Grace: shame and confusion at how the Lord enters into His humiliation for my sake. Text for Prayer: Mt 27:27-31 Reflection: “God mounts his throne to shouts of joy,” the Psalmist writes. Jesus mounts His throne on the Cross, revealing to us a new kind of king. There are indeed shouts, but these shouts from… Read more »
Posts By: Fr. Chris Collins, S.J.
In the Cenacle: The King of Love
| XXXIII.Grace: To have a felt sense of Jesus’ desire to give me his whole self, in love. Text for Prayer: Mt 26:20-35 Reflection: From the moment of the Agony in the Garden, it seems as if Jesus enters into the drama of his betrayal, passion and death with unflinching determination. This determination is based on… Read more »
Palm Sunday: The King, Meek and Humble of Heart
| XXXI.Grace: To wonder at the contradiction of Jesus’ upcoming defeat as well as victory, unfolding simultaneously. Text for Prayer: Mt. 21:1-11 Reflection: Now continues the contradictions. In a way, the whole of the Christian life and mystery is the way of contradictions. What does not seem to go together, goes together. Today, we contemplate the… Read more »
Reform
| XXIII.Grace: To sense more deeply the possibility of deep renewal and reform in my life and the desire in God’s heart for that renewal of me. Text for prayer: Lk. 16:19-31 Reflection: The plan of reform for our lives is according to the dynamic of humility and gratitude. If the path to sin and death… Read more »
The Three Classes: The Test of Sincerity
| XXI.Grace: To deepen the sense of my “open-handedness” and generosity with what the Lord has given me. Text for prayer: Lk. 12:35-48 Reflection: Still in the context of a kind of pause within the Exercises wherein we consider the state of life that the Lord calls us to and in the immediate wake of the… Read more »
The Presentation in the Temple: Oblation of the Divine King
| XVI.Grace: To share in the gratitude of Mary for the Gift given her by the Father. Text for Prayer: Lk. 2:21-38 Reflection: Mary knew from the very beginning that God acts. That God takes the initiative. She knew that better than anyone ever has. And she trusts His divine action. She said yes at the… Read more »
The Prodigal Son: Discovering Mercy
| XII.Grace: To know the Mercy of the Father and His unconditional love for me even in the midst of my sinfulness. Text for prayer: Lk. 15:11-32 Reflection: Jesus’ story of the prodigal son provides a uniquely comprehensive vision of the nature of our own sinfulness, the mercy of our heavenly Father even in light of… Read more »
Our Own Sins: The Sense of Our Own Sinfulness
| VIII.Grace: To have a felt sense of how sin ruptures my relationship with the God who made me out of love and for love. Text for Prayer: Lk. 5:1-8 Reflection: In the Sunday liturgy, we always pray at the beginning of the mass, in the penitential rite, three times, “Lamb of God, you take away… Read more »
In Preparation
As we anticipate the beginning of this season of conversion and turning again in a new way to the Heart of Jesus who has turned Himself to us, we examine our own hearts on this “Fat Tuesday.” As the branches of last Palm Sunday are burned so that we might use the ashes tomorrow to… Read more »