Anniversary

That's us, 15 years ago, at our reception into the Catholic Church! JOY! I could not have dreamed of all the blessings God has bestowed upon us as we journey to our heavenly home. Truly, it is as Jesus said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit." John 3:5 

And He continues to explain, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." John 3:16 is often emblazoned on billboards. Truth! But it's sobering to read further:

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God." John 3:16-21 Here it is in song by Sir John Stainer: https://youtu.be/m5p2F7P8uTQ

Because we were atheists, I feel the gravity of the Word. Word made Flesh. We did the most terrible thing in the world--killed God. "Forgive them, for they know not what they do," He cried from the Cross. When I cross myself, the first stroke is top to bottom (Father-->Son), I think how Jesus came down from heaven and entered into the depths of my sinfulness. He took upon Himself the punishment I deserved. And because He lives, I can say now I am free! Free! Free to be the person He created me to be. And He has done this for each of you, too! I cannot fathom a love like His. We don't deserve it. But over and over I experience His Love. St. Gemma Galgani, on whose feast day we were received, often signed "la tua povera Gemma" because she felt she loved poorly. Oh, Gemma, we're all poor compared to Love Himself.

It's also the Feast of Pope St. Leo the Great! He's a Doctor of the Church most famous for meeting Attila the Hun and for elucidating the dual nature of Jesus: fully man, fully divine, in complete union, with no confusion or division. It's also the Feast of St. Stanislaw of Poland. He was martyred because he dared to tell the king to not be an adulterer, to repent and live a moral life. Praise God for all His faithful who have the courage to speak truth. Our Lord Jesus has prayed for us to be consecrated in the truth (John 17:17). Let us never fear men and what they can do to us or take away from us. Let us only be in holy fear of the Lord. And pick up our Cross and carry it.   

The Cross! My second stroke is up and toward my right shoulder. I rise from the pit of sin, washed clean in His Precious Blood. And the third stroke is horizontal (Holy Spirit), I think of how His grace flows through me to others. My life has the shape of a Cross, the vertical dimension, eyes raised to heaven, and the horizontal, toward my neighbor. Worship comes first! Praise and thanksgiving! I am so thankful to be a child of Light. I'm always searching for truth and I found it in Christ. And so I sing Exultate justi in Domino... https://youtu.be/6AMUX43EMhI (Psalm 33:1-3) 

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just; praise befits the upright.
Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings.
Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise.
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just; praise befits the upright.

Views in and from the choir loft at our 15th Easter Vigil.