Let Us Go to the Last Supper with Jesus and His apostles.

Have you ever wondered how many people were at the last supper? Was it really only the twelve apostles? Jesus had many disciples. Were none of them included in that sacred night? The painting above, by Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet (18th c.), includes a few extras -- servants? Tintoretto in the late 16th century included even more.

One of the things I love about the Spiritual Exercises is St. Ignatius's advice to include yourself in scriptural scenes. What would it be like to be at the last supper: to see Jesus washing the feet of his apostles, hearing him give the last discourse? Will you go to the Last Supper today in your mind and see Jesus's face as He speaks the words of consecration? Will you see His grief as He points out His betrayer who dips in the dish with Him?

May this day be a source of blessing for all of us as we experience these final moments in the earthly life of Christ. Let us be witnesses who can then proclaim the truth of the life, passion, death, and resurrection of our Blessed Lord.

Lord Jesus, help me to enter into Your passion that it may set me on fire and make me a burning furnace of charity.

Spy Wednesdays from the past

I've written many posts on Spy Wednesday over the years. Here are a few. Today I'll be meditating on the betrayals in my own life. My sins were among those that caused Jesus's bloody sweat. Let me put sorrow for my sins in the cup of consolation the angel brought to Him in the garden. 

 Did Jesus Love Judas?

Why it's called Spy Wednesday

How does the evil one mess with you?

Betrayal

Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord.

I'm a beekeeper so when I saw this quote I had to share it.

"As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience."

+ St. Basil the Great

What will the pope say next?

Pope Leo says God doesn't listen to the prayers of those who "wage war." Really? History tells a different story. Pope Urban II and Pope Gregory X both called for crusades to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. And then there is the significance of the Battle of Lepanto that saved Europe from Islam's advance. Had the West not "waged war" we would likely all be answering the Islamic call to prayer today. Yes, blessed are the peacemakers, but sometimes peace has to be won through war.

A Palm Sunday Poem from The Donkey (And GKC)

Sunday Meditation: Honor or Dishonor? Palm Sunday and Good Friday!

What a week this is from Palm Sunday to Holy Thursday to Good Friday to Easter Sunday. We experience a range of emotions from the incredible honoring of Jesus as Christ the King by the crowds on Palm Sunday, to the Last Supper and the institution of the priesthood on Holy Thursday, to the betrayal by Judas and the evil trial by the Sanhedrin that broke every rule in the book during the passion. It's exhausting even to think about the journey including the Stations of the Cross, the last short, but agonizing, stretch to Golgotha.

The Attraction of Courage!

There is something about the virtue of courage that calls to my heart in a way that many other virtues do not. Why is that I wonder? Is it because our modern world overflows with cowardice, that so few are willing to defend the truth? Fr. John Hardon often urged parents to raise their children to be martyrs. "You do not remain faithful to the Savior without paying for it," he once said. 

Of Clerics in Black and Small, Black Hive Beetles

My husband and I are beekeepers. During the Spring we check the hives regularly to try to prevent swarming and keep pests under control. On our last inspection we noticed a significant small beetle infestation in the hives. These creepy little black bugs eat the honey, lay their larvae in the cells and can become so great a nuisance that the bees give up altogether and abscond abandoning the hive to the invaders. When we see them, we need to take action. I've ordered traps that I'll fill with a solution of apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, and soap. Hopefully they will be attracted to the scent. They supposedly like fermented things. The scent attracts them and they fall into the traps and drown. Good-bye beetle problem. At least that's the hope.

The Sad Legacy of the Vatican II Church

I was thinking about going to see my sister for a few days. Frederick, MD is halfway on the two hour journey to her home. We've met in Frederick before and walked the Cross Creek path which is lovely and level. So I was looking at restaurants in the area where we might stop after hiking and before going back to her place.

Meditation on the Feast of the Annunciation by Fr. Gordon MacRae

March 25 

- Written By Fr. Gordon J. MacRae

March 25, Solemnity of the Annunciation

The Gospel of Saint Luke opens with a news flash from the Archangel Gabriel for Zechariah the priest, and Mary — Theotokos — the new Ark of the Covenant. On the 25th day of March, the Church remembers the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary marking a pivotal event in Salvation History. The account is conveyed to us in the first chapter of the Gospel According to Saint Luke, a Gentile physician and a companion of the Apostle Paul. Several of the Fathers of the Early Church attribute the Third Gospel to Saint Luke and affirm his authorship of it. I once wrote of this unique Gospel in “Saint Luke the Evangelist, Dear and Glorious PhysicianThis Gospel reveals many facets of the life and mission of Jesus, but foremost among them is its universal message of Salvation. Luke, despite being a Gentile, anchors his Gospel in the traditions of the earlier Covenant, the Old Testament, portraying Jesus as the Savior and Redeemer of God’s Old Covenant people. He thus presents Jesus in history as one foretold by the Prophets (Isaiah 11:10-12, 49:6, and Ezekiel 39:25-29). Luke thus depicts Jesus as the Royal Messiah in the line and legacy of King David to reunite the scattered tribes of Israel and gather them into one nation. Given that he is the only Gentile Evangelist, that is an amazing feat through which Luke has prepared an artistic and spiritual masterpiece.                             [Read the rest at Beyond These Stone Walls.]