“Now I am beginning to be a disciple. Come fire and cross and grapplings with wild beasts, cuttings and manglings, wrenching of bones, hacking of limbs, crushing of my whole body, come cruel tortures of the devil to assail me. Only may I attain to Jesus Christ.” – St. Ignatius of Antioch, martyr
“I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.” – [Saint] Teresa of Calcutta
Pope Francis has reaffirmed that it is the episcopal conferences’ responsibility to authorize the ways of receiving communion. Cardinal Sarah criticized today’s widespread practice denouncing is as a diabolical attack.
“By his words and actions Christ has showed himself to be true God and Lord of the universe…” – St. Anastasius of Antioch
Golgotha (along with Christ's tomb) is located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
The “Place of the Skull”, Calvary, Golgotha is the epicenter of Christianity and our “holy of holies”; indeed, the spiritual center of the entire universe, for this is the spot where our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was crucified and died for our sake.
Passion Sunday — The Sunday before Easter, Palm Sunday, is observed by virtually all Christians. But for the Roman Catholic Church it is also Passion Sunday during which all stand for readings and meditations from the passion account. The feast has a bittersweet taste. Though it celebrates the King’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem amidst hosannas, the parade leads straight to the Lord Jesus’ suffering and death on Calvary.
The Pope in Santa Marta, “In bad and sad moments”, perhaps “poisoned by having talked against God”, we shall “ look at “the wounds” of Christ for by those wounds we have been healed”
“When we have a depressed heart, we must look at the Cross. When you are tired of the journey of life, look at the crucifix”. It is Pope Francis’ advice at this morning’s Mass, 20 March 2018, at Casa Santa Marta.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew perfectly just what it was for which He was to pay the penalty of death. He was to pay the penalty for sin — for all the sins of mankind, from the first to the last. Isaiah the prophet had cried out:
In present times, we often associate the religious dimension of our lives with “values,” both ethical and aesthetic. This passage from the Gospel helps us question the value we attribute to the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The crucifixion certainly became a little overwrought in 19th century interpretations, and this was later redressed to a certain degree. But what do we make of the Cross now, this instrument of torture and torment, presented here as the means by which Jesus was elevated and glorified by God? This Gospel reading casts the cross in a more positive light.
This is the third and final “Scrutiny” that the Church proposes for catechumens and candidates.
In the first “Scrutiny”— focusing on the Woman at the Well — Jesus tells us of his thirst for mankind. When we respond in faith, we quench the thirst of Jesus. It’s amazing to ponder that God thirsts for us!
