April 7 1997

ARTICLE TOOLS

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How splendid the cross
How splendid the cross of Christ!
It brings life, not death;
light, not darkness;
Paradise, not its loss.
It is the wood on which
the Lord, like a great warrior,
was wounded in hands and feet and side,
but healed thereby our wounds.
A tree had destroyed us;
a tree now brought us life.

-Saint Theodore of Studios in
Breakfast with the Saints

Happy New Year!
Easter is the New Year's Day of the soul.

-A. B. Simpson in
Inspiring Quotations

Unspectacular importance
The resurrection of Jesus is a hidden event. Jesus didn't rise from the dead to prove to those who had crucified him that they had made a mistake, or confound his opponents. Nor did he rise to impress the rulers of his time or to force anyone to believe. Jesus' resurrection was the full affirmation of his Father's love. Therefore, he only showed himself to those who knew about this love. He made himself known as the risen Lord, only to a handful of his close friends. There is probably no event in human history that has had such importance, while remaining, at the same time, so unspectacular. The world didn't notice it; only those few to whom Jesus had chosen to show himself, and whom he wanted to send out to announce God's love to the world just as he had done.

-Henri Nouwen in
Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring

Personally repugnant
The real essence of Christ's Passion consisted in the two things we least like to bear and suffer: fear and disgrace.

-Hans Urs von Balthasar in
The Grain of Wheat

Glorious paradox
We live and die. Christ died and lived!

-John Stott in
Authentic Christianity

Not a walkover, but victory [The disciples] had seen the strong hands of God twist the crown of thorns into a crown of glory, and in ...