Benedictine Spirituality of Accountability, a Heart-to-Heart Talk

Monica,   Columbus, Ohio

What a precious night with the Hope on High people! Such a quietness and gentleness in these homeless people and especially in how they ask for something. They barely ask and only after you have been talking for a while. You can barely hear their voices, just above a whisper, that they almost say in passing, trailing off,.. something like, "Do you have any sterno to heat my tent, it's supposed to stay cold tonight," or "are there any heavy blankets?" All these things they are in DIRE need of too, but never push, never in demanding (except for Stanley -- ha ha --- long story).
I wanted to post snippets that spoke to me from a booklet one of my beloved Benedictine priests from "my" Archabbey in Indiana, St. Meinrad's, called "Accountability as a Heart to Heart Talk," by Fr. Mateo Zamora, OSB. I will just quote him. I also changed the order to read the most important part if you do not have time for longer. Just in time for Lent too! Praise Jesus.
"Although it [accountability] presents consequences for bad behavior, the "Rule of St. Benedict" actually provides us with a very positive and refreshing take on accountability, .... a heart-to-heart talk..:
'Listen carefully, my son, to the master's instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice' (RB Prol:1).'
The 'Rule' begins with a command: 'Listen!' I don't know about you, but whenever I am told to listen, it usually means that I am in trouble. Either I am in trouble or I am not paying attention...
It is interesting to note that the word 'obedience' is rooted in the Latin word 'audire,' which means 'to listen.' ... Accountability, then, as a discipline of mutual obedience, is first of all a practice of listening to one another.
'Listen carefully' (RB Prol:1)
The reason, I think, that some calls to accountability do not work is because, instead of a heart-to-heart talk, it is a mouth-to-ear talk.... this is counsel 'from a father who loves you.' (RB Prol:1).
The father is doing this not to make the son feel bad for doing bad. He is opening up his heart because he cares about him. He is concerned about what he is doing -- or not doing...
Why is it a heart-to-heart talk? It has to be a heart-to-heart talk because the topic is deeply personal. It involves one's behavior, one's faults, one's mistakes, those delicate details that nobody ever wants to discuss ...
Genuine accountability has to be a heart-to-heart talk because it involves hurts.... because there is a relationship that exists (child and father) and this relationship is very important to both.
.... because that is how love operates: not through the mouth or guts or brain or the liver (ha, ha, I liked that line), but through the heart.
In this model of Christian accountability from St. Benedict, both parties are willing to be vulnerable. They are opening up their hearts to one another. That is why it works. To be vulnerable here -- from the Latin "vulnus," which is translated as wound --means that they show their wounds to each other; they reveal their injuries.
Both have been wounded and the relationship itself has been damaged. They show their wounds to each other so that they can be tended to and healed.
Christ who 'humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross' (Phil. 2:8) We see our Lord hanging on the cross and there He bares not only His heart to us, but also all the wounds that our sinfulness has caused.
The Almighty has put his utter vulnerability on display on that cross to reassure each one of us that He is willing to do anything and suffer everything, if only we would be reconciled with Him. He opens up his Sacred Heart, not to demand justice, much less to exact vengeance, but rather to offer us mercy and forgiveness.
From that cross, the Lord invites us to a heart-to-heart talk. The question is: Are we ready? Are we ready to bare our hearts to Him?"
..this discipline of accountability ... can be a way of life, just as it has been for those who have followed the "Rule of St. Benedict" these 1,500 plus years.
[Finally, his Part 1)
Obedience is a blessing to be shown by all and to all. It is a blessing, or better yet, a benediction, which comes from the Latin verb "benedicere," which literally means to speak well of somebody, to commend another, to say something good to someone. Obedience is a blessing to be shown by by all and to all.... we owe it to everyone in the community.
When we forget that obedience is a blessing to be shown by all and to all, we start neglecting one another's feelings, one another's needs, and one another's dignity.
Christian accountability is a discipline of mutual obedience in a community of disciples. It means that everyone cares about everybody, and everyone looks out for everybody. It is a culture not of selfishness, but of selflessness. It is a discipline, the way of the disciple of Christ, for He said, 'This is how all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another' (Jn. 13:35).

These photos remind me of many of my friends on the south end.  No, they are not homeless, they usually live in tents, boarded up houses, sheds, make-shift shacks, and one even on a bench on the side of High St.

The Crowd, Lenten/Spring Lamb Catholic Worker Newsletter

The Crowd    

by S. Johansing and Monica       LCW  Columbus, Ohio

 

      As we approach Lent and Easter 2017, this article spotlights the responses and actions of the crowds to Christ and the internal human responses Jesus may have had to all that He was experiencing as well as to these responses of Him, especially during what transpired from Palm Sunday to His ultimate Passion.
     By the point in Jesus' life of Palm Sunday, the poison of the Jewish leaders' jealousy and fear had been fanned and cultivated to the point of immense hatred at the murderous level. While self-evident for a long time, the love and mercy of Jesus' most Sacred Heart had to have made Him hold onto a last thread of hope for them.
     After all, He did not seek fame for Himself, constantly shushing whoever he healed or set free, in order to move about and teach Truth as far and wide as possible before His end.  They had to have seen this.  He did not cater to the popular "women of prominence" or even them, nor anyone (such as a highest rabbi or Pharisee) who could have had the power to cast him above them. He had zero interaction with the local and national leaders to undermine them either. He was no real threat at all.
      The only threat He was to them was His holiness of life and audacity to speak the Truth to them -- particularly about the hypocrisy of their lives and hearts.  To speak what was true -- about God's mercy, love, and especially His humility that even they, lesser than God, chose not to live by in their roles as religious leaders.
     Knowing that He most likely will suffer and die a grueling death, He enters Jerusalem as a king, to the uproar and great enthusiasm of the cheering and praising crowds.  They even loudly sang songs over him while they put palms down for his donkey to walk upon, as a carpet emitting the highest royalty.
     It must have been such music to His ears!  He had to have thought for a fleeting moment that maybe, just maybe, He may not have to suffer so greatly on the cross. It must have been the height of His time, that maybe "they DO understand.  They might finally get it and see what I am trying to do and that I truly truly do love them.  They see and finally KNOW the truth behind my message, the Truth of this new Way, the way of love.  Truth itself. They finally do understand I AM. My Kingdom on Earth has truly, truly come and begun. I was to come into the world and fix the mistake made in the fall, but maybe I do not have to go through with that which I know I must do; perhaps My kingdom has begun without this, and I do not have to be exposed to that level of hatred and physical pain."
      But ...
     It starts slowly, taking Him in the night a few days later.  Even though He knew this must be, He had pre-warned His Apostles, even though He had given them His Body and Blood in the first Eucharist, that awareness and exultation of Palm Sunday before must have given Him a tiny glimmer of hope.  He still begged His Father at Gethsemane, after the first Eucharist, for this cup to please pass Him by if it could. He would not have asked if He did not think this was possible.  His desire was steadfastly to solely do the Will of His beloved Father (who is one with Him), and perhaps this easier path may be His Will, He may have briefly thought.  Their praise and adoration still rang out in His head.  His sweat was like drops of blood as He pleaded hard for this cup to pass Him by, of what most likely lie ahead, if it was His Will.

     Yet He fully submitted, as always, to the most perfect Will of the Father in heaven. Imagine His "fully human" side, once the sequence is put in motion, looking down at His bound hands, ...  This time He won't evade a stoning or avoid getting hurled off of a cliff, ...
       He could not turn to others for support either, to lean on ... Yes, even His beloved Peter really did do it, completely denied ever having known Him in His hour of greatest need.  And He was to be the HEAD of this new Kingdom on Earth.  Even though He had told Peter on Holy Thursday that He would do this three times against Him, and even though He told Peter that He will be sifted greatly but He will pray for His strength to encourage His brothers after, the beginning of the Church --  it still had to have grieved Him greatly knowing those moments of Peter's voice nearly swearing vehemently that he knew nothing of Him.  Such rejection from someone so close for three years.
     Even though He knew all this was to be, what a sinking, sinking feeling it must have been when the sting of the first whip jarred Him, and the rawness of excruciating shredded skin was being further whipped deeply into muscle tissue... He is fully God and fully human.  His physical pain no different than our own.
     It gets worse and worse without a minute of let-up... the piercing thorns driven into His skull by blows of reeds as dense as hollow baseball bats -- that crown of thorns that continued agitating His skull all day while struggling.
     The very people who had jubilantly sang praise of Him five days earlier - praising the one who they had heard so many great things about - now viciously turned on Him, urged on by the ringleader Pharisees and Sadducees.  It was not long that the power of suggestive doubt, suspicion, and hate had swayed the crowd, taken root, and grown into hateful and dangerous thoughts against Him.  It was crystal clear from the Father: "No, you really DO have to do the whole thing..." And as always, He willfully obeyed when He could have ended the suffering in a flash.
      Nudged on they shouted to crucify Him, to release Barabbas, even after seeing how badly He had been scourged. As he passed through them, they screamed into His face, they spit on Him, threw things at Him.
      Now He carries on his raw stinging open back a huge, impossibly heavy cross, like concrete blocks, through the city streets and up this insurmountable hill....  with the shrieking screams of the two other prisoners being crucified ahead of Him...  the long crude nails being driven through His hands and feet, splitting them open, like a worm with a hook through it, and hanging by His body weight on only His nailed hand and feet wounds ...  the humiliating nakedness in front of these women for hours all in front of the malicious crowd.
     The most wrenching of all, putting His sweet mother, sobbing at His feet, through indescribable pain and suffering at the sight and experience of His torture -- the sword of swords piercing her heart over and over and over again without mercy, with nothing to ease her pain.
      And the feet.  How beautiful the feet that walked so far to bear good news, now bearing the force of love... And that unspeakably raw spot at the top, that constantly bore the force of His entire body weight bearing down hard upon it, by gravity, rubbing and agitating this open fleshy tangle of nerves and vessels, especially when He had to push His body upward to take a breath.  Excruciating.  Stinging.
       On the cross you typically died from lack of air.  The extended arms put pressure down upon their chest and lungs over time. In order to take a breath, you had to "stand up" high on your feet, lungs higher than arms.  Such torture for Christ upon His precious feet! That's why they broke the knees of the other two prisoners so that they could not stand higher to take a breath, and so, would die quickly.
      It is one thing to have a nail driven through your hand or foot accidentally, and wait for help to arrive.  It is altogether another to have your entire body weight hanging and pulling hard solely from those terribly injured inflamed and raw places of the body for hours, ripping them more all the time.
      One Gospel account puts it at SIX hours not three that He hung at those pressure points, that He needed to pull Himself upward every few breaths, at His hands and onto His feet.  Unimaginable.

    

        May this Lent be a time to ponder more closely and fully than ever, every detail of the Passion of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Stations of the Cross done together most Friday evenings of Lent in Catholic churches, moving throughout the entire church together along the walls (14 Stations), as the crowds did who followed Christ carrying His cross through the streets, is powerful!  This is not only from the intense prayers and detailed meditations in the booklets, but physically walking through each detailed phase of it does one great good -- with meditations on what went through His mind and that of those in the crowd, of prayers He has for us to help fully enter the scene for insight into our own lives.
       May this also be a time of pondering who we are in the crowd, in different crowds we find ourselves in, toward Christ and His Way of love, of mercy, of peace.  May His love and His peace reign in our hearts and in our world for all that He modeled and sacrificed for us; just as Dietrich Bonhoffer and Franz Jaegerstatter sacrificed in refusing to join Hitler's army of hate, greed, and lust for power.  Mussolini and Hitler could not have killed the millions that they did without a LOT of help -- it took thousands of Catholic soldiers in both Germany and Italy to massacre millions.
      May we, like Christ, be a shining light on a hill, a city set apart, refusing to kill sacred human life as the nonviolent Cross of our Lord and Savior has taught us in word and deed!  (See the new movie directed by Mel Gibson, "Hacksaw Ridge").
      At an Encounter weekend I recently attended, I explained to a Franciscan of the Renewal who was praying over me on the last day (and had put a relic of St. Padre Pio on my shoulder while ministering to me) that I felt like a punching bag, with hard boxing glove blows from others through Satan in their actions and words, not knowing from which direction they will come from next, to the point of even being denounced as evil.  He said, "Do you know what this means?!  What an honor this is?!  How blessed you truly are .... the few who have had this honor..."  I needed that, praise Jesus.
     May we trouble ourselves this Lent to read an entire Gospel in a short time (a week or two) to truly and fully put ourselves into the sandals of Christ's most precious feet.  May our Shofar (Old Testament horn for rallying all to religious services and to war) be blasted the loudest for Christ the King of Kings and Prince of Peace in this world of great hate, fear, suspicion, and killing.  May all of our actions mirror only Christ's and His most holy Apostles and martyrs.

    May the loud blasting horn call Christ-followers to a spiritual war -- armed with "the breastplate of righteousness," the "sword of Truth" (the Word made flesh), and with the greatest of all  - LOVE -  against an Old Testament mentality so prevalent in the Middle East to this day.
      This Lent may we also take the priceless time of listening to the voice of the Lord alone, that of our Beloved.  Eucharistic Adoration with the actual physical flesh and body of our Lord Jesus Christ in the room is powerful!!
      As learned in Theophostic prayer, may we have uncomfortably long wait times, seemingly fruitless wait times in silence, beyond any more words, prayers, expressed internal yearnings or even praise, for that sometimes faint and quick "wisp of smoke," or "still small voice" of God, the manner described in the Old Testament when God speaks to us.
      Patrick Reis, at an Encounter weekend,  gave a wonderful exercise in hearing the voice of God.  He said, "Shut your eyes and say your first and last name in your head....  That is what it is like to hear the voice of God."  I have had this happen as well, more clearly and conversationally in addition to that still small voice, but usually in the second or third hour of Eucharistic Adoration.  This still small quick manner has happened more often than the other, for me.  Always have pen and paper ready - and discern after with prayer, to make sure it is from God.
      St. Catharine's just opened up its Thursday Eucharistic Adoration in Lent for 11 hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.  Praise the name of Jesus for this, and Fr. Dury (and Fr. Lumpe for beginning regular Eucharistic Adoration again).  We also have Adore, another newer form of Eucharistic Adoration, on the first Sunday of the month at 6:30 p.m.  We will have our 7th one March 5th at St. Catharine's.  This is and has been done Franciscans of the Renewal style, which I won't give away!  POWERFUL.
    We know how this epic story, the greatest love story ever told, of Christ's passion, ends after all the torment and suffering.  It ends GLORIOUSLY and extends forever and ever and ever for all of our stories, sprung from the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!  He has truly freed us from death and set captives free, set all of us free by taking our sins upon Himself on that excruciating cross: our sins of the past, present, and future if we plug into the Cross of Christ.  We can be freed from pride, lust, greed, hate, wrath, vainglory, suspicion, and all other forms of sin.  Praise our King, our Savior and Deliverer, the Prince of Peace, now and forever!!

     In this year, 2017, of the 100th anniversary of Fatima, consider reading and undergoing the book, "33 Days to Morning Glory."  The beauty of this book is the meditations of others who have done this: St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. John Paul II, St. Maxmillian Kolbe, and St. Louis de Montfort.  All of these saints have added pearls of great price to this experience.

     While you are supposed to begin it 33 days before an actual Marian feast day (see schedule below), so that it ends on a feast day, if you have done it before, you may want to additionally consider beginning on April 10 -- 33 days before the first apparition of Mary at Fatima, May 13, (1917 was the first time).  Mother Mary appeared at Fatima six times, once a month on the 13th for six months.  Great miracles in the sky appeared on the last one, witnessed by tens of thousands, October 13, 1917.

    If you have never undergone it in the St. Louis de Montfort way - (I have not yet) you may want to undergo this much more rigorous manner involving removing yourself from "the world" for the first 12 days!  I plan on trying to this summer when I am off from teaching.  

    

Start of 33-day Plan	Marian Feast You've Chosen	Feast / Consecration Day
9 Jan	Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary at Lourdes	11 Feb
20 Feb 1	The Annunciation	25 Mar
13 Jun	Our Lady of Mt. Carmel	16 Jul
13 Jul	The Assumption	15 Aug
6 Aug	Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary	8 Sep
13 Aug	Our Lady of Sorrows	15 Sep
19 Oct	Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary	21 Nov
5 Nov	Immaculate Conception	8 Dec
9 Nov	Our Lady of Guadalupe	12 Dec

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CANONIZATION OF DOROTHY DAY AND PETER MAURIN!

   

Ex-Marine's "American Sniper" Reflections

In the spirit of Pope John Paul II who wrote that "any and all pre-emptive [first strike] wars are immoral," in addition to his words that the Iraqi War was NOT legally nor morally justified, we reprint the article, "Former Marine on Chris Kyle, American Sniper, and Social Implications" posted on January 27, 2015 on Washington's Blog by Robert Barsocchini.

Ross Caputi, a former marine who participated in the US’s second siege of Fallujah, writes that the reason the American Sniper book and film have been so successful is that they “tell us exactly what we want to hear”: that US America is “benevolent” and “righteous”.  That, he says, is why the book and film are so popular; their popularity speaks volumes about US society, and signals more danger ahead for the rest of the world.

The killings for which Chris Kyle is idolized, Caputi notes, were perpetrated during his participation in the second US siege of Fallujah, which Caputi, from firsthand knowledge, calls an “atrocity”.

Specifically of the siege, Caputi notes:

“All military aged males were forced to stay within the city limits of Fallujah” [while women and children were warned to flee through the desert on foot]
“…an estimated 50,000 civilians were trapped in [Fallujah] during this month long siege without water” [since the US had cut off water and electricity to the city]
“…almost no effort was taken to make a distinction between civilian men and combatants. In fact, in many instances civilians and combatants were deliberately conflated.”
“The US did not treat military action [against Fallujah] as a last resort. The peace negotiations with the leadership in Fallujah were canceled by the US.”
“[The US] killed between 4,000 to 6,000 civilians, displaced 200,000, and may have created an epidemic of birth defects and cancers“
“[The siege was] conducted with indiscriminate tactics and weapons, like the use of reconnaissance-by-fire, white phosphorous, and the bombing of residential neighborhoods. The main hospital was also treated as a military target.”
In modest conformity with international law originally flowing from the Nuremberg tribunal, he says that neither he or Kyle should receive any “praise or recognition” for their actions against Iraq.

Further, he notes that Clint Eastwood, director of the American Sniper movie, made many changes to Kyle’s accounts of what happened.  For one, Kyle, in his autobiography, recounts shooting a woman who was taking the legal action of throwing a grenade at invading forces.  Eastwood changes this so that the woman gives the grenade to her child to throw at the invaders.  “Did Clint Eastwood think that this is a more representative portrayal of the Iraqi resistance?” Caputi asks. “It’s not.”  (Caputi gives Eastwood the benefit of our lack of knowledge of his thought process; he could have asked if Eastwood did this to try to dehumanize Iraqi mothers or Iraqis in general, or whip up US American xenophobic hatred of foreigners, a not-so-difficult feat which Eastwood accomplished with flying colors.  See The Guardian’s “American Sniper: Anti-Muslim Threats Skyrocket in Wake of Film’s Release“; many who see the film “emerge from theatres desperate to communicate a kind of murderous desire.”)

The US invasion of Iraq, Caputi concludes, was “the imposition of a political and economic project against the will of the majority of Iraqis. … We had no right to invade a sovereign nation, occupy it against the will of the majority of its citizens, and patrol their streets.”

Caputi “holds an MA in Linguistics and … is working on an MA in English Studies at Fitchburg State University.”

Also see Professor of International Affairs Sophia A. McClennan’s piece, where she says the American Sniper movie is “a terrifying glimpse” of a “mind-set that couples delusion with violence”.

Walk the Stations of the Cross with Jesus on Good Friday

The Lamb Catholic Worker, Columbus, Ohio

     Lucky for we Christ the King parishioners, Deacon Pete leads a varying and exquisite meditation of the Stations of the Cross every Friday of Lent.  If you have never done this, or are not Catholic, it is one of the most powerful and life-changing prayers possible.  We at the Lamb Catholic Worker encourage all Christ-followers to find a great publication as a tool to undergoing this most profound "pilgrimage" on Good Friday.  Be sure to include in this Good Friday pilgrimage the first day of the (9 day) novena toward the Feast of Divine Mercy, the Sunday after Easter!

     The traditional 14 Stations of the Cross are as follows (and you can typically find them along the walls of any Catholic Church):

1. Jesus is condemned to death

2. Jesus takes His cross

3. Jesus falls the first time

4. Jesus meets His mother

5. Simon helps Jesus carry the cross

6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

7. Jesus falls the second time

8. Jesus speaks with the women 

9. Jesus Falls the third time

10. Jesus is stripped of His clothing

11. Jesus is nailed to the cross

12. Jesus dies on the cross

13. Jesus is taken down from the cross and laid in the arms of His mother

14. Jesus is laid in the tomb

     My favorite so far is a new publication, "The Challenge of the Cross," by Alfred McBride, O.PRAEM., by St. Anthony Messenger Press, Cincinnati, Ohio.  Here are excerpts from some of the stations to give you a sense of this beautiful meditation.  All the words are quotes, and those in quotation marks are from Scripture, quoted from this book as well.

     Jesus is Condemned to Death - They spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head (Matthew 27:3).  When I look at the unfair judgments endured by Jesus... I think of the judgments I have made ... I mistreat innocent people and sometimes, sadly, those closest to me.  I rush to judgment when patience is needed.  Even my own relationship with Jesus is marred by unjust thoughts... I need spiritual purification. I have also been hurt by false judgments made against me.  I have survived, but always need spiritual purification.  Standing beside Jesus when He bore my sinfulness  in silence, I experience a mix of regrets and a power flowing from Him into my soul.... I excuse myself too easily, forgive me, Lord. 
Jesus Takes the Cross - Jesus often spoke of the cross.  In effect He said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).  What He preached, he practiced.  St. Paul writes: "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). St. Paul often preached the cross, as he does again to the Corinthians: "When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom.  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)... like St. Paul's advice about our crosses: "I appeal to you ... to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Romans 12:1).  Facing my pain, disappointments, losses, betrayals, dreams unattained, I need to live my own version of Christ's Passion.  St. Paul says, "I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:12-13).  I do not suffer alone.  Jesus is with me in those who stand by my side.
Jesus Falls the First Time - "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16)." Jesus is now on His journey to Calvary.  In stumbling and falling, He identifies with our difficulties in reaching our destiny...  I won't forget that Jesus arose after each fall.  He is my secret power to do so.
Jesus Meets His Mother - Mary and Jesus exchange glances of forgiveness to those who created their sorrow, I see too that neither Mary nor Jesus shows the least sign of resentment or bitterness.  Both display mercy as the true road to the future.. Mercy is just what I want and need to give others... Lord, don't let Your love grow cold in me because of hurts I feel.  Jesus, help me give true love to those who harmed me... Through meditating on the gentleness of Your humanity, may I expand my capacity to love.
Simon Helps Carry the Cross - Simon would be the first man to carry the cross of Jesus, who had taught, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; ... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30)... I know times when I have been asked to give care to a loved one, a neighbor, a coworker, a stranger.  This role of caregiver can drain me in many ways -- straining my finances, patience, time, and energy.  I find sometimes that I want to say "no" when asked to give care, but soon I say "yes," [like Simon] and get on with doing what is needed.  I try to see the image of Simon .. [who] made it possible for Jesus to accomplish the final act of salvation at Calvary..."Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galations 6:2)... Lord, give me the courage to be a caregiver.  Jesus, show me the wisdom of the cross in being a caregiver... Lord, I pray for the graces I need to serve the poor, the hungry, the naked, the sick, the elderly, the dying.  Open me to accept the challenges of the cross You wish me to carry.  Forgive me for my reluctance to bear your cross. Grant me the joy that comes from loving service to You in the needs of others.
Jesus Falls a Second Time - I am slow to recognize Jesus' humility in becoming human, so see Him in the midst of His self-emptying.  In our natural world, what goes up must come down.  In our supernatural world, what does down [humility] should go up... Jesus fell and got up for me.  I know love made Him do this.  Infinite love will do the unthinkable... That's why He experienced falls -- so that He could win for me my risings to carry on with my life... May I see in Your falls Your willingness to endure more self-emptying, even to the end of this life.  Open my eyes of faith and help me to identify the love that made it possible for you to rise after every fall.
Jesus Speaks with the Daughters of Jerusalem - "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children" (Luke 23:27-28). As always, Jesus thinks of others before His own needs.  He worries about the future of these women and their children. 
Jesus Falls the Third Time - "We boast of our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" (St. Paul to the Romans 5:3-4).  Paul did endure, as he later wrote, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).  In heading for His destiny, Jesus encountered a devastating fall that challenged Him to rise and move on... I remember Christ's last thrust to Calvary when the apostle James wrote, "My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3).  I tend to focus on the pain and find it difficult to notice the joy that James mentions.  I pray that I may imitate the attitude of Peter and his companions who faced persecution joyfully for proclaiming Christ.  Having just been flogged, "as they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name [of Jesus]" (Acts 5:41)... St. Gregory of Nyssa: "We must sacrifice ourselves to God, each day and in everything we do, ... imitating His passion by our sufferings, and honoring His blood by shedding our own.  We must be ready to be crucified."
Jesus is Stripped of His Clothing - ... Now He identified with the poorest of the poor who barely have anything to wear.  His self-emptying reached yet another level as human beings tried to rob Him of His last shred of dignity... He is vulnerable, a word taken from the Latin vulnus, meaning "wound"... Why does Jesus allow Himself to be so vulnerable?  Because He intends to heal the hurters. I often strike back with insults, betrayals, and slights.  When I hurt Christ, He forgets the wounds and tries to heal me, the hurter.  To Jesus the real wound is in the one inflicting the pain.  Jesus assumes the difficulties of the hurter and offers healing by the therapy of forgiveness and love... Jesus welcomes me as a sinner into the chambers of His heart and lets me thrash about with my unruly passions.  Then He offers me the love that would cure me of irrational evil... Jesus was not completely silent ["...like a sheep lead before the shearers silent" (Isaiah 53:5,7)], that He spoke a few words: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34)... For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corrinthians 1:18)... Lord, teach us the wisdom you witnessed as a wounded healer... for the gift of healing those who hurt me, Lord hear my prayer.  For the wisdom to love my enemies, Lord hear my prayer.  For the courage not to strike back when I am wounded, Lord hear my prayer... Lord, engrave on my heart the promise of happiness so I may live the words of Jesus, "Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12).
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross - To think of the pain caused by the nails in Christ's hands and feet is almost too much to bear... Poor, sick, oppressed, and crushed people find comfort in the Passion of Christ... I hear and sing of the Passion of Jesus in the spirituals of the African slaves.  The pain of Christ symbolized the slaves' own sufferings. Jesus could understand their despised condition in an unfriendly and inhuman world...They were there with Jesus.  The slaves sang, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?  They sang their own reply, "Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble"... The most distant object I can see on a clear day is the sun.  But on a dark night I can see the stars millions of miles farther away.  Darkness has its spiritual value.  I think of that in my own times of trouble, when I tremble, tremble, tremble... I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)... Let us pray to meet the challenge of the cross. Lord, deepen my faith in the power of the cross in my life...for patience in times of personal pain..
Jesus Dies on the Cross - As the ninth hour approached on Good Friday afternoon, the sacrifice of the Passover lambs at the Temple concluded.  The high priest in Hebrew said,"Kalah" ("It is finished."). At that moment, Jesus the Lamb of God, said, "Kalah" ("It is finished") (John 19:30a). Jesus bowed His head and rested it on the cross.  A  great silence enfolded that moment, the silence of the Lamb of God.  In His death Jesus completed the perfect sacrifice needed for the forgiveness of all the sins of those who repent and seek His divine mercy.... When I think of Christ's death, I linger on my own future death.  I will not be able to choose the time and place of my death, but I can choose my way of life... My death will ratify the kind of life I have lived and the choices I have made.  If I have lived with love, that is how I shall die.  If not, that will be a tragedy.  As He was dying, Jesus gave His life calmly and lovingly to God, for that was how He lived.  He didn't leave any money.  He left an incomparable testament: divine mercy, future life, and sustaining hope... "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps .." When he was abused, He did not return abuse; when He suffered, He did not threaten;... He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:21, 23-24).
Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross (and layed in the arms of His mother) - He placed a grown man in a woman's lap [we cannot picture the sword to Mary's heart as she holds her baby boy for the last time, seeing and touching up close, the immensity of His suffering that took place right before her eyes]. Blessed John XXIII [formerly Pope John XIII] was fond of quoting an old Italian proverb, "Sotto la neve c'e il pane" ("Beneath the snow there is bread").  Rural wisdom remembers that the seed under the winter snow will rise in the springtime.  Blessed John XXIII applied the saying to those overwhelmed by sorrow and unable to see beyond the pain. Using his picture I see the snow.  I do not see the bread of love growing quietly underneath the white blanket... For the gift of consoling those who mourn lost ones, Lord hear our prayer... Console me when I will need to grieve the death of a loved one while I retain belief in eternal life.

Two other great Stations of the Cross meditation publications are:  "The Franciscan Way of the Cross," by Teresa V. Baker, S.F.O., St. Anthony Messenger Press, and "Mary's Way of the Cross" by Richard G. Furey, C.Ss.R., Twenty-Third Publications.

Read An Entire Gospel During Lent in the Year of Faith [in Jesus]

THE LAMB CATHOLIC WORKER, Columbus - Jesus lamented that when He comes again, will He find any faith on Earth left [in Him]?  With the Catholic Church's annual theme being The Year of Faith, may we Catholics dedicate ourselves to truly knowing Christ, the Word, by committing to reading and meditating on an entire Gospel during Lent from beginning to end.  We can dive deeply into His way of thinking, His way of acting, His way of seeing, speaking and loving, and His types of teachings and "new" commandments fulfilling and surpassing the old ways to the point of contrasting many of them ("Before it was ..., but now I say ...").  What is there to fear? It can only do enormous good as an individual and as a Church. The greatest danger is to love as Jesus loved, to anger over that which He angered over (i.e., keeping His "Father's house" - the place/altar of sacrifice - holy) and to see the world and others more clearly as through His eyes and to love them more passionately as with His sacred heart.
      His word is the judgment "sword" that will be the measuring criteria after we die. Did we strive to live up to His Word, His very Self, or did we cling to human precepts and traditions around us? Sometimes His teachings get muddled or confused with very different ones. We in America are morally clear about polygamy even though it was a very widely accepted practice in Jewish Old Testament tradition.  We do not espouse to the 600 washing rules to define one's level of purity and holiness.  Moreover, we would never stone a woman to death who committed adultery, "as Moses commanded."  Why, then, do we cling to many old covenant traditions including the most brutal - that of slaughtering the enemy and entire groups, innocent as well as their brother/father soldiers defending them, even though this is one major thing Christ came to fulfill and teach about on a much higher plane? Going through an entire Gospel at once will light our paths if He is truly to be the Way, the Truth and the Life.  This act done with care will send forth His word, His Gospel message, out to all the Earth, and not return to Him void.
     In order to do this, to make time to not only know Christ but to "hold these things in [our] heart" as Mary did, pondering over them, we may have some heavy-duty pruning to do in our lives to make the time for more growth in silence, solitude, and listening. There exists all around us, a gluttony with technology so habitual that it is commonplace now - with Smartphone games and networking, Internet games and social networks, T.V., movies, music constantly pumped into the ear through Ipods or Ipads, etc.,... It is not that these are bad in and of themselves, but that their time and use rob us of so much Jesus wants to give us, to show us.  It jam packs what little "down" time we could possibly have for inspiration and specific guidance from the Holy Spirit that may occur anywhere - even the grocery store - if we did not have a Blue Tooth, cell phone ear piece, or other gadget distracting us.
     I recently read of a new addiction involving visual gluttony, or the over-consumption of most of the above, and how the images stay with you a long time, having overfed our senses.  If Jesus is truly to increase and we decrease (as well as our entertainments), modeled so humbly in St. John the Baptist, He must not be crammed out of our lives with technological bombardments. How can He increase if there is no real room for Him to squeeze in?  We do not have to live in another century to experience the sacrifice of martyrdom, such as in the lives of St. Paul Miki and his companions in dangerous 16th Century Japan. The technological temptations are so powerful, so overbearing in our lives, that to resist them, to fast from them this Lent and all the time - having as little to do with them as absolutely possible - is a form of dying to self, of sacrificial martyrdom.  It can be painful not to have our cell phones next to us at the beck and call or whim of others. These slots of time can be filled with inspirationsl images, scripture, praise, etc, to direct our lives.  They can also be emptied out as in the holy, simplistic lives of the desert Fathers and others, to be filled only with Jesus.
     We may also look closely at our social lives and how much time is spent on the phone or in person with people who do not necessarily draw us closer to Jesus and the Father.  We need to ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance in cultivating silence, openness, and adoration.  We also need to ask Jesus to write His words and teachings in our hearts Himself through the space that we create for Him alone.  Sometimes when we do steal away for what little time we can give Him, our mind is so flooded with all this stimuli that the time is spent fighting it off or deprogramming.  Weaning ourselves from the over-stimulation of technology in our day-to-day lives, and making it a habit to not have our cell phones near us most of the time or run for the computer the minute we have free time, are great places to start.
     If Muslims must read the entire Koran during their 30-day Ramadan season, how much more should we Catholics commit to knowing Christ by reading one entire Gospel this Lent and a different one every Lent? One Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) is much, much shorter than the Koran. Especially encouraged are our shepherds - our pastors, priests, bishops, cardinals, and other leaders.  All of us need a conversion and rending of heart this lent. We all need to repent and recognize the Kingdom of God among us and live it out among all. It will do Jesus' heart a great deal of good and can only enhance our clarity in understanding His teachings while strengthening our faith in Him.  We can also be an inspiration for Christians in other faiths to do the same.  All of us can commit to knowing Him and following only His ways more passionately by doing this act of love for Him.

 

 Note*  While the 1988 study of the Shroud of Turin claimed that the sample tested was representative of the entire  shroud and carbon dating put it in the 13th-14th century (potentially someone else who suffered a crucifixion), according to one of the original 1988 scientists it may not have been representative of the entire Shroud (newer piece?). Also, for the negative made of photographing the Shroud to have such detail of a human face is highly surprising.  We are the people who long to see Your face, Jesus.  Nomatter what You look like, You are beautiful to we who love You and are after Your own heart.

     This Lent be sure to see the movie, End of the Spear, a 2005 docudrama (true story) set in South America - very powerful!  Keep watching even after the credits have started for a final interview.