Tuesday of Holy Week: "The Tales That Really Mattered..." LIVE!!!
The greatest hopepunk message of all time! + IX. Jesus falls for the 3rd time + #Pathway + Sundar S. vs. Nicky Z. + "Bridge the gulf between abject poverty and wealth" + "Stuck Between Stations"
Not going to bury the lead here. It was a tough day with the Constitutional Crisis we’re in and all. This evening, I got a shot of hope at exactly the right moment:
Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
The Way of the Cross
The Way or Stations of the Cross is a devotional practice dating back to pilgrimages to Jerusalem undertaken by followers of Christ beginning in the 13th century. The fourteen stations, presented one or two each day, are created by Busted Halo. Photos on the accompanying slides were taken by me at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in northern New Mexico.
Please see the SING section below for a song with themes connecting to Station IX.
VIOLET (#99149B)
My photo for the InstaLent Challenge from Busted Halo.
Today’s theme is #Pathway.
Into my photo archive we go again. This is at Yellowstone last June:
Tomorrow’s theme is #Clock
INDIGO (#590A99)
Update on the brackets from Lent Madness
In the first of the two Faithful 4 match-ups, Zechariah, Father of John the Baptist is cruising to an easy win:
Tuesday’s Faithful 4 is Sundar Singh vs. Nicolaus Zinzendorf - two saints from quite different times and places.
VERSUS
GREEN (Forest - #19A50C)
Dr. Martin Luther King: On Love (2024)
I understand that you have an economic system in America known as Capitalism. Through this economic system you have been able to do wonders. You have become the richest nation in the world, and you have built up the greatest system of production that history has ever known. All of this is marvelous.
But, Americans, there is the danger that you will misuse your Capitalism. I still contend that money can be the root of all evil. It can cause one to live a life of gross materialism.
I am afraid that many among you are more concerned about making a living than making a life. You are prone to judge the success of your profession by the index of your salary and the size of the wheel base on your automobile, rather than the quality of your service to humanity.
The misuse of Capitalism can also lead to tragic exploitation. This has so often happened in your nation. They tell me that one-tenth of 1 percent of the population controls more than 40 percent of the wealth.* Oh, America, how often have you taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.
If you are to be a truly Christian nation, you must solve this problem.
You cannot solve the problem by turning to communism, for communism is based on an ethical relativism and a metaphysical materialism that no Christian can accept.
You can work within the framework of democracy to bring about a better distribution of wealth.
You can use your powerful economic resources to wipe poverty from the face of the earth. God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty. God intends for all of His children to have the basic necessities of life, and He has left in this universe “enough and to spare” for that purpose.
So I call upon you to bridge the gulf between abject poverty and superfluous wealth. (pages 46-47)
NOTE (*) The unequal distribution of wealth in the U.S. has gotten much, much worse since MLK gave this sermon in 1956.
The upper 10% is the grey, and blues above for about 66% of the total wealth.
The Ascent of the Mountain of God (1995) by Edward Hayes
Judas refused to follow the compass of the cross, and so did the other eleven apostles - at first. That we are tempted not to follow the compass of our crosses is no reason to be ashamed. Pray for grace to follow the direction of the cross as we begin to scale the upper range of the sacred sierra, where angry storm clouds hide the summit…
Jesus had no strong authoritarian voice to guide him, only his cross-compass: “I shall go up to Jerusalem, where I will be tortured, suffer on the cross, die and rise again. Come, follow me!”
As disciples twenty-centuries later, we are to follow in his footsteps - but there are not footprints on our road! To know the right direction, we must, like Jesus, follow the compass of our personal crosses…
While some general rules can be given about morality and choices in life, can you learn to cultivate that infallible inner compass of a good and fully formed conscience?
The conscience-compass, magnetized by God’s spirit, will lead you safely through the valley of death, the dark forest of fear and doubts, and the difficult desert of lonely decisions.
With prayer, Scripture, reflection on tradition and good spiritual guidance, perfect your own inner compass of conscience. Then, regardless of what way it points, follow it with faith. (pages 103-104)
RED [ALERT] (Cadmium - #FF2849)
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the 21st Century (link to video). On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the 21st Century (2017) (link to book) by Timothy Snyder
Music for The Way of the Cross:
The Hold Steady, fronted by Craig Finn, who is steeped in the “catholic imagination,” are beloved by fans for songs which tell stories of struggle, addiction, and hardship. Yet, Finn’s song characters show resilience, hope, and often conversion in the midst of difficulty. Music and lyrics will be paired with the theme of each “station” of the cross. These songs will be included on a special Spotify playlist.
I’m connecting this rocking The Hold Steady song with “Jesus falls the 3rd time” as it recalls John Berryman, a well-respected poet and scholar who killed himself in 1972 by jumping off of a Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis.
The Devil and John Berryman, they took a walk together
And they ended up on Washington, talking to the river
He said, "I surrounded myself with doctors and deep thinkers
But big heads and soft bodies make for lousy lovers"
There was that night that we thought John Berryman could fly
But he didn't, so he died
She said, "You're pretty good with words, but words won't save your life"
And they didn't, so he died…Yeah, he was drunk and exhausted, but he was critically acclaimed and respected
He loved the Golden Gophers, but he hated all the drawn-out winters
He likes the warm feeling, but he's tired of all the dehydration
Most nights were kind of fuzzy, but that last night, he had total retention
[Bridge]
Yeah, these Twin City kisses, they sound like clicks and hisses
We all come down and drown in the Mississippi River
Jesus, gathered all despair and brought it to the cross. This deepest commitment to love could not be contained - even by execution - and in three days it burst forth across time and space as the Resurrected Christ.
Traditionally, especially in the Orthodox Church, during the Matins service on Holy Tuesday evening, the deeply moving Hymn of Kassiani is sung. Here’s a beautiful rendition of it:
And, a song inspired by it:
As Planetary Pilgrims, we are invited to be aware of where our earth is in its annual trek around the sun as well as where our moon - Luna - is in its 28 day cycle around Earth.
So, as of this writing (midnight on Tuesday):
The Summer Solstice arrives (6/20/25, 10:41pm) where I live in 66 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes
Luna is in the waxing (increasing) first quarter or 96% of full. It’s 16 days and 16 hours old (the time since the last new moon) Click HERE to see what the moon looks like at this phase.