I heard a good idea the other day from a priest during a homily--I can't remember who it was, but the idea was still a good one. He said he knew of a good and holy priest who was terrible at remembering specific people and the petitions they wanted him to pray for. So he would write them down in a notebook and place the notebook on the altar every day when he said the Mass. He said he could feel confident that God would read the book for him. Eventually, the notebook got so thick he had to start another....
I'm thinking about doing the same thing, except that I will carry the notebook with me and hold on to it while saying the rosary. Do you think that's an effective way of making sure I'm not making empty promises when I tell people I will pray for them, then forget to?
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Gospel means “Good News.” I find that’s pretty ironic during Holy Week. There are accounts of sadness, betrayal, pain, suffering, and eventually a very horrifying death. Every year during this week it’s hard for me to admit that I, through my sins, have a share in the reason why Jesus had to suffer and die.
This is also the time of the year when they show the television epic “Jesus of Nazareth”. While the movie has some flaws and takes a few liberties for the sake of entertainment, it has some moments that really make me reflect on my faith. I especially like the way it presents the parable of the prodigal son. The “righteous” Jews (the disciples) would not mingle with the friends and relatives of the tax collector, Matthew. They even tried to dissuade Jesus from consorting with them because of their questionable character. Jesus said to Peter (and this is the message that seemed to drown out all of the other dialogue for me), “I have not come to save the righteous, but those who are lost to the Father”. His disciples (including Peter) remained outside, because they still didn’t seem to get the message. Then Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son. At the end of the parable, Peter finally understood the message and entered the house of Matthew and embraced him as a long lost brother. I still cry when I think of the love that was shown in this scene.
I have a CD of Mel Gibson’s, “the Passion of Christ” (what Catholic doesn’t?). I can only watch this movie once a year for the sheer violence and gore. It makes me reach my limit of what I can watch. I weep over the suffering I have put my Lord through. The only solace I have is I know the hope that Easter Sunday always brings.
Which brings me to another topic. The word “hope”. When I say my rosary, I begin with the Apostle’s creed and the Our Father. The next three prayers are Hail Marys for an increase in the virtues of faith, hope, and love. Father Corapi was giving one of his lectures on the rosary and suggested taking just one word that is important and meditating on it. The other day, I thought, “What is ‘HOPE’?”
The best definitions I could find in the dictionary were these:
To place trust; rely
To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence
To believe, desire, or trust.
The word is not to be confused with a “wish”. A wish might or might not materialize. When we hope, we have a confidence that what we look forward to will be realized. We hope for our salvation, because we TRUST in the mercy of Christ and we have CONFIDENCE that our hope is founded in that trust.
One last meditation for the blog this week. I was listening to Steve Ray, a converted Baptist minister on the radio today. He is very good at tying the Old Testament to the New. He was asked about the significance of the Crown of Thorns that our Lord endured after being scourged. Also, he was asked about Christs’ carrying of the Cross. He suggested the following passage from the Old Testament that was, in a way a prophesy of the New Testament:
Genesis 22:1-13
Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!" "Ready!" he replied. Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you." (Relate this to John3:16)
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well, and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust, set out for the place of which God had told him. (Relate this to John12:14)
On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar. Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder. We will worship and then come back to you."
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. (Isn’t this, similarly, what Christ did? He carried the wood on His shoulder to the site of the Sacrifice)
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. "Father!" he said. "Yes, son," he replied. Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?" "Son," Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust." (And He did, in the form of His Only Begotten Son) Then the two continued going forward.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar. Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the LORD'S messenger called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. "Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger. "Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son." (Then, centuries later, God would send His OWN Son to us out of love to complete this Sacrifice—Give glory to God!)
As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son. (In my mind, a “thicket” can be construed as “thorns”. The ram was not caught by a leg, or his body, or a foot-- He was caught by his HEAD—hence a “crown” of thorns!)
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