Monday Musings - Truth and Goodness

 

Today Is Good Friday

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... 

Good Friday - Gazing Upon The Face of Christ

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 that we might all have an opportunity of spending eternity in His loving arms. Are you satisfied with how you have loved Him in return?

No doubt the creator of this sketch - a man who spent time in prison - meditated and contemplated much before he put lead pencil to a blank sheet of copy paper. This visual gift - the fruit of this soul's contemplation - has remained in my home office for many years.  Others deserve to see it. May God use it to touch and stir the hearts and souls of all who visit here as He had so obviously penetrated that of the artist.

May the image's creator be comforted and encouraged this day knowing that God will use the fruit of his contemplation to draw others to Him. 

We owe this gifted artist our gratitude and unending prayerful support.

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - August 10, 2017

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? Mary had eyes of flesh and she saw the beaten, bloody body of her Son upon the nails. She saw that body taken down. She held it. She counted the wounds. She untangled the blood-matted hair. She folded the nerveless arms. She closed the gaping mouth. She straightened the lifeless legs. She knew she was holding a corpse. Yet in that corpse she adored the Christ of God and the Jesus of men. Was there ever such faith on earth?" 

(From God, A Woman and the Way)

St. Pius X

“Without interior life, we will never have the strength to persevere in sustaining all the difficulties inseparable from any apostolate, the coldness and lack of co-operation even on the part of virtuous men, the calumnies of our adversaries, and at times even the jealousy of friends and comrades in arms…Only a patient virtue, unshakably based upon the good, and at the same time smooth and tactful, is able to move these difficulties to one side and diminish their power.”

(From June 11, 1905 Encyclical to the Priests of Italy)

Monday Musings - How Much Are You Worth?

(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)

Eucharistic Reflection - Are You Wlling To Feel These Things?

(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

Don't Ever Stop Gazing at the Crucified Christ

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

If A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words, What Is This Picture With Words Worth?