Man Wanted To Kill Him

Very special guest blogger today: my wonderful husband Jay!

Saint Pope John Paul II was a great man, a great pope and rare! He was rare for many reasons. Most rare because he lived and was canonized both within our lifetime.

He was so joyful. He was humble. He was so much a people's Pope. The accolades go on but nothing stands out in my mind more than seeing pictures of the Pope face to face . . . with his assassin. 

The man who tried to take his life was sitting right in front of him and the Pope was patiently listening to the man, offering forgiveness. Yes . . . offering to forgive the man for the pain and suffering the Pope had endured.

Yes, Jesus would have done the same . . . but wasn't He God? Didn't He have it a little easier some how? The answer is no. He endured verbal humiliation, violent torture, and an excruciating death. And no, He did not experience it any less than you or I would. He experienced this world fully human. He suffered and He forgave.

Yes, we are called to do the same . . . and the leader of the Catholic Church worldwide did just that. In St. Pope John Paul II's words, he said, "Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil."

Todays Gospel (John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30) shows many full of judgement:

Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea,

because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from.

Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.

In the Monthly Message from September 2010, Jesus warns us not to judge:

“Allow Me to see to justice because only I am equipped to pass judgement. You must see to loving, despite any wounds you have suffered. I am the greatest victim of injustice so I am the best consoler. Bring your suffering to Me and I will send you away with love, which you will then continue to distribute on My behalf. Be serious about My work, dear apostles. It is important.” 

Lay apostles, we are being asked to be quick with mercy and slow to judge. Think about the times in your life where someone was extremely compassionate vs. other times someone judged you harshly. Know that God is a God of compassion and He calls us to be compassionate people. 

Thank you, Lord, for being compassionate with me, especially during times where I have judged others harshly.

In humility and gratitude,

Jay

School of Holiness Quick Highlights #3

School of Holiness- Quick Highlights #3

 

  

  

From the notebooks of Tommy and Annie

July 8th, 2014

    Margaret gave the first talk of the morning. The focus of her talk was on increasing self-awareness and challenging negative beliefs. It is necessary that a child fall while learning to walk; the same is true of relationships and life experiences.Mentally framing things positively rather than negatively, accesses the more mature part of our brains. This helps us to relate to others from our secure selves rather than our wounded selves.  Contemplative prayer is neuroscientifically proven to make us more compassionate towards ourselves and others.. Self-awareness involves understanding  your wounds and thereby creating authentic relationships . Self-awareness involves three A’s: awareness, acceptance, and action. To be self-conscious is not the same as being aware because it is not grounded in self.

From the notebooks of Annie and Tommy

July 9th, 2014

    Margaret opened with a recap of yesterday’s lesson on self-awareness and went more in depth on the topic. The first part of self-awareness is awareness in which the individual must tune into their body and their thoughts and feelings. The second part is acceptance. When you know what your feelings are, you have to accept that you have them. Two ways that we fail to accept our feelings are denial and judgement. The third part is action. You have two choices on how to respond to your emotions once you are aware and accepting of them. Self-awareness helps you to challenge your distorted beliefs and make different choices.

   

From the notebooks of Annie and Tommy

July 10th, 2014

    This morning, the painting of Our Lady, Queen of the Church arrived from Poland with artist Janusz Antosz. Also, newly arrived this morning was Dr. Mark Miravalle. He spoke to us about Our Lady Queen of the Church, specifically the queenship of Mary and her role in the church as queen mother. Jesus is the king of the universe, as his mother is the queen. Her intercession is as unlimited as her son’s kingdom. The role of mother by its very nature is also the role of a mediator. Mothers mediate between God and their children. Mary mediated the mediator, Christ, to the world. As Mother Teresa said, “No Mary, no Jesus.” A good mother does three things: suffers for her children, nourishes her children, and intercedes for her children. Mary does all of these things for every one of us. She was called to be the Co-redemptrix with Jesus. She was spiritually crucified with her son. As the Immaculate Conception, she would have not experienced any effects of the fall, including pain from childbirth and did not even entertain uncharitable thoughts to her son’s killers. Dr. Mark asked us to imagine that the person we loved most in the world was in the place of Jesus during his crucifixion. Jesus gave us his mother to be our mother and the mother of His church as his last act before dying upon the cross. In this way she became the mediatrix of all graces from Christ to the world. Mary is the queen of the Atheists, of the Agnostics, of the entire world.  The symbolism of the painting was discussed and the floor opened for questions.

Read more updates and notes (click here)