'Let us spread before His feet, not garments of soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves clothed in His grace, or rather, clothed completely in Him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before Him. Now that the crimson stains of our sins have been washed away in the saving waters of baptism and we have become white as pure wool, let us present the Conqueror of death, not with mere branches of palms but with the real rewards of His victory.
'Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join today in the children's holy song: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel.'
(St. Andrew of Crete, from Liturgy of the Hours for Palm Sunday, Catholic Book Publishing Co. NY, 1976, pp.419-420)
Painting: Zdzisław Jasiński, Palm Sunday, 1891
Painting: Zdzisław Jasiński, Palm Sunday, 1891
Nancy, today, I told someone about you. And the gift that you are being Jesus' voice that cuts through mayhem and dangerous busyness. I've read many, many blogs, but The Cloistered Heart is the only blog that can silence and still any internal ruckus within me.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is no simple feat, I assure you.
Every single time I've come here, I've found a pillow for my soul, and a pool of stillness to gaze into and to lose myself to the point I see only my God. Every single time I've come here, I've found a gentleness and a purity unsurpassed by others, unsullied by pride.
I've found one of my Christ's resting places, and it is here.
God bless you always, Nancy, for what you have done for me. Holding you close to my heart and in my prayers.
Caitlynne Grace, I have no words to adequately thank you for your kindness in saying this. So I will simply ask Our Lord to hold you close, to bless you, and to fill you to overflowing with His love and His grace.
DeleteTHANK YOU.