The New Creation, an Easter Meditation Reply

by • Art and Evangelization, Easter, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , , ,
The new creation sharpened 11X14 with copy right

Alison Batley Stone, “The New Creation,” collagraph and intaglio print

“The New Creation,” a collagraph and intaglio print, is a meditation on the whole of salvation history, which we are called to reflect upon at Easter. The six days of creation are illustrated in a womb like structure surrounding the central figures. In the Genesis narrative, the Tree of Life was placed in the center of the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve had open access to this vital fruit. Instead, they chose to partake of the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, bringing about their expulsion and death. Man and woman became trapped within this spoiled produce, losing their communion with God, themselves, each other, and all of creation. More…

An Ancient Homily on Holy Saturday Reply

by • Holy Week, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , ,

Today,  we accompany the Blessed Virgin Mother in her grief over the loss of her innocent son, as she looks back over his life and ponders all those treasures she held deeply in her heart. In turn, Mary accompanies us, and teaches us to reflect on and appreciate the graces our Lord won for us through his sacrifice on the cross.

In today’s Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church meditates on a renowned Ancient Homily, whose anonymous author presents these great mysteries of our faith as a dialogue between Jesus Christ, who has descended to the dead, and Adam, who he calls forth to join him in paradise.

Here is a video that contains the entire homily accompanied by beautiful artworks to illustrate these sacred mysteries of our faith and the great gift that Jesus Christ won for us on this day. The full text of the homily is also included below. More…

Five Ways to Live the Liturgy through the Readings during Holy Week Reply

by • Holy Week, Lent, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , , , , ,

For me the most beautiful liturgical time of the year has always been Holy Week. Through the readings at daily Mass I can relive the unfolding drama of Christ’s Passion leading up to the climax of the Cross. Then after pondering those events in my heart outside the tomb on Holy Saturday, I awaken with deeper joy at the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Every year, although it’s the same story, I find myself accompanying Christ differently, depending on where I am in my own journey at the time, and how God speaks to me through the liturgy. I find he never stops speaking to me and revealing himself to me in different ways. This year, with the circumstances we’re living, I’m expecting Christ to reveal something great, More…

Jesus and You: The Raising of Lazarus from the Dead 2

by • Lent, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , , , ,

Today’s meditation on the Raising of Lazarus (John 11) is the last post in my series on the scrutinies, which began with the Third Sunday of Lent. I recommend reading the first post in the series, “What are the scrutinies?” before reading this one.

Meditation for the Fifth Sunday of Lent: the Third Scrutiny

Over the last two weeks, you were invited to place yourself in the shoes of a beloved soul, who had a unique encounter with Christ: two weeks ago, it was the Samaritan Woman at the Well; last week, the Man Born Blind. It is possible for you to do this, because you are the beloved soul in Christ’s eyes. It is he who invites you to this encounter. More…

Why Does God Allow It? Reply

by • Lent, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , , , ,

Reflection on the Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent

I went down into the countries underneath the earth, to the peoples of the past. But you lifted my life from the pit, Yahweh, my God.
(Jonah 2:7, The Jerusalem Bible (1966), English Translation, J.R.R. Tolkien)

The prayer of Jonah from the belly of a whale symbolizes Israel’s state of desolation, crying out to God in exile. More…

Happy Feast of the Annunciation! Reply

by • Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , ,

Teaching from home these days has been a learning experience. I’ve managed to adapt my lessons into online presentations, and from the feedback I have gotten back from the students so far, they seem to be learning. Thank God.

I feel I’ve dropped the ball in other areas, though, since I have this blog about Catholic liturgy and I didn’t post anything for St. Patrick’s Day or the Solemnity of St. Joseph. I could not let today’s Solemnity go by without publishing something. More…

Christ Opens Your Eyes: the Healing of the Man Born Blind Reply

by • Lent, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , , ,

This post is part of a series on the scrutinies, which I began last week. You may want to read the first post in the series, “What are the scrutinies?” before reading this one.

Meditation for the Fourth Sunday of Lent: the Second Scrutiny

“As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.” (John 9:1)

Place yourself in the shoes of the blind man, for in today’s story, he is you. Jesus takes notice of you. Are you aware just how close he is to you now? What obstacles may be preventing you from seeing Jesus in your life? Humbly ask him to remove those obstacles that you may see him more clearly. More…

What Does God Want Us to See? 2

by • Lent, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , , , ,

Reflection on the Readings for Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday! (the Second Scrutiny)

I’ve got some good news: REJOICE! It’s Laetare Sunday! We are more than halfway through Lent.

On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Church invites us to celebrate Laetare Sunday as a liturgical way of saying “Lift up your eyes! See the light at the end of the tunnel!” This Sunday, Christ calls us to exercise our faith in a special way, by doing something that perhaps we tend not to even think about during Lent – Rejoice! Be Joyful!

Rejoice, you say?

Given the present state of circumstances, it’s understandable why some – perhaps many – of us aren’t feeling it, or can’t see it right now. If that’s a problem, then this Sunday’s readings were especially chosen for you. More…

Christ Reveals Himself to You: the Woman at the Well Reply

by • Lent, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , , ,

This post is part of a series on the scrutinies, which began earlier this week. I recommend reading the first post in the series, “What are the scrutinies?” before reading this one.

Meditation for the Third Sunday of Lent: the First Scrutiny

The shortest sentence in the Gospel is a solitary word our Lord uttered from the Cross: “Sitio,” in Latin, which translates into English as “I thirst.” (John 19:28)

With this word Jesus reveals how he, as God, longs to be in an intimate relationship with us. He thirsts for our souls. As a man, he shares in our sufferings, aches, and pains. When it comes to yearnings, nothing compares to thirst, because when you’re thirsty there’s only one thing on your mind until you get it, one thing that will satisfy you. Water. More…

Where Is God? Reply

by • Lent, Liturgical Logic • Tags: , , , ,

Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent

In 2007, a book containing the letters of Mother Teresa was published under the title, Come Be My Light. Her writings revealed that this great saint, whose selfless actions taught the world that where there is love there is God, had great difficulty experiencing the presence of God in her own life.

While it may cause some of us to doubt, “If this woman couldn’t feel God’s presence, how can I?” I believe the truth of the matter is one of universal significance that makes Mother Teresa more relatable to all of us: we don’t always see the work of God in our lives; we don’t always feel him with us. More…