The Five Sorrowful Mysteries are my favorites of the Twenty Mysteries of the Rosary. I think it is because they make sense of the suffering we encounter in our life in this world. Love all of the Mysteries but they are my anchor. The Sorrowful Mysteries are as follows.
1) The Anguish of Jesus in the Garden
This mystery is a very special one to me. There was one point in my career when I was in my mid 30s with a wife and 4 kids when my anxiety with work was so great that I didn't feel I could face another 30 years of it. I was sitting on the bathroom floor at 2 am, contemplating suicide, feeling very alone. And Jesus spoke to me and said, "I know how you feel." Surprised I responded, "You do?!" And He said, "Yes, remember in the Garden of Gethsemane when I was in such anguish (anxiety, fear) that I sweat great drops like blood?" And amazed, I said, "Oh yeah, wow, I guess You really do know how I feel." And hope returned to me and I am still here walking with Jesus. I was no longer alone. Jesus knows how we feel and we can come to Him with our anger and fears and struggles.
When I am praying this mystery, I bring my anxiety and distress along with those of others and offer them up to Jesus and I ask that He will be with us and help us with them.
2) The Scourging of Jesus at the Pillar
Lately, it has been being impressed upon me that this mystery includes Jesus taking our anger at God upon Himself. All of us are angry at and resentful of God at different points in our lives. He often simply doesn't do things our way! And so I picture the soldiers symbolically but literally whipping him in our fury. And we whip Him still when we vent our anger on "one of the least of these, His brethren".
But there is also hope in this mystery, I think. Because Jesus became the focal point in our anger at God and He took that anger upon Himself, paradoxically, it brings healing and reconciliation with God to us. By His stripes we are healed as it says in Isaiah 53:5. It also means that Jesus knows how we feel when we are enduring the rage of others towards us.
When I am praying this mystery, I pray for all who may be the recipients of such anger that Jesus would be with us and help us to respond in patient love as He did.
3) The Crowning of Jesus with Thorns
Matthew 27 NABRE
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. 28 They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him. 29 Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
The next step after punishing God in our anger, now that we have Him in our power (so we think), in our sadistic leisure, we can turn to mockery. This mockery did not end even when Jesus was on the cross. And we participate in this mockery in our treatment of others when we trample their dignity and when we scoff at the Gospel. As Stuart Townend says in his hymn, How Deep The Father's Love For Us, "Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers."
But even when we are the ones being mocked, Jesus is there with us. And I pray for all who are being mocked and belittled.
4) The Carrying of His Cross by Jesus
In this mystery, we see Jesus being made to carry the means of His own execution through the streets of Jerusalem, a rough heavy beam, even though he has already been flogged and crowned with thorns. The streets are lined with people, some mocking, some grieving, some rejoicing. Some reach out to Him to wipe His face and comfort Him. In the Stations of the Cross, there are St. Veronica and Mary, His mother.
When I am meditating on this long endurance, this long struggle of Jesus, I am often led to pray for those I know who are struggling with long serious illnesses or difficult situations, their crosses. I ask Jesus to give them faith, hope and love to see them through the storm and to bring them through to the other side.
When we entrust ourselves into His care and offer up our suffering to Him, trusting in His goodness and compassion and that He knows what it is like, then He can turn those times into something beautiful.
5) The Crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
I used to wonder what Jesus was talking about in John 6 but now I know it was the Eucharist, Holy Communion.
John 6
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread[c] which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”[d] 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; 54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.” 59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper′na-um. RSVCE
For many years, since I didn't believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, I wasn't sure what Jesus was talking about here. But once I came to accept that Jesus was talking about the Eucharist here then other passages started to make sense as well.
Such are the miracle at Cana in John 2 where we see Jesus changing water into wine (transubstantiation) in response to His mother bringing the problem of the wedding party running out of wine. It also makes sense of His comment to her, "My hour has not yet come." The time of His offering himself up on the cross and shedding His blood which the wine signifies and becomes.
And John 16:16
16 “A little while, and you will see me no more; again a little while, and you will see me.”, when Jesus tells them that He is going away but that it is to their advantage because He will send them the Holy Spirit and they will see Him again.
And in Luke 22
14 And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you I shall not eat it[b] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.[c] 21 But behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it was that would do this.
More later.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread[c] which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”[d] 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; 54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.” 59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper′na-um. RSVCE
For many years, since I didn't believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, I wasn't sure what Jesus was talking about here. But once I came to accept that Jesus was talking about the Eucharist here then other passages started to make sense as well.
Such are the miracle at Cana in John 2 where we see Jesus changing water into wine (transubstantiation) in response to His mother bringing the problem of the wedding party running out of wine. It also makes sense of His comment to her, "My hour has not yet come." The time of His offering himself up on the cross and shedding His blood which the wine signifies and becomes.
And John 16:16
16 “A little while, and you will see me no more; again a little while, and you will see me.”, when Jesus tells them that He is going away but that it is to their advantage because He will send them the Holy Spirit and they will see Him again.
And in Luke 22
14 And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you I shall not eat it[b] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.[c] 21 But behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it was that would do this.
More later.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Relics - items associated with people filled with the power of the Holy Spirit whether they are alive or deceased.
One of the things that strikes you when you start learning the various aspects of the Catholic Faith is how physical it is. There is an emphasis on God working through physical items and actions that is largely missing from most Protestant circles. The emphasis in many Protestant circles tends to be on the spiritual and intellectual side of the faith. The Catholic Faith includes those aspects of the Christian faith as well.
One such physical area that God works through are relics of the saints such as articles which belonged to them or bones of the saints, etc. One's initial reaction is often "Where is that in the Bible?!!"
Interestingly enough it was an evangelical Protestant/Charismatic pastor who gave me the first Scripture reference as I was on my journey towards the Catholic Church.
He was talking about "thin" places, where the residual power of the Holy Spirit remains on or with items. He acknowledged that miracles had happened in connection with relics throughout the history of Israel and the Church. The biblical reference he gave in his message was 2 Kings 13:20-21. In this passage, a dead man about to be buried come back to life after his body comes into contact with the bones of Elisha the prophet. Here is the passage from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition of the Bible.
2 Kings 13
20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, lo, a marauding band was seen and the man was cast into the grave of Elisha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood on his feet.
There is also at least one New Testament example in Acts 19:11-12.
Acts 19
11 And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. RSVCE
So in the first case, the miracle was associated with the bones of a holy person and in the second case, it was items which had touched the body of a holy person who was alive at the time of contact. There may be more examples. I just haven't researched them yet. That pastor may have mentioned this passage as well in his message and probably did. I just don't remember for sure.
All for now.
One such physical area that God works through are relics of the saints such as articles which belonged to them or bones of the saints, etc. One's initial reaction is often "Where is that in the Bible?!!"
Interestingly enough it was an evangelical Protestant/Charismatic pastor who gave me the first Scripture reference as I was on my journey towards the Catholic Church.
He was talking about "thin" places, where the residual power of the Holy Spirit remains on or with items. He acknowledged that miracles had happened in connection with relics throughout the history of Israel and the Church. The biblical reference he gave in his message was 2 Kings 13:20-21. In this passage, a dead man about to be buried come back to life after his body comes into contact with the bones of Elisha the prophet. Here is the passage from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition of the Bible.
2 Kings 13
20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, lo, a marauding band was seen and the man was cast into the grave of Elisha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood on his feet.
There is also at least one New Testament example in Acts 19:11-12.
Acts 19
11 And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. RSVCE
So in the first case, the miracle was associated with the bones of a holy person and in the second case, it was items which had touched the body of a holy person who was alive at the time of contact. There may be more examples. I just haven't researched them yet. That pastor may have mentioned this passage as well in his message and probably did. I just don't remember for sure.
All for now.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
A change in me I noticed while singing This is the Air I Breathe this week
The praise and worship song, This is the Air I Breathe, has been sung a lot recently in both the Catholic Church I am registered with and involved in and the church my wife and I attend together early on Sunday mornings.
I loved the song as a Protestant because singing it and other similar songs was about as close as I could get to feeling in touch with Jesus. And the haunting chorus goes "And I am desperate for You. And I am lost without You." I loved the chorus because it expressed the cry and longing of my heart for Jesus. They were not just the words of someone else but my words, too.
While they were distributing the Eucharist at the Saturday night Mass where I was serving as an altar server, the choir was leading us in singing this song and I realized that I was no longer lost without Jesus and desperate for Him. He has led me to the Catholic Church where I have found Him in His Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, in the other sacraments, in the sacramentals, in the art, in the Blessed Virgin Mary and in the communion of the saints, in the prayers of the Church which have set my prayers free and in many other channels of His grace through His Church. I have Jesus and I have ways to stay close to Him. Thanks be to God!
I still love the song as a Catholic because I remember those days of desperation and longing. And God used my desperation and longing to keep me searching. And now He is the air I breathe. Didn't I have Jesus as a Protestant and wasn't He present? Yes, He was but now I have Him more fully.
I loved the song as a Protestant because singing it and other similar songs was about as close as I could get to feeling in touch with Jesus. And the haunting chorus goes "And I am desperate for You. And I am lost without You." I loved the chorus because it expressed the cry and longing of my heart for Jesus. They were not just the words of someone else but my words, too.
While they were distributing the Eucharist at the Saturday night Mass where I was serving as an altar server, the choir was leading us in singing this song and I realized that I was no longer lost without Jesus and desperate for Him. He has led me to the Catholic Church where I have found Him in His Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, in the other sacraments, in the sacramentals, in the art, in the Blessed Virgin Mary and in the communion of the saints, in the prayers of the Church which have set my prayers free and in many other channels of His grace through His Church. I have Jesus and I have ways to stay close to Him. Thanks be to God!
I still love the song as a Catholic because I remember those days of desperation and longing. And God used my desperation and longing to keep me searching. And now He is the air I breathe. Didn't I have Jesus as a Protestant and wasn't He present? Yes, He was but now I have Him more fully.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Running to the arms of Jesus and finding the way in the Catholic Church
I haven't posted for awhile. Been busy. Here is a post that I first posted last month on a forum that I participate in at The Coming Home International website.
There is a praise song from the Hillsong Australia folks, a Protestant group, that I love. It is called Forever Reign. The chorus speaks of us individually running to His arms, finding in Him our refuge and help to meet our needs in often desperate situations that we find ourselves in that the verses so powerfully describe. Here are a summaries of a few of the phrases in the verses.
He is the light in the midst of darkness which is enveloping us.
He is the peace in the midst of great fear which is paralyzing us.
He is the truth that anchors our wandering hearts.
As I sing this song, tears of identification and gratitude often are running down my face. And I am also often thinking of the Catholic Church and of now being a Catholic and thanking Jesus for helping me find His arms through the Catholic Church.
Even though I was an evangelical Protestant, lay bible teacher and preacher for many years, I couldn't find the way into the arms of Jesus. I had asked Him into my life to be my Lord and Savior at age 20. I had learned some things about Him in my parents' church growing up. I prayed extemporaneously (in my own words) inconsistently. I studied the Scriptures and learned how study inductively and how to teach book by book expository style so I came to know a lot about Him.
But I still couldn't find the way into His arms. I looked into the Protestant charismatic movement, the Keswick movement and various other Protestant movements past and present. I started looking into more liturgical traditions, Anglican and Lutheran. I looked into Eastern Orthodoxy. I still couldn't find the way into the arms of Jesus. Either the religious experiences didn't occur when I prayed for them or there weren't any churches of those traditions available in our current area or I was skeptical of the orthodoxy (in the holding to the Truth sense) of the churches in our current area.
Finally the Lord led me to the Catholic Church, first through the music of John Michael Talbot, then through fellowship with members of his group and other Catholics online, then through the prayers of the Catholic Church (Finally! Words for what was going on inside me!), then through the growing conviction of the truth of the Catholic Church and Faith, then finally entering the Church through RCIA in January, 2010.
And guess what? I finally have found the way into His arms through the Sacraments, the prayers, the liturgies, the teachings and the guidance of the Catholic Church and the Communion of the Saints! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
That's my story, short and sweet, and I am sticking to it, safe in the arms of Jesus. Hope you don't mind me sharing. It helped collect my thoughts and feelings of gratitude to Jesus for leading me home.
There is a praise song from the Hillsong Australia folks, a Protestant group, that I love. It is called Forever Reign. The chorus speaks of us individually running to His arms, finding in Him our refuge and help to meet our needs in often desperate situations that we find ourselves in that the verses so powerfully describe. Here are a summaries of a few of the phrases in the verses.
He is the light in the midst of darkness which is enveloping us.
He is the peace in the midst of great fear which is paralyzing us.
He is the truth that anchors our wandering hearts.
As I sing this song, tears of identification and gratitude often are running down my face. And I am also often thinking of the Catholic Church and of now being a Catholic and thanking Jesus for helping me find His arms through the Catholic Church.
Even though I was an evangelical Protestant, lay bible teacher and preacher for many years, I couldn't find the way into the arms of Jesus. I had asked Him into my life to be my Lord and Savior at age 20. I had learned some things about Him in my parents' church growing up. I prayed extemporaneously (in my own words) inconsistently. I studied the Scriptures and learned how study inductively and how to teach book by book expository style so I came to know a lot about Him.
But I still couldn't find the way into His arms. I looked into the Protestant charismatic movement, the Keswick movement and various other Protestant movements past and present. I started looking into more liturgical traditions, Anglican and Lutheran. I looked into Eastern Orthodoxy. I still couldn't find the way into the arms of Jesus. Either the religious experiences didn't occur when I prayed for them or there weren't any churches of those traditions available in our current area or I was skeptical of the orthodoxy (in the holding to the Truth sense) of the churches in our current area.
Finally the Lord led me to the Catholic Church, first through the music of John Michael Talbot, then through fellowship with members of his group and other Catholics online, then through the prayers of the Catholic Church (Finally! Words for what was going on inside me!), then through the growing conviction of the truth of the Catholic Church and Faith, then finally entering the Church through RCIA in January, 2010.
And guess what? I finally have found the way into His arms through the Sacraments, the prayers, the liturgies, the teachings and the guidance of the Catholic Church and the Communion of the Saints! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
That's my story, short and sweet, and I am sticking to it, safe in the arms of Jesus. Hope you don't mind me sharing. It helped collect my thoughts and feelings of gratitude to Jesus for leading me home.
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