When we think of the martyrs like Saint Valentine, what do we imagine? Probably the cruel scene of his death or the torture that he endured. This is an important part no doubt. It’s a sign of what he was willing to endure for his beliefs. But there’s a danger here: we might be forgetting what happened first.
You see, behind every martyrdom, there is a love story. Like our friend in this video, we all tend to be blind to God’s love. A martyr, however, is the one that stopped abruptly, and God happened to bump into the back of him. For the man who is suddenly struck in this way, nothing in his life will ever be the same. Once one’s eyes are opened to God’s love, nothing, absolutely nothing, seems too great a sacrifice if it allows us to give back just one drop of love.
Blind Devotion
Now, what about our day-to-day relationships with those around us? As the title says, love is best when it is blind. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges in our day is the fact that our culture as a whole seems to say the contrary: love needs to be seen, touched, photographed, shared, etc. And this isn’t completely false!
There’s a hint of something authentic here! How can we ever forget that first love poem in history when Adam saw for the first time Eve: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!”
Check out this link:
The problem with seeing though is that sometimes we forget that we have eyelids for a reason. Some things aren’t meant to be seen. Rather, let’s put that a different way: some things can only be seen with the eyelids closed. Sounds a bit paradoxical, I know, but that’s just the way it is.
So, let’s get to the point: we’ve lost touch with true intimacy. Intimacy comes from “intimare” (a wee bit of Latin never hurts) and originally meant: to allow something to enter inside. Today’s mentality insists that to get in, you’ve just got to knock the door down. This works excellently for robbing banks, but not so well when it comes to authentic relationships.
When it comes to people, the only way to “intimare” is to close your eyes. Overcome your egoistic curiosity and your desire to control. Learn to wait, to knock, and to trust. Break free of the illusion: tearing the veil back doesn’t get you what you are looking for! The veil simply invites you to discover a different kind of seeing, a seeing of the heart, which is the only kind that will ever show you what you most desire!
- Autism Consecrated: A Neurodivergent Ministry By Neurodivergent People
Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly After several years of wishing for spiritual resources for neurodivergent people from a Catholic perspective, I collaborated with Father Mark P. Nolette, an autistic Catholic priest, to create Autism Consecrated in 2020. Our website aims to be a point of contact for autistic people seeking spiritual belonging and a… Read more: Autism Consecrated: A Neurodivergent Ministry By Neurodivergent People - Fools For Christ: The Strange Joy Of The Saints
Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly The World Today A missile cuts through the night sky, sending people scrambling across open space and towards safety. Elsewhere, a father scans his grocery list, second-guessing purchases and wondering if he can fit everything within budget. In another part of the world, behind closed doors, ultra-wealthy and influential… Read more: Fools For Christ: The Strange Joy Of The Saints - Washed In Love, Pierced By The Cross: Following Christ To The Vigil
Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly The Triduum is at the heart of our whole Christian life. It celebrates the Lord’s Pasch. We can understand Pasch as passage and passion. Our Lord passes from death to life through the suffering of His cross. The central image of all three days is the cross. The Church… Read more: Washed In Love, Pierced By The Cross: Following Christ To The Vigil - Easter Sunday Gospel Reflection
Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told… Read more: Easter Sunday Gospel Reflection - Eucharistic Miracles And The Real Presence Of Christ
Facebook Pinterest Gmail LinkedIn Print Friendly We live in a world where secularization and technology have rendered most people detached from organized religion of any sort. Science has, to some extent, been hostile or at least ambivalent to faith, often creating doubt in people’s minds. What better way is there for Jesus to draw people… Read more: Eucharistic Miracles And The Real Presence Of Christ
