Lectionary: 622
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the first fruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end…
With the advent of the Internet the faithful confront a new plague. Satan has spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current. At one time pornography was contained by inaccessibility and cost. It is now freely available to children and adults, criminals and citizens, men and women. Victims whose pictures were spread through the print medium could hope time and disintegration of paper would put an end to their humiliation. Today the images proliferate endlessly. Little girls who were videoed by their fathers or uncles twenty are thirty years ago are still harassed by perverts today with no end in sight.
Christians seek healing of the scars these images leave in our brains. The disorder can be like the urge for heroin; once tasted it remains for life. But the Lord does not abandon us to evil and even old scars can become fountains of grace for us.
The scriptures repeatedly urge us to look on Christ. “Fix your gaze on him.” For many centuries Eastern Orthodox churches worshiped the Lord as they gazed through their icons into eternity. In recent years we have seen a proliferation of icons throughout our western church.
The insult of pornography now drives us before these images of Jesus and Mary for healing. We gaze on them, and pray Hail Mary…, Holy Mary…, Our Father…, Soul of Christ, save me…
Paying rapt attention to an image of the Virgin the awful images of shame and humiliation fade and disappear.
In my experience our beautiful human bodies heal organ, flesh and bone wounds pretty quickly; psychological wounds take longer; but spiritual wounds take a very long time. That is because they must be transformed into sources of grace.
Gazing upon Mary and Jesus we learn a deep reverence for our spiritual nature, for our sexual beauty, and our need for intimacy. More importantly, we become fountains of healing water for others. In prayer we find our frailty and strength and God's infinite desire.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.