Saturday, August 23, 2014

"For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."



"For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3: 27-28

The last few days, things have changed - so much.  Many matters that once concerned me seem not to matter any longer.

Since James Foley's execution, issues have melted away ...

The arguments no longer matter.  

The only scandal now is the scandal of the cross.

It seems to me we are now all called to participate in it.


When the Christians came back from the cemeteries after bearing the bodies of the holy martyrs to their burial and assembled in the church for prayer, we used to see the evidence of their holiness. The whole Christian body was there, and no member of the flock showed fear. The catechumens learned a lesson in those assemblies when they heard the report of what the holy martyrs had said to their judges and of the steadfastness with which they confessed the faith up to the moment of their death. I know Christian men and women who saw strange things happen in such assemblies, and even real miracles. - Origen



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3 comments:

  1. TLW10:07 AM

    I don't know why but not even the barbaric murder of journalist Daniel Pearl affected me like the death of James Foley has. Is it because I know he prayed the Rosary on his knuckles when held captive in Libya? Is it because I became complacent and didn't worry that Americans could still be held hostage and decapitated by Satan's minions? I don't know. I only pray that if faced with a similar fate I would not cut and run on Christ.

    This morning as I was in the Adoration chapel a young man entered, fell on his knees, and sobbed incolsolably for about 10 minutes. My weak human nature being what it is, I began to be distracted by curiosity about his tears. Was a loved one dying? Had he just committed a heinous sin and was now begging for mercy? The sobbing was so bad that the next thing I knew I was in tears myself, and I thought of what a precious gift we have in being able to come before the Real Presence in search of consolation. I could not get James Foley out of mind. I only pray that in those horrific final moments of his life, he knew and felt Christ was present to him. And I pray he has been accorded the crown promised to martyrs.

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    Replies
    1. Terry Nelson10:55 AM

      I've been thinking of Daniel Pearl since news broke about Foley.

      I'm glad you were there to pray with the young man who came in the adoration chapel - it seems to me things like that aren't distractions at all - they are part of your prayer. God bless you and the young man!

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  2. PV12:15 AM

    Please pray for these poor souls: 45 Fijian peacekeepers abducted by IS.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11077681/Abducted-UN-peacekeepers-threatened-with-sharia-trial-by-al-Qaeda-group-in-Syria.html

    http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-05/fijian-peacekeepers-iraq-arent-just-battalion-theyre-choir

    ReplyDelete


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