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One Minute Meditation

THE CRUCIFIXION

From St. Patrick’s Confession:

Therefore, indeed, I cannot keep silent, nor would it be proper, so many favours and graces has the Lord deigned to bestow on me in the land of my captivity. For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders before every nation under heaven:

For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name.

And from his breastplate:

I bind unto myself today, in the strong Name of the Trinity,   by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three.   I bind this day to me forever,  by power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation;  his baptism in the Jordan river;  his death on cross for my salvation; his bursting from the spiced tomb;  his riding up the heavenly way;  his coming at the day of doom: I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead, his eye to watch, his might to stay, his ear to hearken to my need;  the wisdom of my God to teach, his hand to guide, his shield to ward;  the word of God to give me speech, his heavenly host to be my guard.

I bind unto me these holy powers.  Against all Satan’s spells and wiles, against false words of heresy, against the knowledge that defiles,  against the heart’s idolatry, against the wizard’s evil craft, against the death-wound and the burning the choking wave and poisoned shaft,  protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me,  Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. I bind unto myself the Name, the strong Name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three.   Of whom all nature hath creation, eternal Father, Spirit, Word: praise to the Lord of my salvation!

One Minute Meditation

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, those drops of Blood that flow down Your Face, those deep gashes caused by the thorns that cir­cle Your holy head, make You dearer to me than if Your forehead shone with pre­cious stones. Such signs remind me of the Divine love that burns in Your Heart for me. I love the noble, sorrowful maj­esty of Your holy Face. You reject the crown of gold and the rich robes of royal state, and accept instead a crown of thorns and the purple rags of mockery and scorn.

You consent to be a mock-king, a king of fools, only to be the real King of my soul. My thorn-crowned King,  I adore You as my very God.  I subject myself entirely to Your Divine Kingship of love. I would rather be a fool in the eyes of men for Your sake and have You reign over me, than be king of the world and be the slave of the prince of darkness.  I adore You as the Conqueror of hearts, whose Kingdom is not of this world, but of heav­en.

Fr. Lawrence Lovasik

One Minute Meditation

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery:   THE CARRYING OF THE CROSS

• One condemned to death by crucifixion is forced to carry the cross to the place of execution.
• The suffering of Jesus is intense as the cross is laid on His bruised and wounded back and shoulders.
• Weak and exhausted from loss of blood, lack of food and rest, Jesus falls three times under the cross.
• Jesus meets His afflicted Mother causing untold anguish in the Hearts of Son and Mother.
• The countenance of Jesus is disfigured with blood and sweat, with dust and spittle.
• Veronica wipes His face, leaving on her towel the image of His countenance.
• Fearing that Jesus might die on the way, the soldiers force Simeon of Cyrene to carry the cross behind Jesus.
• Jesus speaks to weeping women; “Weep not for Me, but for yourselves and your children.”
• “If anyone is to be My disciple, let him take up his cross and follow Me.”
• Father, by the merits of this painful journey to Calvary, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

One Minute Meditation

“I wish, oh Jesus, that my voice could reach to the ends of the world, to call all sinners and tell them to enter into Thy Heart….Oh, if only all sinners would come to Thy Heart! Come! Come sinners, do not be afraid! The sword of Justice cannot reach you Here!”  ~St Gemma Galgani

One Minute Meditation

THE CROWNING WITH THORNS

• Pilate asks, “Are You a king?” Jesus answers: “I am a King, but My kingdom is not of this world.”
• In the praetorium, the soldiers place an old purple robe on Jesus in mockery of His claim to be a king.
• They fashion a crown out of thorns, and forcefully press it down upon His head.
• In His bound hands they place a reed, as a sceptre, in mockery of His kingship.
• Kneeling before Him in derision, they spit on Him, and cry out: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
• Taking the reed from His hand they strike Him on the head, driving the thorns more deeply into His scalp.
• Pilate brings Jesus before the people, hoping His pitiful sight will soften them: “Behold the man!”
• Their response: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
• Our Blessed Lord submitted to this terrible humiliation to make reparation for our pride.
• Father, by the merits of this painful humiliation, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Ave Maria Meditations

After the meeting in the Temple, Jesus returns to Galilee with Mary and Joseph. He went down with them on their journey to Nazareth and lived there in subjection to them.  The Holy Spirit wanted to leave this fact clearly stated in the Gospel. Its source can only be Mary who, time and time again, saw the silent obedience of her Son. It is one of the few pieces of information we have from those years of hidden life: that Jesus obeyed them. St Augustine comments that Christ, to whom the universe is subject, was subject to them. To obey His Father, Jesus subjected himself to those who, in his earthly life, were invested with authority; in the first place, his parents.

Our Lady must have reflected very often about Jesus’ obedience, which was extremely refined and, at the same time, very natural. St Luke tells us immediately that His Mother kept in her heart the memory of all this. The whole of Jesus’ life was an act of obedience to the will of the Father.  What I do is always what pleases Him, he will tell us later; and on another occasion he said clearly to his disciples: “My meat is to do the will of him who sent me; and to accomplish the task he gave me”. Food is what gives energy for life. And Jesus tells us that obedience to the will of God – manifested in so many different ways – should be what nourishes and gives meaning to our lives. Without obedience there is no growth in the interior life, nor true development of the human person. Obedience, far from lowering the dignity of the human person, leads it to maturity by extending the freedom of the sons of God. (more…)

One Minute Meditation

THE SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR

• Jesus is taken before the High Priest where He is falsely accused, buffeted and insulted.
• The Jewish leaders take Jesus before Pilate, for only he can impose the death penalty.
• The robber, Barabbas, is preferred to Jesus.
• Pilate can “find no cause in Him”, yet to appease the Jews, he orders Jesus to be scourged.
• The scourge is made of leather thongs to which are attached small sharp bones.
• Jesus is bound to a pillar and cruelly scourged until His whole body is covered with deep wounds.
• The Lamb of God offers His suffering for the sins of mankind.
• Jesus suffers so much in His sacred flesh to satisfy, especially, for sins of the flesh.
• The prophesy of Isiah is fulfilled: “He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins.”
• Father, by the merits of Jesus in this painful scourging, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Ave Maria Mediations  

One more point, so that we may have a perfectly clear idea of Saint Therese’s self-denial. Generally speaking we have a too material, too external idea of self-denial; we almost always picture self-denial under the form of privation, as the sacrifice of something material, or again as some external mortification. And so we tire ourselves out looking for something to give up instead of denying ourselves always and in everything.   

Self-denial is primarily and often solely something interior and spiritual; it is in no way synonymous with mortification, with privation. Even when there is no mortification, there ought always to be self-denial. Self-­denial is simply the disposition of the soul to live for self in nothing, a sincere and constant disposition, a fixed determination to turn the soul from its natural tendency to make self the centre of its life, a fixed determination not to think of self, to put self on one side.  (more…)

For nearly two thousand years, Catholics have read, re-read and reflected upon the great passage in the sixth chapter of the gospel of Matthew in which Jesus lays out the three essential practices of Christian life: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

When Ash Wednesday Mass is finished, the next forty days – all of Lent- is observed in the context of this passage. This happens every year without fail. These three essential practices of Christian life are brought to our attention and emphasized. You would think that we Catholics would get the point. (more…)

One Minute Meditation

One Minute Meditation