Away

God has provided me with the sacraments so that I can return to Him with love, and He has provided me with perfect Love Itself in the form of the Holy Spirit.

Dead Christ Mourned by Two Angels (Bologna)

At the end of His Earthly life Christ died.

He did not just die in a simple private manner.  There was not quiet breath out during His sleep.  There was no kind nurse to help Him and listen to His last words.  There were strangers and nakedness and jeering.  His friends, who were like His brothers left Him and He had to watch His poor mother suffer in her grief and share in His pain without being able to protect her from it.

He was poor, alone and naked.  And then – after great and terrible torture, God died.

When He resurrected Himself from the dead after three days in the tomb, Christ returned to the same brothers who had deserted Him.  Never once did He blame them or criticise them for their desertion.  Never once did He ask them where were you?  Or, how could you leave me like that?  Or, did you even bother to check on my Mother to make sure she was alright and could have a home to live in?  He did not ask them, why were you not at my burial or funeral (having lived with me as my brothers for three years?  He never asked, why did you leave my naked body with a stranger, when you know how much I love you?

Instead, He returned from the dead and embraced them all with love and gentleness and told them that He would need to go away again.  And this time, they understood why…

“‘But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.’” (John 16:5-11).

And I have been reflecting on that.  Because the Holy Spirit is here for me too.  You see, I also reject God and allow others to bury Him and suffer with Him.  I also reject His Blessed Mother and offer her no comfort due to my sinfulness.  Saint Pope John Paul II said, “Go to Confession. It's so sad to be away from God!”

It is sad to live without God, especially when we have been created, not just to live with God but to And as I reflect on the gift of the Holy Spirit to me, I am overcome by the Grace of such a gift.  Because God has provided me with the sacraments so that I can return to Him with love, and He has provided me with perfect Love Itself in the form of the Holy Spirit.

And that is more of a miracle than anything else that I could ever imagine…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.

 At the end of His Earthly life Christ died.

He did not just die in a simple private manner.  There was not quiet breath out during His sleep.  There was no kind nurse to help Him and listen to His last words.  There were strangers and nakedness and jeering.  His friends, who were like His brothers left Him and He had to watch His poor mother suffer in her grief and share in His pain without being able to protect her from it.

He was poor, alone and naked.  And then – after great and terrible torture, God died.

When He resurrected Himself from the dead after three days in the tomb, Christ returned to the same brothers who had deserted Him.  Never once did He blame them or criticise them for their desertion.  Never once did He ask them where were you?  Or, how could you leave me like that?  Or, did you even bother to check on my Mother to make sure she was alright and could have a home to live in?  He did not ask them, why were you not at my burial or funeral (having lived with me as my brothers for three years?  He never asked, why did you leave my naked body with a stranger, when you know how much I love you?

Instead, He returned from the dead and embraced them all with love and gentleness and told them that He would need to go away again.  And this time, they understood why…

“‘But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.’” (John 16:5-11).

And I have been reflecting on that.  Because the Holy Spirit is here for me too.  You see, I also reject God and allow others to bury Him and suffer with Him.  I also reject His Blessed Mother and offer her no comfort due to my sinfulness.  Saint Pope John Paul II said, “Go to Confession. It's so sad to be away from God!”

It is sad to live without God, especially when we have been created, not just to live with God but to And as I reflect on the gift of the Holy Spirit to me, I am overcome by the Grace of such a gift.  Because God has provided me with the sacraments so that I can return to Him with love, and He has provided me with perfect Love Itself in the form of the Holy Spirit.

And that is more of a miracle than anything else that I could ever imagine…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.