The poem our Sisters chose to illustrate this year is Edwin Muir’s beautiful and thought-provoking meditation on the kingdom parable of the weeds and wheat (or, in this case, the corn and tares).
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The next room in our tour of the Holy Family Wing isn’t really a “room” at all - but it is a very cherished part of our new community spaces nonetheless. The portico (covered porch), which extends its cloister walkway “arms” around the entire new wing, has become a popular site for prayer, recreation, and simply enjoying the beauty of God’s creation.
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Now that the Holy Family Wing is becoming a part of daily life here at St. Joseph’s, we wanted to share with you a little more about the significance of these new community spaces - plus some “candid camera” shots of the different rooms in use!
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A palpable air of expectancy and excitement hovers around the crowd. These Passover pilgrims, gathered near the gates of Jerusalem, are awaiting more this year than just the annual festivities. As they converse among themselves, their eyes frequently turn to the road leading up to the city. What do you think? Will He come to the feast?
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Two Gentiles, two Galilean fishermen, and one Galilean carpenter-turned-Rabbi are standing on a hilltop just outside the city, slightly away from the surging crowds. The two Jews gesture towards the Greeks, who stand with awkward yet expectant eyes fixed on the Rabbi.
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At this late hour, restless Jerusalem is finally beginning to quiet herself. One by one, the lamps shining in windows are extinguished as the inhabitants of the Holy City turn in for the night. Yet in one large, villa-like house, the glow from the upstairs window remains undimmed. Within, a most extraordinary conversation is taking place.
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These monologues were written by Sister the year before she entered the monastery. She hopes they will help you in your own meditation and prayer on this day dedicated to accompanying Christ in His sufferings. May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ be ever in our hearts!
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At the last supper, Jesus offered up His Body and Blood in sacrifice “for you” (see Luke 22:19). I allow those two little words to echo in my own heart: for me … Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection … for me. The Gospel accounts of Christ’s Passion give us seven sayings or seven “words” that Jesus spoke from the Cross, and I hear the “for you” spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper re-echoed there.
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St. Augustine is famous for saying, among other things, that the New Testament is concealed in the Old and the Old revealed in the New … Several years ago, I first came upon what was for me a particularly poignant foreshadowing of Christ’s Passion, hidden within the depths of the Book of Leviticus.
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The arms and heart of Jesus Crucified are wide open to receive us all. It is good to be here with Mary, so good. Yet how can we be glad, how can we lift up songs of rejoicing, here of all places? What place can joy possibly have on Calvary?
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In God’s infinite generosity and love, He gives us the dignity of “making up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, on behalf of His body, the Church” by the sufferings of our lives. Nothing is wasted! The first person to share in the sufferings of Christ was His Mother Mary. As we ponder the Passion and seek to be united with Jesus, Mary’s Mother-heart gives us a unique entryway into the sufferings of Christ.
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A number of Psalms are particularly applicable to the Passion and Death of Our Lord. They contain some of the more poignant descriptions of physical, psychological, and spiritual suffering, as well as powerful prayers of trust and even prophecies of specific elements of the Passion narrative. The most famous of these is, of course, Psalm 22.
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In His infinite mercy, God has come down to our level in Jesus Christ, embracing human weakness in order to win for us the graces – and give us an example to imitate – in every challenge we face. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Passion, where He chooses to exercise His omnipotence precisely through weakness.
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Wherever you fall on the “Lenten preparedness” spectrum, we have an opportunity for you to enter more deeply into the spirit of this season: a new blog series entitled Ponder His Passion! Each Friday of Lent, beginning a week from today, we will share a brief reflection on Our Lord’s Passion, written by one of the Sisters.
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As anyone who has followed the Lord for some time can attest, there are certain aspects of our Faith that simply cannot be grasped right away. It takes time, prayer, and spiritual growth to ready our hearts for these more mysterious realities. One of the greatest of these mysteries is the wisdom of the Cross – that is, the intimate connection between suffering and love.
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While the shepherds received a direct and unambiguous revelation from the mouths of angels, the Wise Men were led only by a mysterious star. The shepherds knew exactly where to find Jesus in the cave at Bethlehem; the Magi at first sought the “newborn King of the Jews” in the great city of Jerusalem, where one would expect to find an earthly ruler.
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He is coming! This refrain re-echoes in the Church’s liturgy throughout the Advent season, but during this final week before Christmas, the expectant Bride of Christ redoubles her enthusiastic expectation. The readings for this Sunday focused in a special way on the First Coming of Christ – the Incarnation – and how God prepared the way for His Son to enter into human history.
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Have you ever wondered why religious life is not a Sacrament? The reason is simple: the Sacraments are signs of the Heavenly kingdom, while consecration is the reality of Heavenly life, begun here on earth. As such, while all the Sacraments will ultimately pass away, religious life will endure even in Heaven – because there, every soul is totally consecrated to God!
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Our Lord’s words to the lone thankful leper (“Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”) provide a window into the way our ingratitude grieves His Heart. We as Passionists, however, have the great joy of being able to console Him by our vow of gratitude – “to promote devotion to and grateful remembrance of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ”!
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Why, some may ask, is humility so important after all? The answer lies in our creation in the image and likeness of God. "Humble yourself the more, the greater you are," urges our First Reading, and the greatest example of this is God Himself.
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