Reflect
St. Clare of Assisi once wrote to Agnes of Prague to gaze, consider, contemplate, and imitate Jesus while meditating upon the cross. For both Clare and Francis, the cross represented the humility and poverty of God. They were not overcome with shame over their sin when they meditated upon the cross; they were overcome with the love and humility of God.
Pray
On the days I feel lost, faint,
Help me gaze upon the cross to find my comfort, strength.
That cross on Calvary’s hill:
Not a symbol of guilt or shame, not the anger of a punitive God, or some sick transaction
But rather of love poured out, the self-giving of the Trinity overflowing into our world,
The architecture of the universe displayed for my heart to receive,
to be considered, contemplated, to be gazed upon, imitated.
Act
Consider a scene in your life where you were overcome with a sense of gratitude for the goodness of life, or perhaps a moment that was shattered with pain but where you somehow still felt the goodness of love. Gaze upon this scene, consider its meaning, contemplate what this says about the nature of reality. What does it look like to imitate what you gained from this experience?
