WATCHWORD:
You leave Jerusalem by the eastern-most gate, the Golden Gate or the Gate of Mercy, and you walk into the Kidron Valley, across the Kidron Stream, and you find yourself in the Garden of Gethsemane. If you listen carefully with your heart you might hear, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet no y will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42.
Meditation:
Jesus, the perfect God, the perfect human. Who among us has not wished “this cup of isolation away” from our lips? Yet, Your will, God, not mine. Amen.
From Elisa Morgan, Our Daily Bread for April 1: Every coin has two sides. Christ’s prayer in the garden possesses two sides. In the deepest hours of His life, on the night before he died, Jesus prayed ‘Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me…” That’s the raw honesty of prayer. He reveals His personal desire, ‘This is what I want.” Then Jesus turns the coin, praying ‘not my will’. That is the side of abandon. Abandoning ourselves to God begins when we simply say, ‘But what do You want, God?’ Yes, Lord, I confess, I would like it back the way it was before all this, but not my will, but thine. I rest in your love, Precious Lord and Savior. Amen.
From Mac McKinley–
The Fruits of Their Perfect Love
Each new day the Father dons his harvest apron,
Picks up his ladder and carries it to the tree of life.
Once there, He places the ladder to
rest against the highest branches.
Then He ascends the ladder, rung by rung
until He reaches the lowest branch.
His age old hands inspect each fruit one by one;
many are old but some are young.
He deems them all too green for harvest.
He ascends the ladder rung by rung
until he reaches the highest branches.
Again his age old hands inspect each fruit one by one,
many are old but some are young.
Here some of the fruits have ripened in the
forgiveness of the risen Son.
The ripest of these fruits he picks one by one,
many are old but some are young.
He places them in his harvest apron
and descends the ladder rung by rung,
He picks it up and returns to his heavenly home.
He empties the apron into a holy vessel
and gives it to his risen Son.
Now the risen Sons age old hands inspect each fruit one by one
and through his forgiveness and sacrificed blood,
He scrubs them free of every sickness and sin.
He places the perfectly cleansed fruit
back in the vessel and hands it to the
age old hands of the Holy Spirit.
Now the age old hands inspects each fruit one by one
and finding them perfectly clean uses his Holy Power to place
them in their Heavenly home, Never again to be old or young but
forever, forever and forever in the perfect Love of the Three in One
— Food for thought in these hard times. Mac
From Stan Escott: I met Murray Bodo at the Catholic Retreat – John 23 Center – years ago. Murray is a Franciscan monk, who, at that time, taught creative writing at the University of Cincinnati. He is now a permanent resident of the Saint Francis Center, Assisi, Italy. Among his many writings is this:
After the catch in the throat that signaled terror at your leaving
And the wild poundings against the boat,
After fearing the walk upon the waters heaving the salty seas waves’
invitation to float,
You came inside and, silently grieving with me,
pretended not to note my cowardice and non-believing.
Yes, it is April! And this is April Fool’s Day! We must have a joke or a trick, let’s settle for a joke!
