His Sweet Aroma

Today, many people in this world are oblivious to what happened today. The Lord Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God, was hung on a tree, nailed and crucified so that me and you are not condemned forever, so that we could have Victory.

Father Anthony gave a wonderful sermon today. The basic sin that people who are not in the Church commit is that they do not trust God. Lifestyle choices--these are extraneous things--but it is an inability and refusal to trust in God, like Judas, is their sin. For those of us in Church, our "Judas" sin is self-reliance. We foolishly judge His plans, judge how He is working in the world and think we know better than Him. Self-reliance is just as bad if not worse than living outside of the Church. We do not deserve ANYTHING good from God. God gives to us as He pleases. Thinking like Judas, known as a "man whose words were smoother than oil", only leads on a path to destruction and then we find ourselves dry, empty, discouraged and frustrated. What was Judas' end? He hung himself. Self-destruction is the consequence of not living fully with God.

My favorite chant of Good Friday:

This is He who presented Himself upon the Cross, an acceptable sacrifice for the salvation of our race.His Good Father inhaled His sweet aroma on Golgotha at the time of the evening.

May the blessings of the Holy Week and the Glorious Resurrection be with us.