Tom,

A lot of hard things to think about with that post. Especially when confronted with our utter selfishness. Yet here is Christ showing us the nobility of dying to oneself. Because when we lose ourselves in Him do we truly find ourselves. It is an exquisite paradox that is lived out in the Church's sacraments for which I am grateful. With each of them, there is a dying to self.

So, yes, I am in myself destined to always choose my way, but in losing myself in Christ, grace teaches me a higher way.

It's funny because last week at this time, I was in a self-pitying state and so the opportunity to write my own Way of the Cross arose. I thought, "Oh, what a great spiritual exercise." Little did I know. With every encounter of the Cross, every meditation we undertake, seeds of our conversion are planted...the moving from one state of grace to a higher one. Lord knows, I've got a long road to walk, but I rejoice in the saints' lives who show us that with God all things are possible.

So may your long night's meditation bear fruit in you.

Have a blessed Holy Week.

Dying to one's self: I almost said something about that, actually...but refrained. Excllent, Argent, as always. Thanks for the comments.

Hope you get some sleep tonight. *grin*

Tom,

How curious that you've taken off wondering whether or not Jesus would have died for just one person. I've been pondering that a bit myself (no all-nighters).

I agree with your conclusion. Yes. He would.

Another point aside from your own considerations. You could say that Jesus accepted death by crucifixion to save us, or you could say that he accepted the will of the Father. I tend to think Jesus did it to conform to the Father's Will first and to save us second.

What do you think?

Uncle Ren,

First, it's fantastic to hear that you came to the same conclusion about Jesus dying for one person.

Second, I'm literally late for a meeting so I'll try to avoid my natural brevity (strong sarcasm implied) and give you my short response:

You certainly could say that Jesus accepted death by crucifixion to save us, or you certainly could say that he accepted the will of the Father, but why would you? The word "heresy" comes from the Greek hairesis which means "choosing." This would say something about being a "cafeteria Catholic" (more on that later perhaps), but also I think anytime you try to separate Truth from Truth, this is an error. Now, certainly sometimes this seemss unavoidable, but keeping the "fullness of Truth" in mind is key.

This being said, what I mean to say is Yes, Jesus would do anything first for the will of His Father. But, I think it is a mistake to say that this is a separate issue from Jesus accepting death by crucifixion to save us. Certainly the will of the Father was that Jesus would accept death by crucifixion. That is why Jesus agonized in the garden so much and asked, "Father if it be your will, let this cup pass me by." (I am too late to find the exact verse, but will do it later.)

Not sure if that made sense, let me know if I answered your question or not!

Third, I was planning to email you first chance I got this morning. I felt as though I needed to speak to you for some reason. How strange or perhaps not so strange that I didn't need to. (Oh, and I don't have the gift of prophesy, so don't even bother thinking along those lines.)

Fourth, does Uncle Ren have a silent 'W', as in Uncle Wren? I think not, but I want to be sure.

God bless you and your descendants! (And tell them I said hi.)

Tom Reagan

To anybody who read my Overlooked Centurion piece:

Could you send me an email at tom@tomreagan.com and let me know if you read it (so I can email you a particular follow-up question that's been troubling me deeply)? This feedback will help me write pieces more meaningful to readers.

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,
Tom Reagan