Jesus Christ the King

We have reached the last Sunday of the liturgical year, wherein we honor the Kingship of Jesus Crucified, Risen, and Glorified.

Pope Francis shared these words with us.

Saint Cecilia and the “Gladness” of Music

"The Lord is our savior; we shall sing to stringed instruments in the house of the Lord all the days of our life" (Isaiah 38:10).

Yesterday was Saint Cecilia's Day, and I am sending out thoughts and prayers especially to all my musician friends. In many cultures this day is celebrated as “Music Day.” 

Saint Cecilia—who was another heroic young woman who loved Jesus and gave everything for Him—is the third century Roman martyr who “praised the Lord in song.” In iconography (such as we have here) Cecilia is often depicted carrying a musical instrument, in this case a miniature pipe organ. Her connection to music stems from an experience given to her by God, but she is something more than an abstract symbol. As the patroness of music, Saint Cecilia is, in the presence of God, the friend and helper of all musicians and singers. The music that the Lord gave her in the depths of her soul—which she alone could hear—resounds in the ancient chants and later musical compositions that enrich the liturgical prayer of the Church. It also echoes within all the music written by composers or recorded by music ensembles that raises us beyond ourselves and reminds us of the wonderful and inescapable longing of our hearts. Even in distant and/or obscure performances, music “tries to remind us” that we are made for God.

I would have liked to have written something more specific about music, but I don’t have the energy right now. It’s a topic that means so much to me that I would have to give it more thorough attention, and I don’t feel capable of doing this kind of work right now. Perhaps I will write something before Christmas or during the Christmas season, so “stay tuned.”

The Collect Prayer for this feast reflects that it “gladden[s] us,” and these words articulate the special joy of this day. It’s a feast day that brings us the gladness that music engenders within our hearts, and so much more. Music can be a beautiful instrument of God’s grace, and it also can express all the urgency of the human search for the Mystery that gives meaning to everything.

O God, who gladden us each year

with the feast day of your handmaid Saint Cecilia,

grant, we pray,

that what has been devoutly handed down concerning her

may offer us examples to imitate

and proclaim the wonders worked in his servants by Christ your Son.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen. Saint Cecilia, pray for us!

Ukraine: A Thousand Days of Suffering… and Love

In this week’s General Audience, Pope Francis commemorated the 1000th day of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine (which was Tuesday, November 19) by sharing with the whole Church and the world an extraordinary testimony that was sent to him by a young person in Ukraine. It refers specifically to the Pope’s frequent references to the terrible suffering inflicted on the Ukrainian people in these past 1000 days of war. The writer wanted Francis to emphasize that the suffering of Ukrainians is not simply a passive affliction. Through their faith in Jesus Christ, suffering Ukrainians are learning to love in more profound ways: to love God, one another, their country, and even—perhaps—to love their enemies and persecutors.

This student’s experience indicates the grace of God that is being poured out on Ukraine at this time, a grace that is sustaining the faith of many Ukrainians and shaping their mentality (even if only a few might speak as this student does). Perhaps we may hope that Ukraine might emerge from this terrible ordeal with a new kind of patriotism, a new way of understanding and experiencing their national identity as a form of love and solidarity that reflects the light of the Gospel, as a special commitment to a more human way of living born of the transformative reality of faith—a way of living that is a blessing for the whole world.

Here is the text of Pope Francis reading this great and moving letter:

I received a letter from a young Ukrainian university student. It reads: "Father, when, on Wednesday, you remember my country and are able to speak to the whole world on the thousandth day of this terrible war, I ask you not to speak only of our suffering but also of our faith. Although it is imperfect, that does not diminish its value, because it paints, with painful strokes, a portrait of the Resurrected Christ. There have been too many deaths in my life recently. It is difficult to live in a city where a missile kills and wounds dozens of civilians, and you are witness to so many tears. I would have liked to flee, would have liked to go back to being a child in my mother's arms, would have liked to remain in silence and in love, but I thank God because, through this pain, I am learning greater love. Pain is not only a road to anger, and despair, if based on faith, it is a good teacher of love. Father, if pain makes you suffer, it means that you love. And so, when you speak of our pain, when you remember our thousand days of suffering, speak of our thousand days of love, too, because only love, faith, and hope give a real meaning to our wounds."

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai and the End of the Free Press

The Orwellian nightmare of Hong Kong’s implosion continues…

What does the imposition of dictatorship on a free society “look like”? Hong Kong shows us, among other things, that legitimate actions are retroactively criminalized and nonviolent reasonable opposition figures are subjected to mass arrests and imprisonment. 

We have just seen the “miscarriage of justice” against the “Hong Kong 45.” Today, Jimmy Lai took the stand in his own defense in the other ongoing Hong Kong “Show Trial.” His “crime”? Publishing an independent newspaper, the Apple Daily, that was the trustworthy news source for millions of Hong Kong people during the pro-democracy movement (between 2014 and 2020). 

The newspaper was shut down by the Chinese Communist Party’s imposition of its “National Security Law.” As the head of an independent media organization (i.e. a “free press” as guaranteed by Hong Kong’s Basic Law), Jimmy Lai spoke with foreign leaders, including the USA Vice President and Secretary of State. Now he is accused of “colluding with foreign forces to subvert Hong Kong’s government.” 

The 76-year-old—who came to Hong Kong as a young man fleeing the madness of Chairman Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” (who came as a “refugee”)—built up his lucrative business from many years of hard work, during which time he also encountered Christ and converted to the Catholic faith. If convicted (or, rather, WHEN convicted), he faces life imprisonment. He once commented that he hoped prison would give him the time to read many books that he’s always wanted to read.

Pray for Jimmy Lai. Pray for Hong Kong. Pray for China—where 1/6th of the human race lives and suffers oppression, where the dignity of the human person is violated every day by the Fascist-Leninist PartyState.

November’s “Autumn Impressions”

“More Autumn Impressions” (mid-November 2024). 

I have been sharing the inspirations of Fall on social media since 2014, via photos, videos, and various explorations in digital art. I’ll never get tired of it!😉

Hong Kong: The “Politics of Suffering”

The “trial” has finally been brought to a conclusion, and the “HONG KONG 45” have all received jail sentences. What this ruling means is that legitimate, nonviolent efforts by the pro-democracy movement to participate in the political process in Hong Kong are now regarded as a “threat to national security.” It would seem that all hope is lost for a “self-governing” Hong Kong free from the harsh and heavy hand of the Chinese Communist PartyState. 

But suffering injustice with patience is the hidden strength of nonviolent resistance to dictatorship. I remember in 1983 when Communist Poland declared martial law and put the leaders of the “Solidarity” movement in jail. None of us could have imagined the changes that were soon to come. 

Let’s pray for people like Benny Tai and Joshua Wong (pictured above); let’s continue to stand with them, remember them, “co-suffer” with them (in whatever small ways we can). May justice and the dignity of the human person prevail in Hong Kong, Ukraine, Sudan, the Middle East, Russia, China, and in our own nations—through the wisdom and goodness and merciful love of God.

Open this LINK to learn more by reading the BBC article cited in the picture.

“My Words Will Not Pass Away”

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, we contemplate eschatology and the ultimate kingship of Jesus Christ who is Lord of history and Savior of the human race, who has poured Himself out in love and mercy so that we might find freedom from sin and its illusions, and fulfillment in sharing His eternal life with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis spoke beautifully at the Angelus of November 17 about the words of Jesus in the Sunday Gospel. Death and the end of all things can appear traumatic and terrifying, but Jesus has promised that He will remain with us. If we hold fast to Him, He will lead us through every trial to the fulfillment of the Kingdom where God will be all, in all. In His wisdom and goodness we will find—renewed and transformed—the meaning of everything in this present life that is shaped by His mercy and His companionship, all the mysterious ways by which He draws us to Himself.

Here are some of Francis’s words from the Angelus:

In the Gospel of today’s liturgy, Jesus describes a great tribulation: “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light” (Mk 13:24). Faced with this suffering, many might think of the end of the world, but the Lord seizes the opportunity to offer a different interpretation, saying: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mk 13:31).

We can take a closer look at this expression: what will pass and what will remain.

First of all, what will pass. In some circumstances in our life, when we are going through a crisis or experience some failure, as well as when we see around us the pain caused by wars, violence, natural disasters, we have the feeling that everything is coming to an end, and we feel that even the most beautiful things pass away. Crises and failures, however, though painful, are important, because they teach us to accord everything its due weight, not to attach our hearts to the realities of this world, because they will pass: they are destined to fade away.

At the same time, Jesus talks about what will remain. Everything passes away, but His words will not pass away: Jesus’ words will remain for eternity. He thus invites us to trust in the Gospel, which contains a promise of salvation and eternity, and not to live under the anguish of death. For while everything passes away, Christ remains. In Him, in Christ, we shall one day find again the things and people who have passed away and who have accompanied us in our earthly existence. In the light of this promise of resurrection, every reality takes on a new meaning: everything dies and we too will one day die, but we will lose nothing of what we have built and loved, because death will be the beginning of a new life.

Brothers and sisters, even in tribulations, in crises, in failures, the Gospel invites us to look at life and history without fear of losing what ends, but with joy for what will remain. Let us not forget that God is preparing for us a future of life and joy.

“Do Not Go Off, Do Not Run In Pursuit…”

Jesus said, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation” (Luke 17:20-25).

Mother Cabrini: An "American Immigrant"

Francesca Cabrini (1815-1917) was the first "naturalized" U.S.A. citizen to be canonized (she was born in Italy). Immigrants of those days loved "Mother Cabrini," who took care of them and showed them the face of Jesus.

"Prayer is powerful! It fills the earth with mercy, it makes the Divine clemency pass from generation to generation; right along the course of the centuries wonderful works have been achieved through prayer" (Saint Francesca ["Frances"] Cabrini, feast November 13).

God our Father, who called Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini from Italy to serve the immigrants of America, by her example, teach us to have concern for the stranger, the sick, and all those in need, and by her prayers help us to see Christ in all the men and women we meet.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

--Collect, November 13

Saint Josaphat: Sign of Hope For Ukraine

Today marks an important feast day especially for Ukrainian Byzantine Catholics, who are not only suffering along with all Ukrainians the ongoing brutal attacks of Russian aggression, but also face even now religious repression in every part of Ukraine that Russia illegally occupies. Saint Josaphat Kuncevic was the first modern Ukrainian Catholic martyr, but by no means the last.

Josaphat followed the Metropolitan Archbishop of Kiev and a group of Ukrainian and Belorussian bishops who entered into full communion with Rome in 1598. The “Union of Brest” preserved the Byzantine liturgy and the spirituality and practices of the Byzantine tradition while also recognizing the juridical primacy of the Bishop of Rome for the Universal Church. From this reunion were born what are today known as the Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church and the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church.

At the beginning of the Seventeenth Century, the reunion was an occasion of great controversy among the population and clergy. Josaphat himself became a Byzantine Catholic Bishop and worked tirelessly not only in defense of the Papacy, but also to reform the clergy according to the great heritage of the Eastern Church and to catechize the common people and serve them. Many were drawn by his preaching as well as his humility and holiness, but others opposed him vehemently, preferring the benefits of patronage that local nobility gave to the orthodox churches.

Saint Josaphat sought Church unity with great fervor, but also great charity. He knew that his enemies were plotting his death, yet he remained among his people to guide them and, as much as possible, resolve disputes and overcome the violence of his enemies with the nonviolence of Christian love.

On November 12, 1623, he was put to death by a lynch mob of his enemies.

“You people want to kill me. You wait in ambush for me in the streets, on the bridges, on the highways, in the marketplace, everywhere. Here I am; I came to you as a Shepherd. You know I would be happy to give my life for you. I am ready to die for union of the Church under Saint Peter and his successor, the Pope” (Saint Josaphat).

Saint Josaphat, pray for us. Pray for the unity of all Christians. Pray for the reunion of Christians East and West. Pray for a just and lasting peace for the people of Ukraine, and a renewal of their fidelity to Jesus Christ and commitment to human dignity.

Communion and Solidarity for All of “America”

The popular elections for the President of the United States of America are over. I have carried out my very small task on behalf of the candidate of the American Solidarity Party, a political movement that represents ideals that need to grow—in my opinion—if the United States is to survive as a nation. For all its colossal wealth, power, and influence, the United States is only one of the nations on this great hemispheric continent (north, central, and south) that constitutes the proper reference point for the term “America.” In my opinion, the tumultuous and in many ways transitional times in which we live constitute a challenge for all the nations of “America” to recognize the bonds they share and to live in greater solidarity. Through such a solidarity and communion, “America”—from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego—might one day become “great” in its contribution to the long history of humanity.

Jesus Christ is the Lord of history, and His Mother Mary has taken up a unique kind of “presence” at the geographical center of this “America,” through her astonishing and scientifically inexplicable image on the hill of Tepeyac at the edge of Mexico City: Our Lady of Guadalupe.

In January 1999, I traveled to Mexico for the closing of the “Synod on America,” where Pope Saint John Paul II presented the fruit of the dialogue carried out by bishops from all over the hemispheric continent. He proposed that American solidarity had not only an evangelical significance, but also a temporal significance in its increasing interdependence and in the responsibilities of the rich nations to help their poorer neighbors. I think this event of 25 years ago was a prophetic moment. It is a light for judging the larger context of our particular circumstances, and a great encouragement for prayer. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of America—of all of America—pray for us.

Some words from Saint John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America (1999):

“I asked that the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops reflect on America as a single entity, by reason of all that is common to the peoples of the continent, including their shared Christian identity and their genuine attempt to strengthen the bonds of solidarity and communion between the different forms of the continent's rich cultural heritage. The decision to speak of ‘America’ in the singular was an attempt to express not only the unity which in some way already exists, but also to point to that closer bond which the peoples of the continent seek and which the Church wishes to foster as part of her own mission, as she works to promote the communion of all in the Lord...

“The Church is the place where men and women, by encountering Jesus, can come to know the love of the Father, for whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father (cf. John 14:9). After his Ascension into heaven, Jesus acts through the powerful agency of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete (cf. John 16:17), who transforms believers by giving them new life. Thus they become capable of loving with God's own love, which ‘has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us’ (Romans 5:5). God's grace also enables Christians to work for the transformation of the world, in order to bring about a new civilization, … ‘the civilization of love’”

“I Shall See the Bounty of the Lord”

Jesus came to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, and to initiate it Himself by atoning for sin and overcoming the limitations of this earthly life through His death and resurrection. Insofar as we love God’s wisdom and goodness, we will not feel entirely “at home” in this present life. 

We are called to follow Jesus, and when we work for goodness, justice, and peace in this world, we do so as instruments of His love and mercy. We are called to show forth the glory of Christ in the midst of whatever circumstances we live in—however difficult and confusing they may be—confident in the Holy Spirit that God will bring to fruition all that He has promised.

Summer in November!

Meanwhile, in "news" that has nothing to do with the U.S.A. elections, IT'S EIGHTY DEGREES today... in November... in the Northern Hemisphere!😳

To make that comprehensible to the rest of the world, we're talking about 26.7 degrees Celsius.

“Our Citizenship is in Heaven”

Four years ago, I posted this New Testament text, in which Saint Paul reminds the early Christians of Philippi that the common mentality in the society in which they live is not the source and measure of their identity. But Paul doesn’t propose merely replacing the human social mores of first century Asia Minor (which were in some ways analogous to the attitudes of the dominant culture in the USA today) with a “better” mentality—an attitude that might be less shameless and more “respectable,” but still founded on a preoccupation with “earthly things.”

Saint Paul reminds the Philippians that their identity as Christians already establishes them as citizens of the New Creation, because they are incorporated into the Risen Christ and live in the hope of His glory. Here and now they participate in the “first fruits” of the Kingdom of God by the grace of the Holy Spirit and in the “hastening” of His final coming by living and sharing the Gospel they have received. What they have received—what we Christians have received—is a gift of grace that is the truth of the destiny of every person and of the whole of creation. Our identity and the purpose of our lives every day, is to cooperate with the Lord by allowing His presence, His glory, and His mercy to shine through our whole humanity, so that He might draw others to Himself.

That is who we are. We belong to Christ on election day and on every other day. Let us not be distracted by earthly power, or drawn into forgetfulness by its idolatrous pretences. Let us not be discouraged by the inevitable disappointments and failures of earthly things, earthly societies, earthly powers.

“Our citizenship is in heaven” with Jesus Christ our Savior.

"Many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their 'shame.' Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified Body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved" (Philippians 3:18 - 4:1).

Autumn Evenings Cut Short (But Colors Remain)

“Goodbye Evening Sunshine” (November 2, 2024). 

See you in… February, maybe? This is the weekend to set back the clocks one hour (or, in most cases, allow your digital devices to do it for you automatically). 

This means that #WinterDarkTimeBegins … and cuts off those evening hours when I like to walk. I’ll have to pay attention to the time during the day, otherwise—BOOM!—it’s dark before 5:30 P.M. The clock set-back also signals that time of year when the suns dips rapidly into shorter days leading up to the Winter Solstice. That's okay when Christmas is drawing near, but the sudden "shortening" of days in November is always a challenge to people whose moods are sensitive to the seasons (like mine).

Of course, we do have a few more weeks of colorful leaves coming up. Which reminds me that I should “dump” some other examples of Autumn vistas and impressions—in photography and/or digital art—that JJStudios has created this Fall (including the image featured above). Here are some more examples from last month, in no particular order:

The Saints and “Holy Souls” of November

Happy All Saints Day! Welcome to November 2024...

...the month in which we remember also in prayer— with confidence in the redeeming power of the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ—all our beloved dead who live in Him while yet enduring the final purification of His mercy that will prepare them for the fulfillment of beatific communion with God.

“Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”