Praying and Running

 Luke 23:33-34 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left.[Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”] They divided his garments by casting lots. One thing I have learned about praying the Rosary regularly is that you always have the chance of stumbling onto something so profound that it makes you think "Man, I really have to reassess my life with this in mind." As I learned again the other night, sometimes this thing that you find that is so profound is something you have always heard, something you have know as long as you have known your own name. It is ingrained in you, you know that it is part of the faith. The problem is, it is so comfortable to you, it is so much a part of the landscape of your faith that you actually quit seeing it. You know it, but at the same time it is foreign and you never even think to apply it to your own life. I say the Rosary...

John 6:53-69 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever" These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he ...

Luke 23 13-16 Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people and said to them, "You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him, nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us. So no capital crime has been committed by him. Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him." In the 2nd Sorrowful mystery we pray to bear our earthly pain and suffering with Christian fortitude. One the thing that struck me while contemplating this mystery is the question, how often to I act like Pilate. What I mean by that is that Pilate knew that our Lord was innocent. He knew that jealousy drove the chief priest and elders to bring Christ before him with the outrageous charges they were making. But, he feared their disapproval of him more than he feared accusing and punishing an innocent person. While co...

John 19:16-17 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. In the 4th Sorrowful Mystery we pray for the grace to bear our trials with patients. The 4th Sorrowful Mystery has, as I find many times, obliterated what I thought was just a cliche and through the contemplation of this mystery I have seen the truth in the old saying "everyone has their cross to bear". First of all I am brought back to Mark 8:34 where our LORD says "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." As a Christian my only goal in life should be to be a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to do that I don't need a bunch of stuff. My goal shouldn't be a better job, a bigger house, a "picture perfect" family. If I somehow end up with these things, then so be it. But my purpose should be to be a di...

Matthew 27:27-31 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him. The 3rd Sorrowful Mystery is the "Crowning with Thorns". This Mystery recalls the time after Christ was scourged at the pillar. The roman soldiers mock Jesus by calling Him "King of the Jews" and then treating Him badly. The soldiers give Him all of the symbols of a King in a way that hurts Him. In other words they are just making sport of Him. The soldiers call Christ King and then go on to ...

Mathew 3:13-17 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." One lesson I have learned while meditating on the Baptism of the LORD is that sometimes we must accept a mission or job or task from GOD that we don't think we are up to or worthy to preform. You see how John says, "Oh no, I am not worthy to baptize you. If anything I need to be baptized by you." At this point our LORD wanted to do something. We all know that Ch...

Luke 2:22-40 The Presentation of Jesus When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the Child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took Him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, You may let your servant go in peace, according to Your word, for ...