Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

 

 

It's Good Friday. Gaze into His eyes and then ponder these words. PLEASE TAKE NOTE :  I HAVE BEEN CENSURED. MY IMAGE AND POST HAVE BEEN REMOVED. WHY? I HAVE NO IDEA. BY WHOM? I ASSUME BY BLOGGER. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THIS WAS DONE, WHAT OFFENSE I MAY HAVE COMMITTED. NO ONE CONTACTED ME BEFORE OR AFTER THEY REMOVED MY POST.  THIS ACTION SHOULD UPSET EVERYONE WHO VALUES FREEDOM OF SPEECH. I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO CONTACT BLOGGER TO GET AN EXPLANATION. THEY MAKE COMMUNICATION WITH THEM NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE.  IF ANYONE HAS HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE OR HAS FOUND A WAY TO CONTACT AND GET AN ANSWER FROM BLOGGER I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR CONTACTING ME. BUT WAIT. A MIRACLE??? SUDDENLY AFTER INSERTING  THE PLEASE TAKE NOTE TEXT ABOVE, THE LINK TO MY TEXT REAPPEARS AND WORKS...DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING BUT AM THANKFUL... 

It is only with much perseverance and undeserved grace that our meditation and contemplation will bear fruit - fruit which we should share with those around us. On those occasions when we are so blessed, most of us will resort to sharing our experience with written or spoken words. A rare few who ponder persistently the mysteries of our Faith and the life of our Savior Jesus Christ, and who have been blessed with artistic gifts, will receive a greater grace - the ability to share the fruits of their meditation and contemplation through the creation of penetrating, piercing, and powerful images of He Whom they have contemplated. Take time this Good Friday (and from time to time thereafter) to gaze upon and ponder the drawing posted below. Let your eyes, heart, mind and soul take in every painstakingly created feature of this compelling representation of our Lord. Ponder the depth of God's love for you as He suffered such a savage, barbaric and painful death in order th...

Pondering Tidbits of Truth  is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time . Father Jacques Phillipe “Íf people know what they must do today and commit themselves to doing it and leave tomorrow to God’s providence, all is well. What more can anyone do? Take the step that needs taking today. Take another step tomorrow. Every day will have its own steps to take.” (From March 20, 2017 Reflections of the Frassati Fellowship-New York City) Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. “To human eyes how did Jesus differ from the thieves who were condemned and crucified with Him? If some stranger had come to Jerusalem that Friday afternoon and passed Calvary before darkness enfolded it, how could he tell that the middle cross held Innocence and the Redemption of mankind? He would have seen three naked men dying by degrees. How could he know that One was not only the Light of the World but the Life of all living...

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) As we gaze lovingly upon the infant Christ in the manger this Christmas, let us not forget, as St. Anthony of Padua reminds us, why He took on human flesh and what torture awaits our loving Savior - Who died in order that we might have eternal life: "Christ Who is your life is hanging before you, so that you may look at the cross as in a mirror. There you will be able to know how mortal were your wounds, that no medicine other than the Blood of the Son of God could heal… Nowhere other than looking at himself in the mirror of the cross can man better understand how much he is worth. " (From the Sermons of St. Anthony of Padua)

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) "Do grant, oh my God, that when my lips approach Yours to kiss You, I may taste the gall that was given to You; when my shoulders lean against Yours, make me feel Your scourging; when my flesh is united with Yours, in the Holy Eucharist, make me feel Your passion; when my head comes near Yours, make me feel Your thorns; when my heart is close to Yours, make me feel Your spear." St. Gemma Galgani

If you want to be filled with hope, do as St. Bernard suggests: