When I was younger, I used to wonder why Jesus chose to die such a violent death. I mean, as horrible as John the Baptist’s decapitation was, at least it was quick. Christ had to carry the instrument of His own Death, a heavy Cross, and then hang for three hours with nails tearing through… Continue reading The Birth Pangs of Our Salvation
Tag: Jesus
How the Last Supper Begins the Lord’s Passion
Earlier today, I tried to answer a couple questions some people have on the Eucharist: namely, “does It re-Sacrifice Christ?” and “what does it mean to say that the Eucharist is an Unbloody Sacrifice?” I tried to keep the post short, but I’m willing to go into more depth. Here, I wanted to discuss a… Continue reading How the Last Supper Begins the Lord’s Passion
Good Friday Pre-Game
Yesterday (March 25th) was the Annunciation. The Annunciation is when the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told Her that She was going to bear Christ Jesus. Because we don’t know the actual date it occurred on, it’s long been celebrated on March 25th because it coincides with Jesus’ Passion, roughly. The Jews had a… Continue reading Good Friday Pre-Game
The Story of Iconography
John Armstrong has a good post on icons. I liked this part a lot: Frederica Mathewes-Green , in her helpful new book The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer (Paraclete Press) urges readers to look at the Pantocrator icon from St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, Egypt. This is the oldest known icon… Continue reading The Story of Iconography
Bethlehem, House of Eucharist
So this is pretty cool. The old Hebrew name for Bethlehem, bêth lehem, means “House of Bread.” The Arabic form of the same name, bêt lahm, means “House of Meat.” So Jesus chose to be born in a city suggesting that He was both Bread and Meat. “… and the Bread that I will give… Continue reading Bethlehem, House of Eucharist
Two More Ash Wednesday Reflections
A few more thoughts struck me after I went to Ash Wednesday Mass last night. Since St. Mary’s is remodeling, weekday masses are held in the Lyceum, normally. But the Lyceum is way too small to handle the expected Ash Wednesday crowd, so it was in the gym instead. The crowd was enormous — it… Continue reading Two More Ash Wednesday Reflections
The Cross is Steady
The catastrophe in Haiti was so shocking that I wasn’t really sure how to react here: what I could possibly provide to the dialogue. Fortunately, Matt from my Men’s Prayer Group sent me this e-mail, which sounds the perfect note: The Carthusian order of monks have a motto: Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, which in… Continue reading The Cross is Steady
Who is James, “Brother of the Lord”?
The name James was pretty popular at the time of Christ, and two of Jesus’ Disciples have this name: James, son of Zebedee, and brother of John (Matthew 10:2), and James, son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3) We call #1 “James the Greater” and #2 “James the Lesser.” Since the various New Testament writers signal which… Continue reading Who is James, “Brother of the Lord”?
The Gifts of the Magi
Yesterday was Epiphany Sunday. Although the Epiphany – the 12th Day of Christmas, celebrating the wise men’s visiting the infant Jesus – technically falls on Wednesday, we celebrate it on the nearest Sunday. I love the readings from yesterday’s Mass, because they tell a real story when you compare them. Here’s what I mean: I.… Continue reading The Gifts of the Magi
Happy Feast of the Holy Family!
Sunday is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The Gospel for this Sunday is Luke 2:41-52: Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they… Continue reading Happy Feast of the Holy Family!