attacks are horrific but the devil only attacks his enemies. Mental and physical trials are exhausting but Christ’s Passion gives me fortitude. Desolations and aridity feel like death itself but Life has risen from the grave and I must be faithful to that, to Him, for His sake alone. Even when I am dry as a desert in my soul, He is Living Water, and if I persist in prayer and devotion to that truth then I have a strange sort of pure satisfaction, even if I don’t get any rain. The ocean still exists, and I love it dearly, and that is enough. Yes I want it in my life, but God understands infinitely more than I. Only He knows if and when I truly need consolation. And I must surrender completely to His Holiest discretion.

I have faced a great many awful trials and will inevitably suffer more. My body and mind do throw fits and scream and wail in pain. Often my prayers are just terrible wracked sobs, “God help me; I don’t understand but I trust You; Please sustain me with Your grace,” etc. But deepest down, it’s love. Somehow, still, it persists, like flowers through concrete. Love itself is actually consolation enough. Even when my emotions tank, I know that God is Love, and that He loves me because Christ loves me, and Mary loves me by Him too, and even on my worst & empty days I want to love God and strive to act accordingly, even feebly, even if despair tells me otherwise. This simple reality of divine Love is an unfailing hope, an anchor against all storms.

I thank God for this grace and beg Him to tend it in my soul, so that pride is crushed at its inception and devils are guarded against. I weep that I am so unworthy of it. But I post this to give some gracious comfort to others in their hearts that love God too. The Holy Spirit is with us. Do not trust your feelings; many beautiful truths are intangible, yet they remain. Love for Love’s pure sake. God will do this in You. All glory be to Him!

"Our guilt begins from the point when we favorably incline ourselves toward a passion that has been observed; that is, we do not rush to acknowledge the enemy and do not arm ourselves against it with anger. On the contrary, we accept it and begin liking it, delighting in the impulse in which it appeared. This already shows that we have no objection to being familiar with the passionate, and, subsequently, enemies of God. “Because the carnal mind – the passionate - is enmity against God” (Romans 8:7)."
-St. Theophan the Recluse

 

 

Key points here:

1. Acknowledge that the passion is the enemy. Name it as such, without justification or excuse. Admit that you are inclined to this evil– don’t let pride deny it. Confessing your weakness is the first step to combating it at all.

2. Be angry at it. Be furious that such an evil is tempting you against God! If it is His enemy, it must be your enemy– no exceptions.

3. Refuse to become friendly or familiar with these passions. Turn them away at the door– don’t let them in even for a minute. They may still persist in knocking, so you must persist in resistance. Struggle is not failure. Fighting is your only hope of freedom.

4. Remember that, without God’s help and grace, you can do nothing. Pray always, pray earnestly, pray unceasingly.

If you too suffer great guilt from giving in to your weakness to passions, bring this before Christ with all humility, and begin the battle again with the merciful assistance of Our Lord & Lady. Do not despair! Fight the good fight of faith!

lilaccatholic: Lol literally the devil is so boring and dumb. “You’re worthless” And? Even if that were true Jesus still died for me so clearly there’s something worthwhile in there. Die mad about it.

thor-nn:

Seriously though, REMEMBER THIS.

Worthless? Never. Satan knows the God-given worth of your soul– otherwise he wouldn’t be trying so hard to steal it!! He’s a petty liar and manipulator.

Satan wants you to despair and die in sin. God wants you to trust in His infinite Mercy and live. God LOVES you; if you doubt that for a single moment, just look at the Cross. Jesus died to save you before you even knew Him, before you even cared, because He loves you that profoundly.

Remember the parable of the prodigal son. God is waiting for you on that road home, arms open, heart open. He already forgives you. You just need to open your heart to admit your need of it, and run into His saving embrace.

"I know that no one has ever seen or heard God, except the One who comes in the name of God: he has seen the Father (cf. Jn 6:46). But I also know that he speaks to me every day in my inmost depths, and I hear him in the silence that gives rise to mutual listening, the desire for communion and love. God is a light that illumines and radiates noiselessly. His flame blazes, but its brilliance is silent. God shines and blazes like a sun. He burns like a furnace, but he is inaudible. This is why I think that it is important to allow ourselves to be inundated by God’s silence, which is a voiceless word."
-Cardinal Sarah

 

Now that American quarantine measures are being relaxed, and summer festivities are beginning, the troubles of secular entertainment and noise and busyness are flaring up in the baleful heat. Be warned– you cannot hear God in all that chatter. Make time to sit in stillness and silence this summer, for the sake of your soul. Listen to the quietness of the Heart of God. It is the only way to survive spiritually.

“I implore you, brethren, never to break or despise the rule of this prayer: A Christian when he eats, drinks, walks, sits, travels or does any other thing must continually cry: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me.’ So that the name of the Lord Jesus descending into the depths of the heart, should subdue the serpent ruling over the inner pastures and bring life and salvation to the soul. He should always live with the name of the Lord Jesus, so that the heart swallows the Lord and the Lord the heart, and the two become one. And again: do not estrange your heart from God, but abide in Him, and always guard your heart by remembering our Lord Jesus Christ, until the name of the Lord becomes rooted in the heart and it ceases to think anything else.”
-St. John Chrysostom

 

This is a holy truth and it works. Only by this constant recitation of prayer can our hearts be kept on the straight and narrow, and the tempter chased away. Oh how easily our hearts get distracted and stray! But this little powerful prayer brings us home.

Abide in Him so! It is achieved by such small yet incessant rededications. Breathe His name, drink it in like water. Let it inundate you in every moment. Do not despair if you slip– just return quickly, pleading mercy, and He will embrace you again.

This works. It is achievable by all through grace and love and hope. Just think of Christ, always. Just turn your thoughts to Him whenever you can, and He will increase this frequency of visits– He will wholeheartedly requite your feeble yet honest love.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!

"God is saying that it will be hard for believers. The more you enter into the mystery of faith, the harder it will be in this world. You will become more and more aware of the idleness of this world, the hustle and bustle, the rhythm. Music, conversation, worldly festivals will become alien to you. And the more you feel the sweetness of the spiritual, the harder you will feel the spiritual lowliness of the carnal, all that our world lives with today. But there is no need to be afraid! All things can be overcome when the Lord is near. He has overcome the world…"
-Hegumen Raphael (Bolevich)

 

 

Despite my great sinfulness and unworthiness, I can attest to this– it is indeed so hard to dwell in the carnal world now that my soul has tasted, however briefly, the sweetness of the spiritual! It frustrates me to tears, the progressively more alien world and its desires, both without and within. I frustrate myself to tears, when I do not enter into the mystery of faith as frequently and fully as I truly yearn to. Sometimes this hardness, and my weakness, drains me almost to despair. But I must not. There is one undying Hope, and that is Christ my Lord! He can, and has, overcome all things. I must meditate on that. Christ has overcome the world… what does that mean to my soul? It means this hardness cannot and will not last. Only Christ endures. In the end, and even now, He triumphs. With that thought in my poor heart, I can carry on.

“We are at times reduced to a material or animal perseverance, or even to simply being there, like a rock, without really knowing why, nor to what purpose. It is like a narrow room without light or air. Still, one goes on by a sort of gravitational law. Later, one realizes that perseverance is a pure grace, independent of any personal merit. Then, the Spirit once again breathes life into our dried bones; we get up and go on.”
-(A Carthusian)

 

 

Perseverance is a pure grace.

Lord, what a terribly wonderful truth that is. When we have nothing left, when we are hollow and empty and lost, God is still there, and He alone lifts us up, and because of Him we go on.

When I hit rock bottom, and I cannot so much as lift my head on my own, I will cling to this truth. I will cling to grace. It is all I have left, and it is all I need. God alone is sufficient. Hope does not disappoint.

Dear followers,

I once again beg you for spiritual advice and clarity.

I am struggling with great despair. I am currently convinced, terrifyingly, that God hates me due to my “being made of evil” and my many repetitive sins. I keep seeing the devil’s number, and every time I open the Bible to read a verse it is about damnation, punishment, and eternal death. My soul feels corroded and filthy. I cannot feel the Presence of God, nor can I hear Jesus anymore. It’s all cursing and shouting devils. Even my sleep is plagued by horrific nightmares about hell.

I am so scared. I feel that my final judgment has been passed. But I need God’s grace TO be good and obedient; I am so wretched I CANNOT do anything but sin. I am hopeless. I have become so selfish, hot-headed, cold-hearted, and stupid. How did this happen?? Is this the real me? I feel like God is so utterly disgusted by my lukewarm hypocritical excuse for faith that He has slammed the door, spit me out of His mouth, said “I do not know you” and thrown me into the dark to wail and sob forever.

I apologize for such an ugly post on such a beautiful day. But I cannot enjoy the beauty of creation today when my monstrous existence is tainting it by even looking out the window. All around me I see the consequences of my sins. I cannot bear it.

I need help, desperately, and right now I don’t know how to pray. I’m afraid and this is the only thing I can do right now.

I do not deserve anything but revulsion. And yet here I am begging for scraps of compassion, pleading for mercy. I cannot help it. My state is intolerable. I have this last dreg of hope and that’s it.

The Resurrection of Lazarus (La résurrection de Lazare), James Tissot

 

I love this depiction so much. Look at the body language of Jesus compared to everyone else! It’s so striking.

Martha & Mary are both wide-eyed in fear, one falling back in genuine shock, the other stunned speechless. Those gathered behind Christ, dramatically lit, are also visibly perplexed and agitated, mouths agape, their faces ghastly. Lazarus himself, a dead man now living again, reaches out almost blindly with one bandaged arm and raises the other above his eyes– a clear gesture of wonder, of utter amazement. His expression, too, although unafraid, is still intense with emotion, his bright eyes and open mouth almost childlike in their rebirthed joy.

And then there is Jesus. The only figure in a stable position, vertical like a shaft of light, wreathed by a doorway like a portal to heaven itself, he stands in transcendent white like the resurrected Lazarus below, with only his peaceful face and powerful hand highlighted by singular shocks of mysteriously Incarnate red. His other hand is resting gently on rock, His feet are moving calmly yet encouragingly forwards as if to greet a friend, His body as a whole– as well as the luminous folds of His robe– are pointed in the direction of the rising dead, and yet He is still obviously unmoving, anchored on the steps, unshakable.

Lazarus faces an unseen light, its beauteous yet blinding gleam washing over the rest of the scene with a shockingly unnatural glare, an unexpected underlight that turns all other faces into hollow skulls– except for Jesus. The light is somehow soft on Him, but it does not soften the strength of His expression, which is notably solemn and serious amidst the likely shrieking crowd. Thus, here, where we may be seeking the comfort of a smile on our Savior’s face, to match the brightness of Lazarus, of the miracle occurring at His Word, we must instead recall a significant detail… Jesus has just been weeping. He is not smiling, not now, because until this very moment His friend has been dead. Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days, and although Hope Himself has now come to lift him out again, that Hope cannot fully manifest unless it has faced the threat of despair. We all know this. What is hope, if not for what we cannot see? What could we hope for, if we had nothing yet out of reach? No one but Christ truly believed He could do anything. Magdalene was distraught, Martha wavered even after professing her faith in Him, and others openly mocked Him! Christ did not despair, but everyone else did. Yes, Jesus knows very well that death has no power over Him, and He even proclaimed it openly prior to this scene, but above and beyond the doubt surrounding Him is the simple truth that this fact has not yet affected Lazarus, not until this very depicted moment, and so a special sort of grief has its very tender and proper place in the heart and eyes of Christ. He does not condemn human emotion. Yes, He condemns their lack of faith, but He empathizes with their pain nevertheless. Death still exists, however conquered it may be in the end. Yes, Lazarus will rise, but he is dead now, and for the honest sake of that moment we grieve. He grieves. This is profound. His tears for His dead friend speak volumes, as they were shed by Life Incarnate, even only minutes before the tomb would be opened. And thus His face here reflects that lingering truth, that divinely loving sorrow that motivated such a miraculous intervention, that single sentence– Jesus wept– that can change our lives just as much as they did the life of Lazarus.

Our own ‘resurrections’ in this life might not always be pretty, but they are blessed, and they are joyous. Jesus may not be smiling as He calls with thundering voice– “Lazarus, come out!”– but He loves us with an infinite love even then. He may not embrace us as we rise, covered in bandages and dusty from the grave, but He holds us tenderly in His Heart even then. Jesus brought life to the dead even through His own tears, even despite the disbelief of all around Him. He can do the same for you. If we believe in Him, we, too, can see the glory of God. There is always hope.

Collect for the Crown of Thorns - Friday after Ash Wednesday
 

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who for remembrance of the pas-sion of our Lord Jesus Christ do reverence His Crown of thorns on earth may deserve to be crowned with glory and honour in heaven by Him Who liveth and reigneth with thee.

“Soberbia” means pride, grandeur, worldly magnificence, arrogance… it is the strut of the peacock, it is the hand-fan of sophistry, it is the decadent fashion from which the devil’s awful claw protrudes. Yet what fate awaits him and his shallow pomp? He is doomed to be trampled underfoot by the Lord, by his angel bearing the true sign of powerful glory– the Crown of Thorns! O what a wondrous paradox: that God’s own Son was pleased to be dignified by suffering, to show His nobility through humiliations, to conquer through submission to the mysterious yet loving authority of His Father! This Crown now becomes His gift to all His children who wish to conquer the devil’s vices in their own lives. Let us all become accustomed to its beloved stings during this Holy Lent, that we may be more truly outfitted to join Him in carrying His Cross.

“A religion is not the church a man goes to but the cosmos he lives in.”

G.K. Chesterton

Modern society doesn’t seem to comprehend this. Religion is not an accessory, an interest, or something you do on weekends. Religion is the air that our heart breathes. It animates us entirely and colors our thoughts, emotions, and actions. Religion directs our dreams, fears, motives, and pursuits. Religion explains our life, our death, and what comes after. And it does all this by explaining to us our proper relationship to God, and by extension, to His Creation, especially our fellow man.

Religion is, indeed, the cosmos we live in– the order to our chaos, the grand and beautiful design that holds all things together. Religion, like love, is a state of being.

Do you recognize this? Do you honor religion so? Or do you treat it fatally lightly? Indeed, if you have no religion, what, then, is the cosmos you live in? Or do you let this chaotic world determine that for you?

“By His Resurrection, Christ conquered sin and death, destroyed Satan’s dark kingdom, freed the enslaved human race and broke the seal on the greatest mysteries of God and man.”

—St Nikolaj Velimirovic

The Harrowing of Hell– its fact, and its depictions– mean so much to my weary soul. As someone plagued daily by demons of mental illness, I frequently feel as if I am genuinely in a sort of pseudo-hell while still on earth. Therefore, I just as frequently cry out to my God, my merciful and loving Lord, to “come and harrow this hell I am in”– to break it up entirely, to disturb its very nature by entering it and thus to deliver me into His infinitely consoling arms.

It is a simple, strange, desperate prayer, but it is a powerful one. And it has not once gone unanswered. 🙏

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My grandma has the news on and they just had an ad for an upcoming film, and I am in shock, in tears and trying hard not to legitimately vomit.

We Catholics NEED to speak out and stand strong against films like this-- films that are horrifically offensive towards the Catholic Faith, and serve to not only undermine its integrity in culture, but also blatantly attack it at its heart. This is sick. Hollywood needs to stop waging war against Christ, especially as it simultaneously promotes and praises new-age, paganistic religions and any other spiritual mindset that supports or cooperates with it in turn.

DO NOT watch such films. Don't even watch the commercials. Avert your eyes; safeguard your heart against such toxic imagery and ideas. Pray. Pray fervently for the conversion of sinners and this country, for defense and healing of the Church, and especially in reparation for sins committed against the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts!!