Our Lady of Ashes

In, The Seven Sacraments: Entering the Mysteries of God,  Stratford Caldecott explores the spiritual connections between the Seven Sacraments of the Church with other sets of seven in the faith: Seven Last words of Christ, Petitions in the Our Father , Theological + Cardinal Virtues ,  Gifts of the Holy Spirit , Days of Creation , etc. Neither the writers of scripture, nor the Fathers of the Church found sets sharing numbers as these to be coincidental, but reflective of a sacred order to Creation, especially when so ordered by the tradition of the Church. These organic spiritual links between all things bring a depth of understanding when meditating upon these sacred things and cause them to settle more firmly into our hearts, and minds and souls. This book of Ven. Fulton Sheen, (included in Caldecott's Bibliography as The Seven Capital Sins) focuses on two of those sets, the Last Words of Christ on the Cross and how those words demonstrate Christ's Victory over the ...

In Adrienne von Speyr's The Cross: Word and Sacrament , von Speyr links each of Christ's seven last words to one of the Seven Sacraments; positing that each "word" is a blessing from the Cross upon that sacrament, a commentary, and above all an intimate connection between the Paschal and Sacramental Mysteries. "If the Lord's words are all a piece of his life, and if he surrenders his life on the Cross for His Church, it follows that the Lord's words from the Cross are closely knit to, parallel to, the sacraments, those vessels of the life of the divine grace which overflows from the Cross into the Church." The links are as follows: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do  - Penance You will be with me this day in Paradise - Anointing of the Sick Behold your son, Behold your mother -  Marriage My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me  - Holy Orders I thirst - Eucharist It is finished - Baptism Into your hands, Lord, I commend m...

Reading The Cross: Word and Sacrament is a continuation of my reading the Bibliography from Stratford Caldecott's The Seven Sacraments: Entering the Mysteries of God as personal mystagogy. Adrienne von Speyr's The Cross: Word and Sacrament (Ignatius Press 1983) is a profound reflection on Jesus’ Last Words after he is Crucified. She connects each saying from the depths of his suffering sacrifice to one of the Sevens Sacraments. These reflections connect the Paschal Mystery to the sacramental life and mission of the Church bringing new fruit to meditation on both. The book is very short (63 pages) and could be read in a single sitting, but each chapter deserves at least a day of reflection and prayer each. I see myself returning to this time and time again in the week leading up to Good Friday, devoting each day to the sacramental fruits of these mysteries. With an RCIA group sufficiently Catechized, I would also consider using this as the primary guiding text for a Holy...