Hosana filio David...

The same crowd of Jews spreading palm branches out one day, crying "Hosanna to the Son of David...blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord", "Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini", are the same to haughtily scream and clamour: "Crucifigatur"...let Him be crucified.

And how we resemble them.

We glorify and follow God as it is convenient for us.  We do what we want when we want it.  If it strikes our fancy to adhere to what we know is right, we'll do it, and pat ourselves on the back for our fidelity to Divine Law.  (Benedictus...)  But the clock ticks, the hours pass, and the Truth of Christ is no longer convenient, no longer comfortable.  We decide that it's easier to get rid of the One telling us this inconvenient Truth.  (Crucifigatur.)  --(Thanks to Fr. C.M. for inspiring these thoughts by preaching on the inconvenience of Truth.)--

When we decide that Truth, that Christ, is enough for us, and that we are willing to pay any price or make any sacrifice to remain loyal to Him, we will be able to accept the Resurrection and life which inevitably follows the Cross upon which we have thrown Him.

Daybreak

The moment you feel the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders...
The clear-headed feeling of all being right with the world...
The perfect and peaceful joy, indescribable and unshakable...
The knowledge that everything will work out in the end...

The sight, whether literal or figurative, of a sunrise so profound and beautiful that you're standing on top of the world...

The daybreak of the soul.

I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen: not because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else. (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

And thank God for it.  Sometimes it comes so suddenly and unexpectedly that you can't help but praise Him.  Maybe He purposefully designed such movements of the heart, to draw man back to Himself a little more obviously.  A wonderful reminder of our total dependence on His providence and mercy.

What Matters Most

Often times, we're taken off guard in life - we're so set in our ways and theories and our comfort zone that when something radical is asked of us, we shy away.  Unless even the surprise catches us by surprise.  Sometimes the most natural inclinations and intuitions we have toward a situation (fight, flight, or anything in between) are what are most true.  Fr. McTeigue has long told me that being patient is merely being present to the present, enjoying (or enduring) what is right in front of us, labouring neither over the past nor worrying about the future.  For someone as serious-minded, meticulous, and detail-oriented as myself, I am naturally disinclined to follow such logic.  I worry about almost everything.  But then God comes along and reminds me that He already knows how things are going to turn out, that everything happens for a reason, and that joys and sorrows alike are hand-picked by Him for my salvation.  What matters most is responding to the grace He offers when He offers it.  It's easy to put it off, to "think about it" for a while, and to delay making a decision.  But, to take St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus (the one to whom God Almighty entrusted both His Son and His most precious creature, Mary) for an example...when the Holy Ghost acted in his soul, he moved.  Without question, without hesitation, no matter how bizarre the request.  He acted on it wholeheartedly, without delay.  And so should we act.  Responsiveness to God's grace in our lives is crucial.  Whether it's a conversation in passing, a "debate", a meaningful friendship, however it manifests itself, recognizing and pursuing the Truth is something God offers us on a daily basis.  If we have the ears to hear and the eyes to see...let us pray for the courage to act.