Hello dear friends! The weekend is almost over - Darla and Greg leave for Texas early in the morning - we won't see them until the 4th of July now. It was great seeing them this weekend - a great blessing!! Today after Mass and something to eat it was a very restful day! Rest is always a great blessing!! Did anyone see that link or googled that under the sea Virgin Mary statue that was found under the Indian Ocean by divers who were searching for parts for that Malaysia plane - it was so moving and a miracle the statue was so beautiful, it looked like nothing touched it at all - the gold around her cloak just shined, I hope they, somehow, can bring it up from the ocean and place in a place of honor to her. It was sent to me by my former teacher and glad I opened it to see!!! That was another blessing to see. Do you have any blessings you'd like to share? And if you want prayer, you got it.
What we endure in this life is nothing compared to the glory that God
has in store for us in heaven. Lord, take every moment of my life as
a prayer to praise and glorify Your holy name.
Scripture for the day:
"Be still and know that I am God." ~Psalm 46:10
Meditation for the day:
I can be calm, true and quiet. I need not get emotionally upset by anything
that happens around me. I can feel a deep, inner security in the goodness
and purpose in the universe. I can be true to my highest ideals. I need
not let myself slip back into old ways of reacting. I can stick to my
spiritual guns. I can be calm always. I need not talk back or defend
myself too much against accusation, whether false or true. I can accept
abuse as well as I accept praise. Only God can judge the real me.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may not be upset by the judgment of others. I pray that I may
let God be the judge of the real me.
What Jesus Did For You and Me
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends."
(John 15:13)
The physical trauma of Jesus Christ begins in Gethsemane with one of the
initial aspects of his suffering - the bloody sweat. The physician of His
group, St. Luke, is the only one to mention this. He says," And being in
agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood,
trickling down upon the ground."
It is known that under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat
glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could
have produced marked weakness and possible shock.
After His arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was brought before the
Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. A soldier struck Jesus across the
face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards
then blindfolded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each
passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face.
In the morning, Jesus, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from
a sleepless night, is taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the
Fortress Antonia. It was there, in response to the cries of the mob, that
Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and
crucifixion.
Jesus' hands were tied to a post above His head. His clothing was stripped
off. The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum in his hand. This
is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small
balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down
with full force again and again across the shoulders, back and legs of
Jesus.
At first the heavy thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows
continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first the
oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally
spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small
balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by
subsequent blows.
Finally, the skin of His back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area
is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by
the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is
finally stopped.
The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone
pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see a great joke in
this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They throw a robe across His
shoulders and shove down a ring of long, very razor sharp branches with long
thorns made in the shape of a crown into His scalp.
Again there is copious bleeding. After mocking Him and striking Him across
the face, they take a stick and strike Jesus across the head, driving the
thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, the tire of their sadistic sport and
the robe is torn from His back. This had already become adherent to the
clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the
careless removal of a surgical bandage, causes excruciating pain - almost as
though He were again being whipped, and the wounds again begin to bleed.
The heavy beam of the cross is then tied across Jesus' shoulders, and the
procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves and the execution detail,
begins its slow journey. The weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with
the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and
falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles
of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed
beyond their endurance.
At Golgotha, the beam is placed on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown
backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the
depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square,
wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he
moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull
the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The beam is
then lifted in place at the top of the posts and the titulus reading "Jesus
of Nazareth, King of the Jews" is nailed in place.
The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet
extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each. As He pushes
Himself upward to avoid the stretching torment, He places His full weight on
the nail through His feet. Again there is searing agony of the nail tearing
through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet.
As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting
them deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability
to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are
paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn
into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in
order to get even one, short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in
the lungs and in the blood stream and cramps partially subside.
Spasmodically, He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the
life-giving oxygen.
Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps,
intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His
lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then
another agony begins. A deep crushing pain deep in the chest as the
pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.
The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into
the tissues - the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in
small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of
stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasps, "I thirst."
He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. With one last
surge of strength, He once again presses His torn feet against the nail,
straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last
cry, "Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit."
Apparently to make double sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance
through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the
pericardium and into the heart. Immediately there came out blood and water.
This is the greatest example of one laying down his life for his friends. We
can never fully comprehend the spiritual aspect of Christ's suffering and
shame, but medical studies shed glimpses of light on the physical agony and
all the horror that Jesus Christ endured on the cross for you and me.
The Praises of God Most High
by St. Francis of Assisi
Thou art the Holy Lord, the Only God, who works miracles (Ps. 76:15) Thou
art strong, Thou art great (cf. Ps 85:10), Thou are the Most High, Thou art
King Eternal, Thou Holy Father (cf. Jn 17:11) King of Heaven and earth. (Mt
11:25)
Thou art three in one Lord, God of gods (cf Ps 135:2), Thou art Good, all
good, Highest Good, Lord God living and true. (cf. 1 Thes 1:9).
Thou art Love, Charity; Thou art Wisdom, Thou art humility, Thou art
patience (Ps 70:5), Thou art Beauty, Thou art gentleness; Thou art security,
Thou art quiet, Thou art joy; Thou art our Hope and Joy, Thou art justice,
Thou art temperance, Thou art all our riches unto sufficiency.
Thou art Beauty, Thou art gentleness, Thou art Protector (Ps 30:5), Thou art
our guard and defender, Thou art fortitude (cf. Ps 42:2), Thou art
refreshment.
Thou art our Hope, Thou art our Charity, Thou art our Sweetness, Thou art
our eternal Life: Great and admirable Lord, God Omnipotent, merciful Savior.
Sayings of Mother Teresa
The greatest fulfillment is in doing God's will.
We do not have to do great things,
only small things with great love.
We do not have to be extraordinary in any way,
I can do what you can't do and you can do what I can't do.
Together we can do something beautiful for God.
We can be the little pencils in the hand of God .
Meditations by Padre Pio
The trials to which the Lord subjects you and will subject you are all signs
of divine love and are jewels for the soul. Winter will pass and the never
ending spring will come, all the more rich in beauty as violent were the
storms (CE 27).
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