The sure path is that of religion, that’s, to hope in energetic religion with a continuous reminiscence of the Ardour of Jesus. Once you can not meditate, as I’ve already defined to you in writing, repose in God in a sacred silence of affection with a pure, however candy and loving, consideration to God and residing religion. Oh, right here there might be no deception! One who practices this effectively, prays 24 hours a day, for then one is cautious to remain all the time within the presence of God, adoring him in spirit and in reality! Let your self be moved by this treasured spur which strikes you to like God very a lot. Let this treasured need soak you utterly and penetrate to the very marrow of your bones. (St. Paul of the Cross, Letter 87)
However all of us, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being remodeled into the identical picture from glory to glory, simply as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Cor 3:18
Jesus spoke these phrases, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and mentioned: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son additionally could glorify You, as You could have given Him authority over all flesh, that He ought to give everlasting life to as many as You could have given Him. And that is everlasting life, that they might know You, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom You could have despatched. I’ve glorified You on the earth. I’ve completed the work which You could have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me along with Your self, with the glory which I had with You earlier than the world was.”
John 17:1-5
This gaze upon Christ Crucified is transformative in that what we behold, we turn out to be.
The last word show of God’s glory is revealed in His loss of life upon the cross. As we behold Christ Crucified, we behold pure Love in motion. The Cross is the way in which that the Godhead determined to show extravagant pure love. “For God so liked the world that He gave His solely begotten Son.” (John 3:16) Gazing upon Christ Crucified via meditation is the pathway to obtain this Love into our very being and start to be remodeled by it. Love is transformative. His Love so displayed in blood has a very defining and momentous impact upon the soul that sees the Cross. Nothing competes with this outpouring within the horror in addition to the love.
This sight of Christ Crucified has an “imprinting” impact on the soul who witnesses this bloody scene. We will see this scene in our meditation, and from there the Lord can present us with the grace of contemplation. One who has been “imprinted” with this scene is one which is ready to “frequently behold Him in His Ardour” and be ever crammed with gratefulness, repentance, adoration, humility, in addition to different fruits of the Holy Spirit.
We’ll by no means “recover from” what He has finished for us on the Cross for all eternity and a billion years occasions a billion years. Christ’s loss of life on the Cross shall be celebrated and honored for all eternity.
Even now, we will start to share on this “everlasting life” of realizing Him totally. He every day provides us the chance to know Him on the deepest degree of affection as we convey each trial and struggling and use it to meditate upon His struggling on the Cross. Our struggling given over to Him is our glory as effectively for all eternity. How a lot we get to endure for His Identify shall be our biggest reward perpetually and ever. If we solely realized this reality, how in a different way we might deal with every trial and tribulation and heartache that comes our approach. In His nice love, He lets us take part in His Cross in some small approach.
This submit was initially printed on Higher Backyard and is reprinted right here with permission.
Picture courtesy of Unsplash.