Christ

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In a time of darkness, lightness is profoundly offered

...Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” –Gospel of Matthew

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Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum

As St Bernard so lovingly put it, if he had called her “Mother,” she would have been just His mother and no one else’s. In order to indicate she is now becoming the mother of all men whom He now redeems, He endows her with the title of universal motherhood: “Woman.” Then indicating with a gesture of His head the presence of His beloved disciple, He added: “Behold thy son.” He does not call him John, for if he did, John would only have been the son of Zebedee; He left him unnamed that he might stand for all humanity.

Our Lord was equivalently saying to His mother: “You already have one son and I am He. You cannot have another. All the other sons will be in me and I in him. Hence I say not: ‘Behold another son!’ but ‘Behold Me in John and John in Me.’”

It was a kind of testament. At the Last Supper He willed to mankind His Body and Blood. “This is My body! This is My blood!” Now He is willing His mother: “Behold thy Mother!.”

–Bishop Fulton J. Sheen ‘Seven Words of Jesus and Mary’

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Empty Tomb Prayer

Anonymous

My God,
My internal anguish will not cease.
My sorrowful memories press into my head like a crown of thorns,
Woven by the mockery and scourging
From a cohort of authorities and coworkers,
Within schools and neighborhoods,
At the mouths and hands of enemies and self.
Amidst family and church as well
There is not always a haven,
A stable place to rest my head.

I long for solace hoping to see Your face,
To hear Your voice.
Still, I remain in tears.

Often I become angry when I look upon my own image,
Even doubting if You Yourself wish me goodness.
Despondent and wandering, I drink vinegar alone,
Wanting relief, yet I merely become thirstier.

Where can my aching heart turn to fill its void?
May I find a merciful balm in Your Son Jesus’ turmoil and torment.
As He first did on Golgotha,
As His father tended to His needs,

Place me under Your Mother Mary’s peaceful care.
So, too, Saint Joseph, I plead,
Build me into a strong, secure shelter where I can dwell.
Prospering and fruitful,
Hold me within the loving arms of Jesus’ real friends.

May Your Son gently rest His wounded Hands upon my broken confidence,
And command my mind’s anxious sea and sky to be calm.
The Specters of Fear who perpetually discourage,
May the despair be overcome through His risen light.
In the grace-filled rays which reveal Your path,
Mature my soul by becoming content.
For truly You made no mistake in creating me.

Lastly, by Your Magnificent Spirit,
Warm my life,
Resurrecting me from the dank pit.
Receive these humble requests,
O Lord God, in Jesus the Christ.

Through His absolution,
May my soul be as white as snow.
By feasting upon His Flesh,
The Eucharist,
A holy stream will burst forth in my resentful desert
Whereby I will forgive those who have hurt me.
And with my blood flowing through His
I will no longer simply know You only as my God
But also trust in You as my Father.

Amen.

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Recommended reading from St Louis De Montfort

The Imitation of Christ
Book 1, Chapter 24

Learn, then, to suffer little things now that you may not have to suffer greater ones in eternity. Prove here what you can bear hereafter. If you can suffer only a little now, how will you be able to endure eternal torment? If a little suffering makes you impatient now, what will hell fire do? In truth, you cannot have two joys: you cannot taste the pleasures of this world and afterward reign with Christ.

If your life to this moment had been full of honors and pleasures, what good would it do if at this instant you should die? All is vanity, therefore, except to love God and to serve Him alone.

He who loves God with all his heart does not fear death or punishment or judgment or hell, because perfect love assures access to God.

It is no wonder that he who still delights in sin fears death and judgment.

It is good, however, that even if love does not as yet restrain you from evil, at least the fear of hell does. The man who casts aside the fear of God cannot continue long in goodness but will quickly fall into the snares of the devil.

 

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The Risen Christ

The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way,
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.

He said to them,
“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”

Gospel of Luke

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