Issue 003: Joy in Suffering
Gaudium Wednesday Newsletter
For if we be dead with him, we shall live also with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. (2 Timothy 2:11-12)
Feature: Perfect Joy and the Suffering of Christ
St. Francis says: “If he comes out with a knotted cudgel, grabs us by the cowl, flings us on the ground, rolls us about in the snow, and beats us joint by joint with that cudgel; if we took all this punishment patiently and with good cheer, thinking of it as the sufferings of Christ the blest which we ought to bear for his love: oh, Brother Leo, write down that therein is perfect joy.” How can this be joy? Find out here.
The Wheel and the Cross: Three Views on Suffering
Ancient civilizations struggled to deal with suffering. That suffering was a fact of life, they could not deny, but neither could they settle on how to deal with it. Mostly, they simply tried to avoid it. How does the Christian response differ? Read more here.
Veiled Images, Veiled God
It was the Hour for darkness, and such was the horror of that Hour that the Sun itself veiled its face, refusing to shed light and hiding its gaze from the sight. And there is a mystery here from which men well might turn away. Read the reflection here.
Bi-Weekly Roundup
Consecration: We Belong to God
The Holy Father consecrates Russia and Ukraine to Our Lady. As all belongs to God already, consecration combines a divine and human element, wherein we recognize and give back to Him what is already His. What does this mean for us as we join in prayer? Learn about the meaning of consecration here.
Holy Women to Remember, Part II
As Gertrude laid her head near the wound in Christ’s side, listening to the beating of His heart, she asked the Evangelist why he had not spoken of our Lord’s heart. St. John replied that such a revelation was reserved for later ages, when the world turned cold and its love needed to be rekindled. As Women’s History Month closes, read more interesting female saint stories here.
Faith & Liturgy Corner: Holy Week Practices for (Almost) Anyone
Receive the Sacrament of Penance, and prepare yourself to receive Holy Communion at Easter, required of all Catholics!
Increased penance and fasting for the entire week
Avoid secular activity as much as possible; but do extra house-cleaning first
Attend a Tenebrae (Darkness) Service (likely on Spy Wednesday), and listen to the “saddest melody” in all music, the chant of the Lamentations of Jeremiah.
Pray with Our Lord at Gethsemane by attending Adoration after Holy Thursday Mass, until reposition and Compline
Or, on Holy Thursday, imitate the pilgrims of old and go on a 7-church pilgrimage as penance
Fast from Holy Thursday evening until after the first Easter Liturgy (the Vigil)
Go to the Good Friday Liturgy and Stations of the Cross; and take special time to reverence a Crucifix, and if possible, a relic of the True Cross
Pray for the faithful departed on Holy Saturday, that they might rise with Christ on Easter
Call for Submissions
Gaudium welcomes submissions from readers on a broad range of topics on Catholic culture with an emphasis on topics relating to: Faith and the Family, Arts and Literature, and Culture and Society.
For submission guidelines, read more here.