At the foot of the cross
Jesus’ closest friends were The Twelve. Yet one betrayed Him, ten ran away when trouble came knocking on their proverbial door, and the only one who stayed with Him in His passion was His younger cousin John…
Faith is the gate through which grace enters
Lent is drawing to an end. We will join the crowds crying “Hosanna in the highest!”, honoring our Lord on Palm Sunday only to betray Him a few days later. Yes, it is difficult to stand by and watch the cruelty inflicted upon Him. Even his best friends deserted Him. But perhaps what causes us to run comes from a deeper place in our heart. This scene, this situation, is completely out of anyone’s control. Except God’s.
A level playing field
We go through life seeing the hardships before us, the rockiness of our path, its instability. Life presents to us what seems like an abyss out of which we cannot climb or a mountain we cannot traverse. But God will make a level ‘playing field’ for us if we permit Him.
The power of just one rosary
The Presentation, the Crucifixion, the Sorrows of Mary, and how the rosary saved a homeless woman…
Vengeance
Grudges, vengeance…these words carry a cloud of gloom. Desolate, angry, and frustrated, as we review every fault in the other person, our enemy will ratchet up our emotions and skew our right reason. God’s Word held in our memory is shouting truth to us to no avail. “Do you question me about my children, tell me how to treat the work of my hands?” (Isaiah 45:11) We think we know exactly what the other person needs to change about themselves, unable to hear our Lord say, “Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ or, ‘What you are making has no handles’?” (Isaiah 45:9). Our judgementalism can be a spiritual sword of revenge.
The exchange
The Christmas season ends Sunday with the feast of our Lord’s baptism, and I am thankful our nativity scene remains on display until then. I thought about how the shepherd boy brings one of his babes, the lamb, to offer. In return, Mary offers to him her Son, the Lamb of God. Exchanging a lamb for the Lamb of God is in no way an equal exchange. It is the most lopsided exchange that could ever be made and yet this is how He and she wish it to be for us.
Where our hope lies
Think about the paradigm-shifting hope that comes from consciously living as awaiting the Heavenly wedding banquet.
A season of leaven and salt
We are to be the leaven of our families and homes, the salt of the relationship. Permitting His healing sanctification, we are God’s living covenant to every soul we meet; after all, the covenant is intended for them too. We must not be salt that has lost its taste (Luke 14:34).
A season for squabbles
Today begins the ‘holiday season’. It is supposed to be a season of Thanksgiving that leads into the Season of Giving, giving of ourselves as God has given of Himself to us in Jesus.
So why do these family gatherings so often turn into squabbles and arguments?
Spiritual advocates
Thanksgiving is on the horizon with Christmas a month away. In-between is much time spent with family, friends, and strangers who often have very different belief systems from our own. It is a season that begins with gratitude and ends with the birth of the Prince of Peace. But an unfortunate American tradition for Christians and non-Christians alike is that depression and suicide skyrocket during this particular holiday season.