The Wilderness

“I believe in God – not in a Catholic God; there is no Catholic God. There is God, and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being.” – Pope Francis
“When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly. We may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, all of this, but we are not disciples of the Lord.” – Pope Francis
The three-day journey to Easter begins with Holy Thursday.
Resurrection Sunday, calling to spring and new life.
Don’t rush to Sunday.
Take the entire journey, no shortcuts.
Enter the wilderness for a few days.
Last supper, washing of feet, communion, the garden, denial, 30 silver coins, Pilate, the Cross, Simon, Veronica, Mary, the women who stayed to the end to witness and remain.
It is finished.
Holy sacred days through the wilderness.
Walk with hope, held in grace, do not fall asleep.
Wilderness to Easter.
The journey to Easter.
“Hope does not tell us that soon life will be the same again as it was before the loss. No, hope tells us that life will go on, differently, yes, but go on nevertheless. Hope tells us that the pieces are there for us to put together, if only we will give ourselves to the doing of it. When Jesus dies on the cross, something entirely different rises. And that something is the call to us to make the best in life live again.” – Joan Chittister, The Way of the Cross: The Path to New Life