Look to the Crucified

During the times when the demon and his accusers threaten us with floods, we must with calm trust in the promises of Christ resist him by looking not at our works or worthiness, but at the wounds of Jesus, pierced for us sinners.  The priestly sacrifice of our Lord on the cross must absorb our gaze, and we must relinquish all hope in ourselves, lest we despair of the waves of condemnation launched at us by the accuser of the brethren.  Our own sufferings, however light and modest, we must join to this holy and pleasing sacrifice which the Father accepts, and determine in ourselves to suffer abuse and rejection with Christ, Whom this world hates.  Thereby our weaknesses become strengths in Him who justifies the wicked, and upholds the powerless in the face of their tormentors. 

Originally posted 12 December 2011

Rejection, betrayal, and abandonment

The three injuries that wound the spirit are rejection, betrayal, and abandonment. These cannot be healed by any psychological methods; they are wounds in the essence of our being. 

Neither can their debilitating effects be mitigated by favorable circumstances in our lives, even if we recognize these favors as coming from divine providence. As salutary as these blessings and consolations may be, they do not penetrate the depths of our souls where the wounds lay. These wounds bring unexpected waves of grief and sorrow, even in the midst of blessing.

Only frequent and sober reflection on the goodness of God in Christ crucified can bring healing. Entering into the rejection, betrayal, and abandonment of Christ touches where no psychological or circumstantial benefits can; submersion into His undeserved wounds alone can heal. 

In the Redeemer's wounds we find not the soothing of our broken hearts, but the validation of both our existence and our suffering. He wills us, both to live and to suffer, not as tormenting punishment, but as the only way of escaping the corruption of sin in our souls. If there were another way, how immediately would this loving Savior apply it to us!

Jesus Christ crucified is the ultimate message of love, and only divine charity can heal the wounds caused by rejection, betrayal, and abandonment. This is a profound mystery inaccessible to our intellects unaided by supernatural grace. Yet with even a minimum of faith in our blessed Lord's sacrifice on our behalf, heaven is opened and the grace of God's unfathomable love for us is poured upon us.

"He came to His own, and His own received Him not (St. John 1,11); His own disciple betrayed Him; on the cross He cried out, "My God, my God - why have You abandoned me?" This innocent Victim suffered for US; His wounds were propitiatory, substituting for the condemnation our sins and misdeeds rightly deserved. He alone felt the depths of grief, sorrow, agony, torments, loneliness, and fear that is ours. He alone can touch the deepest recesses of our spirit. Even if all else in our lives failed, this divine touch can heal us inwardly and equip us to face everything that life can throw at us, including the final crisis of death.

No, the love we need to address the wounds of rejection, betrayal, and abandonment will not be found in favorable circumstances, renewed thinking or happy times. It is only to be found on Golgotha's bloody mountain, where in the mystery of God's love for us all is justified, sanctified, and healed.

O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the living God be merciful to me, a sinner.  

Prayer in severe trial

O Lord, hide me in Thy precious wounds; I am unable to bear the battering winds of the calamity come upon me. My confidence is devastated; my strength collapsed. Unless You deliver me, I am without hope. 

Look not upon my sins which destroy all hope of Thy mercies; my transgressions are piled up to heaven. Break through the hardness of my heart, the stubbornness of my pride, the dullness of my carnal mind. 

In the day of my distress I called upon Thee alone; I did not resort to man nor his counsels, but to my God, my Creator, my Redeemer, my only hope.

Surely Thou art a God of compassion and fatherly goodness; Thou takest no delight in the despair and futility of Thy creatures which Thou hast conceived in love.

Make me to know that no matter how engulfed I am in darkness and misery, I have a Father in heaven Who loves me and will save me, even from myself.

Originally posted 29 June 2020

Abandonment and the Faithfulness of God

The soul that feels abandoned may seek for consolation, acceptance, and security from other souls that apart from good intention, may never be able to fill the awful void left by the experiences of abandonment. 

The Saints and mystics bid us to abandon ourselves to the divine will, trusting in the goodness and providence of our Creator and Redeemer. Yet for those with the awful experiences of abandonment, this type of trust can be elusive and even frightening. 

True security is not the mere *feeling* of security, which even for the most fortunate of us is fleeting. True security comes from the decision to believe that God will never abandon us. For wounded souls, this decision may have to be made a thousand times a day, each time as an act of faith in the goodness of God. 

Our Blessed Lord knows the desolation of abandonment as He cried out pitifully on the cross, Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani (my God, my God, why hast Thou abandoned me?). But this abandonment was for us, for our benefit, for our salvation, for our desperate need for ultimate security. The divine Son experienced abandonment so that He could perfectly understand it with a human mind, a human heart, and a human soul. And He understands our abandonment, our fear of rejection, our great need for trusting faith in the all-good God Who created us and sent His only Son to save us.

Baby steps are acceptable in the journey of trust. God can restore our willingness and ability to trust in Him, regardless of our personal experiences of being abandoned by men.

To Thee O Lord, I lift up my soul. 
In Thee O my God, I put my trust.
Let me not be ashamed.
Psalm 24:1

Originally posted 4 September 2015

On Fatherhood

 "...you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father)."  Romans 8,15

The baptized person certainly receives this spirit of adoption as the Lord and His apostles teach; yet this spirit must be accessed not only through the will but first through the intellect.

For millions of us in these dark times the figure of father is distorted, weakened, and obscured by relentless attacks from the so-called progressives, the media, and in the end, by the demon himself, whom our Lord named "the father of lies." Fatherhood is made superfluous by the state which subsidizes out-of-wedlock births; fatherhood is lampooned by the media which makes him the butt of jokes and the punchline of dark humor. Social commentators label any expression of virility as 'toxic masculinity' and replace the order of the family as constituted by the Creator with a synthetic democracy of equals.

Those who have grown up abandoned by their fathers or had them ripped from their lives by divorce carry within their intellect the trauma of this primal loss. Some have never even known their fathers or have been abused by common-law live-in substitutes who had no claim on their filial obedience. For so many of us, the idea of father is complex and troubling, evincing a multitude of thoughts and emotions that marshal our fears and restrict our trust. Is God a father like one of these I have known?

To us, Divine Providence has given Blessed Joseph, foster father of the Son of God. 

This gentle yet virile man among men was a descendant of the great King David which slew wicked Goliath; who accepted the virginal conception of Christ in the womb of Mary despite all inclinations to put her away quietly. This Joseph who modeled fatherhood for the formation of the human intellect of the God-Man is likewise given to us as a figure of the divine fatherhood to which St. Paul refers in the above quoted passage from Romans.

But we are not limited only to knowledge about Joseph; we are invited to engage his power as an intercessor here below who is so powerful in heaven. We are given such tender of examples of his fatherhood as we find in this ancient and much cherished prayer:

"Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath."

St. Joseph is also the patron saint of a happy and holy death as he merited decease in the luminous presence of Jesus and Mary. How much he has to offer our generation of fatherless and father-wounded pilgrims! No matter how terrible (or completely missing) our experience of fatherhood may be, the Holy Spirit is willing and able to heal those memories through contemplation of Blessed Joseph. 

Lastly, those of us who are fathers may also have discovered our weaknesses and deficiencies too late to mitigate their evil effects on our families, particularly our children. We cannot go back. What is done is done. But we can own those faults and in humility accept responsibility for them. We can do what is in our power to minister graces to our families by living in the example of Blessed Joseph. The harsh condemnations, accusations, cold silences and rejection of the values we raised our children with are now a heavy and agonizing cross, but a cross we never carry alone. God is with us in Christ our Savior Who shoulders these crosses with us in fathomless compassion. And our holy Mother the Church bids us in sweet invitation, "ite ad Josef" (go to Joseph).

Originally posted 13 August 2023

Deliver me from craven, servile fear O Lord

 Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain. And he that feareth, is not perfected in charity.

[Timor non est in caritate : sed perfecta caritas foras mittit timorem, quoniam timor poenam habet : qui autem timet, non est perfectus in caritate.]  1 John 4,18

On its face, this passage especially taken in the context set forward by St. John in the 4th chapter of his first epistle seems very simple and direct: fear - the belief that some severe harm is coming to us or could come - is incompatible with the charity (Greek: agape) that God has towards us. He that yet fears the wrath or vengeance of God is somehow deficient in his reception of divine love.
As simple as it is - it is not easy. For each of us well knows our undeserving status, in which we can lay no claims at all to the divine mercy of almighty God. The evidence of this divine love is the sacrifice which Christ offered to the Father for us sinners. Yet when I look upon the crucifix and see the agony of my Redeemer, rather than rejoice in how loved I am by this Holy Savior, I am appalled at what my sins have done to Him Who was completely innocent and deserving not only of my love but my unquestioning obedience.
God please help me to look past my innumerable faults and trespasses and receive this divine caritas which You not only lavish upon me daily - hourly - moment by moment - but are offended when I do not sufficiently trust in it.
Deliver me from craven, servile fear O Lord that I may boast only in Thy divine generosity. St. Joseph, please obtain for me the grace of childlike trust in the goodness of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

All reacti

The greatest grace we can receive is to trust in God

Our loving God sees our sorrows and torments and takes no pleasure in them. He loves us perfectly, and He loves also those with whom we disagree. He knows our struggles and failures, and is always ready to forgive, heal, and restore.

 The greatest grace we can receive is the grace to trust in God. All other benefits and benedictions are secondary to this most desirable of all spiritual and temporal treasures. O the struggles to attain this trust! Cease from striving and let the goodness of His divine love come to you in stillness and silence. His own peace ('shalom' - supernaturally imparted goodness, consolation, prosperity, contentment) is His gift to us. Perhaps our circumstances won't change immediately; but our inner disposition can in the will to trust with childlike dependence. 

 To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed.

 Psalm 24, 1-2

Originally posted 22 February 2017