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THE BLOGWelcome to Onward Catholic - The Blog, where we explore the depths of Catholic faith, spiritual growth, and the journey toward hope and healing on the way to Heaven.
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“The Cross is the crucible in which God fashions saints.” The Cross is the big melting pot in which we are bent, broken, challenged, changed, melted, warped, and formed. Formed to the shape of the Cross. The shaped that saved us from eternal death. The shape that will lead us to holiness. It’s like taking medicine though, we know it will make us better, but we just don’t want to do it. We know that the Cross will benefit our lives but we have decided that we deserve to not suffer. We think of our crosses as these big giant issues, health problems, money issues, family tiffs but really, some of the most challenging and beautiful crosses that we can carry are the minuscule daily ones. The ones that we don’t even think of as crosses. The little things that make us groan and complain. Sometimes I wonder how much I would actually have to say to people if I was forbidden from complaining. I’m guessing I would be a very quiet person. All this day in and day out complaining could instead be conversation. Conversation with Christ. Relating to Christ, thanking Christ for the Cross. “May Jesus and his Cross reign forever.” Suffering, trials, and little inconveniences throughout the day should not be dreaded. Remember, they are what is leading us to holiness. What should change is the way in which we respond to them. I know I’m not generally thankful for my crosses, I don’t normally ask for help in carrying them, and definitely not asking for them to reign forever. But maybe I should. After all, they are leading us to holiness. 
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I was listening to this song by The Offspring. It is called Fix You and it really is such a beautiful song and such a cry for help. The cry that is alive in all of our hearts. “…I wish I could fix you And make you how I want you I wish I could fix you And I wish you could fix me I wish I could heal you And mend where you are broken I wish I could heal you And I wish you could heal me… She sees a million stars, like holes in the sky All God’s tears for her they cry And I am in her rain” In this song, Dexter Holland is crying out. Someone he knows is hurting. He is hurting for his friend. He is hurting because his friend is hurting. He is hurting because he cannot heal that person. He knows in his humanness that he can do nothing to heal or fix this person. I think it would be safe to assume we have all been in situations where we want to just simply make everything better for someone. Even if it is something as simple as trying to comfort a toddler who has fallen or if it is something more serious such as a friend going through depression. It is so very painful to see someone in pain and know you can do nothing to help them. Mother Mary knows this all too well. She was strong enough, bold enough to go to the foot of the cross where Her Son was bruised and beaten and then innocently hung on the cross and left to die. The movie The Passion presents this scene of the crucifixion so well. Mary helplessly kneels at the foot of the cross while gripping the gravel of Calvary with her face writhing in pain. The pain of watching Her Son die and yet still, the greater pain of KNOWING She can do NOTHING to help Him. Among all this pain and sorrow there is still hope. That hope is Jesus Christ. He alone can heal you. He alone can fix you. He alone is sufficient. He IS love, of course He can heal, fix, and restore. We are all broken. We are all torn apart. We are all in need of healing. We need to be fixed. We need to be touched by the healing grace of the Healer. Bring all your brokenness to the foot of the cross this Lent. Jesus is the ultimate healer. He can mend where you are broken. He can fix you. Run to Him with your broken heart. Run to Him with all your sorrows. Take time this Lent to humble yourself down to the most broken area of your heart and let the Savior heal you and fix you. He will not let you down. He has the power to heal. Jesus IS the healer. Go. Run. Be healed. “So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do So we think that you're good And you can't believe it's not enough All the walls you built up Are just glass on the outside So let 'em fall down There's freedom waiting in the sound When you let your walls fall to the ground We're here now This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts When you come to where you're broken within The light meets the dark The light meets the dark Afraid to let your secrets out Everything that you hide Can come crashing through the door now But too scared to face all your fear So you hide but you find That the shame won't disappear So let it fall down There's freedom waiting in the sound When you let your walls fall to the ground We're here now We're here now, oh This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts When you come to where you're broken within The light meets the dark The light meets the dark Sparks will fly as grace collides With the dark inside of us So please don't fight This coming light Let this blood come cover us His blood can cover us This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts When you come to where you're broken within The light meets the dark The light meets the dark” Tenth Avenue North- Healing Begins  "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return."
Fortunately, we clarified with the middle school kids that these are the ashes from the palms used on Palm Sunday of the previous year, not the ashes of the deceased. The relief washed over their faces like a tidal wave. There is still an element of mortality present though. Our bodies will die. Our souls have the opportunity for life everlasting. With all credit due to Christ. We truly are nothing without Him. We have an opportunity these days of Lent to become even more dependent on Christ. De Montfort adopted a motto for his life, ‘God alone’. His life and writings used God alone as the focal point. Lent is a brilliant time to reinstate 'God alone' in our lives. Removing something from our lives allows more room for God. “My God…I adore you and acknowledge you as my sovereign Lord and Master upon whom alone I depend.” De Montfort knew that we must free ourselves from our worldly idols and from our own egos in order that we might fully experience and comprehend adoring God alone. “True adoration is a gift from on high and takes the form of responding in love to the revelation, in Christ, of the true face of God.” “To adore this presence means to become involved in the disappearance from the world of idolatries and ideologies that become the means of oppressing the children of God.” Lent for us can be like Narnia for the Pevensie kids. Entering a new world, with new opportunities. Letting go of the things of this world, and adoring the God who so loves us. |
AuthorsJohn LaBriola and Rebecca Dodge Archives
April 2025
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