"The most basic petition, when animated with even the first hint of faith in Christ crucified, lifts even the most impossible situations into the warmth and light of God Himself."
"Christian Prayer and Fire from Above"
Fire from Above: Christian Contemplation and Mystical Wisdom
Dr. Anthony L. Lilles, PhD
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| St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata, 1586 (engraving) Agostino Carracci (courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art) |
Last Friday night was a 1st Friday, so I decided to go to confession in downtown Baltimore. The priest seemed like an Old World Polish cleric, and he gave me a longer than usual penance: 3 decades of the Rosary focusing on 3 Joyful Mysteries (the Nativity, the Presentation, and Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple). I was only able to pray one decade that night in the church, but was confident I could finish the penance before Sunday Mass.
Before even 24 hours from receiving absolution, I fell into the same habitual, mortal sin that led me to confess my sins in the first place. I still had two decades left of my penance. In the context of 15 years of trying to defeat this sin, it certainly feels like I'm in a "most impossible situation."
Remember when our songs were just like prayers?
Like gospel hymns that you called in the air.
Come down, come down, sweet reverence,
Unto my simple house and ring,
And ring.
Ring like silver, ring like gold,
Ring like clear day wedding bells.
Now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell?
I threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell . . .
Ring like crazy, ring like hell;
Turn me back into that wild-haired gale.
Ring like silver, ring like gold,
Turn these diamonds straight back into coal,
Turn these diamonds straight back into coal,
Turn these diamonds straight back.
