The Mystery of Thanksgiving, A Crucifix, and Musician Emma Fradd

Well the Lord is supplying grace and it can overflowing at times in my life and sometimes it doesn't feel that way at all. I desire to share this with you all to hopefully give you hope and possibly some clarity. At times, it is tempting to wonder what is going on in our lives. How can we make sense of the troubling nonsense that seems to catch us off guard.  Immediately when we are caught off guard we tend to focus on ourselves and that disposition tends to block any receptivity of turning to Jesus, who should become our main focus in life. May I recommend simply gazing at the crucifix and kissing it. Do not worry about what others think. It is time we all detach from what others think and enter into the mystery. The spiritual world is very real, but doesn't always make sense when we take our eyes off of Jesus Crucified. Does it make any sense that we are healed by the wounds of Jesus? It's a mystery that only the heart can understand because sometimes the language of love is found in mere spoken words, rather it is expressed in a physical act of sorrow that satiates our longing for heaven while we sojourn on earth.

For Catholics the crucifix is a normal part of every Church and hopefully is a part of every home. If you do not currently have one in your home, I encourage you to purchase one, have a priest bless it this Sunday, and place it in a place that you will be seen every day.  The mystery of what Jesus continues to do for us should cause us to stop often and say a prayer of thanksgiving for how he continues to teach us how to divinize our human nature. However, not all understand why we have a crucifix as a part of our faith and I hope to shed some light in that darkness. That darkness looks different to all of us, but we are not called to remain in darkness, we are called to remain/abide in him as he remains/abides in us (cf John 15). The crucified Christ heals us and St. Augustine Confirms this when he wrote, "As then formerly he who looked to the serpent that was lifted up, was healed of its poison, and saved from death, so now he who is conformed to the likeness of Christ's death by faith and the grace of baptism, is delivered both from sin by justification, and from death by the resurrection: as He himself said," That whosoever believes in me shall not perish, but have life everlasting." 

So why do we have a crucifix in our Churches and hopefully in our houses. Well, if you have been attending Mass the past few days you were being fed the Word of God from the Book of Revelation. Yesterday, the Church providentially read Revelation 5:1-10. While reading, look at the words through the perspective of a crucifix.

1And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals; 2and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" 3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to into into it. 5Then one of the elders said to me, "Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." 6And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; 7and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; 9and they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth."

Did you see it? Did you hear the chant at the Mass before we receive our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament? Lamb of God, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the World (CF Jn 1:29 & Rev. 12:11) . Think of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Who opens the word? Who alone can alone unlock the Word of God? It is the Slain Lamb, who is Jesus Christ our Paschal Lamb. Who is nailed to the Cross other than the Slain Lamb, Jesus Christ? Only he can open the Word of God that seems sealed shut when at times we try to read it and it does not speak to our hearts. However, just as at Mass, we must read his word in the presence of a crucifix. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is Biblical in more ways than I can explain, but hopefully this opens the door of your heart a little more as to why Catholics have a crucifix in every Church and hopefully in their homes. Only the lamb that was slain is worthy to receive and break open its seals for Christ was slain and his blood was purchased for God for everyone in the world.

So how can we dive deeper into this mystery of the Crucifix? I would recommend and encourage 6 things:

1) Say you are sorry and repent (metanoia) by turning back to daily to Jesus Christ

2) Humble yourself by getting on your knees daily and surrender your life to Jesus Christ for 30 seconds (Be not afraid – John Paul II).

3) Ask to be an instrument of his peace daily and say please! (Saint Francis of Assisi)

4) Carry a crucifix in your pocket daily and hold it often. This will hopefully allow you say a short prayer that allows you to remember to pray so you can remain in communion with Jesus. (Corinthians 1:23 – St. Paul: But we preach Christ crucified . . .) I often pray the Jesus prayer when I hold my crucifix to pray always.

5) Contemplate the pierced side of Jesus. Pope Emeritus Benedict says that love begins at the pierced side of Christ (see Deus Caritas Est). Use your imagination creatively and pray in a disposition that he stirs in your heart. The spear that pierced Jesus’ side represents our sin and the blood and water that flows out represents birth to the Church, cleansing of our sins, and mercy for us so that we may become more merciful (CF Jn 3:30 – He must increase, I must decrease).

6) At some point in your day say a litany of thanksgiving for all that Jesus is doing. Thanksgiving is right around the corner for the world, but it should be an every day occurrence for Christians. To recognize and believe that Jesus is truly present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist. To understand his true presence we must become Eucharistic - become thankful always. Yes that means for everything (think of St. Therese the Little Flower). It’ll change your life forever! This is the beautiful mystery of Catholic Theology and Psychology. The Lord can work miracles with a grateful heart and do amazing things with that heart. It’s time we stop complaining so often because it closes the eyes of our hearts to our neighbors and it is time to start saying thank you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lastly, I present to you one of my favorite music artists named Emma Fradd.  Music has a way of bringing us closer to the things we truly desire and if we are not prudent, it can lead us down a path that has been traveled all too often that is destructive (CF Mt 7:14).  However, with Emma's music, I have found a depth that is very real and speaks directly to the human condition. A few of her songs I'd recommend downloading and spending time with in prayer are:  Losing Interest, Cross, Confirmed and Engraved,  Heavenly Physician, Wait  and if you are tired of the technology check out Crowded Isolation     As you listen, it may be helpful to check out her lyrics: here is the link for her lyrics.  Emma's music has helped me learn to empathize with others and to pray at the pierced side of Christ. Emma, if you ever read this, thank you for your dedication to music.

The Crucifix over time ought become a part of our every day life. As we enter into the Holiday Season, may our hearts proclaim Good Friday and no longer succumb to the busyness Black Friday. 

It is time to make every day your thanksgiving day by being Eucharistic.  As we enter into Christ the King Sunday, let us proclaim in our wounded hearts that Jesus is Lord and Jesus is King. Let us surrender to allow the mystery of the Crucifix enter into us so that we may be delivered and freed from all that is not Christ in our lives.

So what's it going to be? 

This choice is yours as he knocks at your heart's door.

Living in the Mystery,

Zach Weber

The Mystery of One Talk & Discipleship & Advent

Very rarely in life do we listen to one CD and want to give it away because it changed our lives. I can recount the number of music CD's that I purchased as a kid and when I really loved one of the CD's I would hold on to it forever. If I brought it over to a friends house I would make sure I didn't leave it there because of how much I connected with the music. Maybe you can relate to having similar circumstances. What would've happened if we shared that CD with a friend so it could change their life? Would the CD have been good for them or worse?

Disciples Spread the Good News: For those of you who do not know, I felt the call to the priesthood at the  Men of Christ Conference on January 17th, 2007.  That day I was fed in so many different ways, but ultimately I was fed with the truth. The speakers were passionate, funny, honest, zealous, and ultimately were on fire with the Holy Spirit. As I left that conference, my brother PJ went to the table of Fr. Larry Richards and purchased a few talks on CD called "The Truth," "Confession" and "The Mass."  PJ listened to them a few days later and asked me listen to them because he was so amazed at how much truth the Holy Spirit was feeding him with. The talk on confession is what I heard at the Men of Christ Conference and I have never been the same since. PJ couldn't get enough because of how the truth helps the soul heal. He had to share it with someone else. We began to ask more frequently "why does the Church do that? instead of only looking at what the Church says.

Meeting you where you are at: I didn't understand too much about what I professed to believe every Sunday.  As I started to discern the call to be a disciple of Jesus it wasn't easy because I knew next to nothing about the Catholic Faith and the Priesthood. If there is one thing I've learned about the Catholic Church and the Priesthood it is that if you know next to little or nothing about it, then it can intimidate you or even seem pointless. One talk by Father Donald Calloway changed my life because of his radical conversion story. I could relate to the tension he was going through. I'd highly recommend listening to his story called No Turning Back. However, over time, I came to know through different CD's how the Catholic Liturgy is so Biblical it started to bring me to tears as to what I felt the Lord was calling me to discern priesthood as his disciple. Can you believe that at one point in my life I didn't know what it meant to be Catholic or what the difference between being a Catholic or Christian was? (The Lord met me where I was at with my pridefulness and lack of Catechesis) With 35,000 different denominations calling themselves Christian, there has to be one true Church where it all started. I started to ask questions like: What came first the Bible or the Church? What do we mean by God when we say God? I was confused about all of the different denominations and these CD's helped me see with more clarity. Many of the talks I listened to were defended by converts from Protestant denominations or Judaism. Additionally, the culture says that I should be making as much money as possible, diving into all of my passions with women, and not worrying about the consequences. What does the Church have to say about that? Then I heard Christopher West talk about the Theology of the Body and I found John Paul II's teaching calling me to a life of virtue and continence. Also, what about marriage and homosexuality? Fr. Mike Schmitz talk From Love, By Love, For Love blew me away. These CD's have helped me look for the why first in the Church instead of only focusing on the what. I am not a bookworm because I do not read right away to get interested in a subject. I'd consider myself more of a tapeworm (audio orientated) when learning a subject. If you like books, most websites that have different talks on the faith sell books too. Typically, by word of mouth or by a CD/MP3 I will get interested and then begin to do some reading. It's still a mystery to me to this day how God is working through media in a positive way.

Disciples Press Pause in Prayer or for Prayer: Just one CD changed my life and helped me to become more comfortable with the call to a disciple of Jesus Christ. I would go back to the CD's/MP3's over and over. The most important part of the talks is to pray with the themes/topics or press pause when something strikes your heart. The Lord desires us to talk to him through prayer when our heart is moved. I can remember going on long drives (sometimes 10 hours to Saint Meinrad Seminary) and pressing pause very often to talk to the Lord in prayer about something I just heard or when listening to a talk on the passion being moved to tears by the passion of Christ. (To grow in prayer is to move slow in prayer.) There would be times when I was working out, mowing the lawn, etc when I would be listening to a certain talk and I'd be drawn to talk to Jesus about it.  Most importantly, these talks helped me thirst for the Eucharist and for authentic community. Everything around me began to feel lacking when it wasn't supplemented with a truth or an invitation to look for a deeper reality with myself or others. These talks helped me discern the call to greatness as a disciple of Jesus Christ in his Church. We can even listen to the Bible on CD or apps on our phones now. Our excuses to not encounter Christ are dwindling by the hour.

Recommendation: Start! We all have to start somewhere. It is a lie that you are too old or too young. Don't fall into that trap. There are so many rich sources out there and when we hear the truth, our hearts will be moved by the Holy Spirt to help us desire it more and more. We are not idiots or stupid. When truth confronts us to make a choice, we have the freedom to engage it or wonder what could have been for days, months, and even years. Now is the time to engage your heart for the rest of your life.  Here are a few places to start engaging your call to discipleship and the call to greatness: 

Lighthouse Catholic Media

Fr. Barron's Word on Fire (Check out the Sunday Homily Page)

Fr. Mike Schmitz Homilies (Great for High School and College Students)

Matthew Kelly's "Dynamic Catholic"

St. Joseph Communications

Prayer is the most important: I am saving the best for last! If we need to learn how to do anything, it is to learn how to pray. Often we miss the point of prayer in America because we are so focused on results, production, and numbers. We want to see results happening, but that's not the purpose of prayer. To add to that, we struggle with silence at first, but that's normal in this noisy culture.  \We don't know what to do with it because silence magnifies our most dominate thoughts and if they are not holy then we tend to become anxious. Our thoughts will not always be holy because of our disordered desires from concupiscence. After a while, it the silence will become more peaceful and natural. A few of resources I've come across on prayer are:

Prayer - Fr. Larry 

Glimpses Along the Way of the Cross

Catechism: 2725-2758

There are so many sources on prayer and we need pray about who to share them with.

I'm sure that there are more resources than this, but it's a great place to start. One CD or one MP3 could change your life forever and you may just want to share it with someone else. It's an invitation to be who you were created to be: a beloved disciple and to be strengthened in mind, body, and soul. If one of these talks touches your heart then share it with someone.

Have I given you enough resources to start with or to think about? I sure hope so, but the last three I will recommend are on Christmas and Advent. We are entering into the season of the mystery of the incarnation very soon! The Incarnation is the foundation of our faith.

The True Meaning of Christmas by Blessed Fulton J. Sheen

Journey through Advent - Fr. Barron

The Mystery of Christmas by Fr. Larry Richards


Living in the mystery and casting into the deep,

Zach Weber