The Empty Tomb , 2026 .......Endless encounter with.. Despair...Failure....... freed by Hope.      

       This radically a new awakening for me, courtesy of Fr. James Martin, S.J. I heard him say, courtesy of Face Book, that the most neglected, in homilies is, the  reality of the Tomb Time, in the reflections on The Paschal Tridium. I could not agree more with this voice, which is raised in the Catholic Church being a place of welcome who frequently see themselves as NOT belonging. He is a Moses figure, a Mandela figure, as he leads those, judged by those who are looking for scapegoats. Those who judge, and act on disfunction. are those who are alienated from their Shadow Side. Because of their rejection, and self imposed harshness, they do not accept the personal challenge of acceptance. So they are looking for a powerless defenseless group, on which they transfer their feelings of guilt, fear and shame.

         Let us make a sincere effort to get inside the room in which the disciples huddled in fear, behind locked toors. The had to deal with guilt, as mostly deserters of Their Master, in His time of need. Fear, thinking they are to be the next victims of the vengeful, power-full enemies of, The Prophet Jesus. Shame, as they see themselves not having any self worth. That is the dynamic  power of shame , we loose our sense of worth, just being who we really are at this moment. What a the thoughts of Peter, destined to be the first pope ? 

   He promised to die with The Master. Now he is alive, and The Master is dead, having suffered an ignominious death, on Calvary. To make their isolation more deadly, they had yet to transformed, and transfigure by The Risen Christ. The Historical Jesus, He died on Calvary. He is NOW, The Risen Christ. The power of His Resurrected Presence, drastically brings about a physic change. When The Holy Spirit is imparted, as tongues of fire, the transformation is immediate. Where there was the dehumanizing results associated with, failure and shame, now they are filled with Hope. From the infusion of Hope, individual, local, and cosmic changes happened. Each one of us, has been chosen and called to be the  power-filled presence, that facilitated the continuation of the gifting of the gift, we call Hope.

              We actively join the disciples in feeling of, guilt, fear, and shame. The legacy of an authentic human journey. Today we are blessed with people who make it their goal in life to free us from the bondage of what I name, the toxic trinity, namely, guilt , fear, and shame.Because the toxic trinity actively wars against a healthy spirituality, we need to awaken, and reawaken to the way from bondage to freedom. Ever any church on the morning of Holy Saturday, we are confronted with the feelings associated with silence. EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE FIRST LANGUAGE, CHOSEN BY CREATIVE, AND CREATING SPIRIT for Self communication, silence in not the language we readily embrace. Noise, distractions upon distraction are the means we choose to avoid silence.

        The uncomfortable silence is. compounded by the presence of absence. No vigil light, to reassure of  The Mystical Presence. All the statutes and cross are shrouded in purple. The tabernacle door is wide open revealing emptiness. There is nothing visible that offers consolation with, a felt experience. There is nothing but nothingness. In nothingness the writers write, there is what is called Divine Nothingness. Anything we see, know, imagine is NOT the real presence of The Living Presence. We cannot point to this, or that, and say there is The Fullness of Divinity. All WE KNOW CONVEYS NOTHING OF THE ESSENCE OF WHO THE DIVINE IS. That is why way back there was a gift bestowed on seekers is is called, The Cloud Of Unknowing. A spiritual classic, revealing, what we know is not The Divinity, what we do not know, is mysteriously hidden, The Unknown. The words Unknowable, Ineffable are also met in writings.

      The book that really blindsided me, 40 plus years ago was "Merton's Palace of Nowhere", by James Finley. He was privileged to be a student of Merton. So, here is where I have arrived. I have slowly being led to this very limited understanding, the place of refuge, the safe place ,in we find welcome, is our slow and conscious immersion in Tomb Time. There in.... silence....emptiness...and nothingness we are loved, without  having to earn, deserve or qualify for this Love. This is not a given.  There there is an ongoing , moment to moment ,battle, a deadly encounter with the death dealing toxic trinity, of guilt....fear...shame. 

  We ,however, been gifted, the gift of Hope. This infinitely active, life enhancing reservoir of Love, is provided in endless quantity because of the Resurrection. Sometimes in temerity Hope is approached. The Infinitely Generous One, does not judge the effort, only embrace our reality as is and responds with all the grace necessary in every existential, moment. ( Know anybody else who offers such love ? If so, make that person your Anam Cara, your soul friend.) This  combination of thought is radically new. There will have to be serious effort on your part. I am so sorry to have, mistakes. I am too tired to face the necessary corrections. Grace please ???The blessings of The Resurrected, may they present in your consciousness, to be both your, light and strength. A Hope filled, mysterious Easter to you all. 

 

       Continuing reflection, on the continuing, ONE, celebration, of The Paschal TrIdium, 2026.

In the Gospel of John, 18:37 we have, The Prophet  Jesus, Who became The Christ, speaking these words " For this I was born, for this I came into the world, to speak the truth." Where did speaking the truth get Him ? to betrayal,  desertion, a crown of thorns, a scourging, a horrendous,  sorrow-filled journey, ending in endless mockery, and finally He was to experience death, the placed of cursedness. All because He spoke the truth, challenging those in the religious and civil realms. His words threaten security. Rather than confront the challenge of the truth, and make the necessary changes, they entered into a conspiracy. His death was planned.  The death reserved only for a runaway slave. To the Jews this was looked on as a place of, cursedness. A proposed solution to, The Nuisance. Because of the  successful outcome The Prophet Jesus, was crucified to ignominious death. Problem Solved ???

         The solution to a problem with the truth, lead to release of a power, that, at the time rocked the dual societies, both civil, and religious. The Resurrection not only released power, but imbued that power into all of reality, both physical and spiritual. Because of resulting continuous evolution, and transformation  we are where we are at, right now. feet planted in the sacramental now. The Reality of The Nuisance Crucified is alive and well. Continuing the rocking confrontational  transformation, resulting in a living hell to those in so called "power" who continue the role of obstruction, and destruction. We have martyrs from and for, our troubled times, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti. Alex were living Veronicas, going to the aid of a suffering contemporary Christ. They joined Him in death. Like His death, their deaths were not in vain. We are witnesses to the power of, transformative deaths. PASCHAL DEATHS !!!! We have the anthem for these now moments, provided by Bruce Springsteen. His prophetic music, will be a living memorial to the numberless victims of abusive, unfeeling, care-less power.

   The agony, the sufferings have not ended for Christ. He is now a living suffering Christ, in His Body. He again is present in and to the abandonment of children, as they suffer the loss of a parent, or worse still if the are incarcerated in hellish, so called nurseries. His Body continues to suffer, because of  the abuse of power  which is running rampant, leading to horrific, indescribable  pain and suffering.  All this is a reality in so many places. What does this mean ? This means that the work of Jesus, Who became the Christ, must be brought to completion.  Who have been chosen, and prepared for this challenge ? I ask you to slowly repeats the following  wonder-full, awe-full, challenging words, first proclaimed by The Prophet Jesus, facing death, " For this I was born, for this I came into the world, to speak the truth".

 . Each person is the living, Incarnation of, The Prophet of Truth. He was The Living Truth, and suffered and died because of His faithfulness to His prophetic call. Because of this modeled faithfulness we cannot settle for anything less. Living Truth is in the tabernacle of our depths. Not to lie in disengaged,  comfort. We are challenged to be  His Presence His Presence in our actions, and voices. When you speak it is  not you, but Christ Who speaks. We do not have to fulfill our prophetic call, roll, perfectly. The desire for perfection results in an unnecessary void being  deliberately created. Remember the bromide," I will do my best, and whatever I cannot do, The One who choose me to be a co-creator, will do the rest."

On His way to Calvary, The betrayed Suffering One Encountered two very significant people, whose memories are enshrined in scripture and tradition. Simon was forced into action to carry the wooden beam of the cross, when Jesus had a number of falls, and it looked like He was going to come short of the place of crucifixion, Golgotha. ( Golgotha is a name that belongs to so many of the hellish internment places of neglect and torture. Read the paper today ? Frightening and disgusting that this is ever possible in, a supposedly civilized and Christian, America . When will we ever recover from this blight that will forever exist in our honest history ) Simon was forced to carry the cross. Veronica, traditions tells us, she came out of the crowd and ministered to The traumatized, Body. Do you allow, the recognition, of the contemporary Simon and Veronicas ? In what way are you joining your presence, to minister to, The Presence, present in the sufferings of all our brothers and sisters ?

    The extreme sufferings of Jesus satisfied those who conspired to bring this death about. What was their reaction to " My God, My God, why have you abandoned me." How often have you joined Our Brother in that cry of complete abandonment ? Our brother cried out once, on Calvary. He cries out,  in us, through us, and always, with us. This is Presence within, as we cry out from  those horrendous crucifixions experienced in our visits to Golgotha. Jesus on His journey to become The Christ, through death and Resurrection, made that slog just once. We, however, are forced to that place of extreme suffering and abandonment again and again. The journey to be a contemporary Christ, is....???  Bonhoeffer wrote, " There is no, surrender less, Christianity". As we face the great challenges we must never loose sight of, The Power of The Resurrection. This Power awaits us all in our depths ? How is this transforming and transfiguring to be actualized....?????? 

   

    Holy Week, 2026-----The Tridium of Holy Thursday, The paschal mystery revealed anew, and celebrated on,Good Friday-Holy Saturday-Easter Sunday, as, ONE, celebration.

The prayer of Palm Sunday is a wonder-full gift. Like all sacramental, eternal gifts they are forever empowering awakening, reawakening, and always further, re-awakenings, until, "eternity dawns." In that moment we will cross over the last finite threshold, and come to the fullness of knowledge, we have always been promised. What a seismic explosion that will be ? All that has been hidden will then be revealed in a moment of transfigurement. That is why we are gifted with the innate desire to search,  research, eternally, never being satisfied. I wonder is that what that prayer means when we pray, "let us go forward with a lively faith?" That sacramental, mysterious faith journey can be  taken, Only One Step at a time. Our compulsivity is given a good kick the pants. The only journey to take, is, to hitch our wagons, to, the evolutionary process that is working on the miracle of an ever new creation and  and then we have a new revelation of The Ancient Truth.

        Our endless questions, and searches are answered,  that is the, GOOD news. The BAD news, is all those answers are loaded with faith challenging, new questions. We do not face this challenge alone.We are slowly brought to the understanding, all Tridium moments  are in the here and now. We take our steps under the inspiration of, The Holy Spirit.  We are being secretly guided by that same Holy Spirit that was the strengthening Power-full Presence operating from the depths of, The Beloved Son on His Tridium slog.

      As it was with that Beloved Chosen son, so it is with all of us who have been chosen to be The Suffering Servants  within the contemporary  Tridium of, 2026.  This challengening  slog on The Via Dolorosa, is not taken alone. We take our slog, our Via Dolorosa both as individuals  and members of a community. When you add  the  cosmic dimension ??? What happens. That journey is for you to discover and reverenced, liturgical participation is essential, right now? !!!!  Last week there was a hint of what was to be encountered and embraced. All of our experiences of encounter, are simultaneously present in, in the sacrament of the now. All realities of Holy Week are simultaneously  present, they are the intended ending of Christmas, and The Incarnation !!!! Every moment is our faith encounter with who we all are, and are becoming ????

  All the realities of Holy Week Tridium are to be seen as. both sequential, and simultaneous ? A personal active conscious participation in The Sacred Liturgy, the prayer life of The Risen Body, coupled with our individual prayers are essential, for a balanced spiritual understanding of what is both sequential and simultaneous. In The Sacred Liturgy,  what is darkness to us, is guided to the light of consciousness. The in-depth meaning  of The Tridium is revealed through participation, silence, emptiness, and nothingness. That is why The Sacred Liturgy, architecture, liturgical art, together are an essential for the celebration of The Mystery of our Faith. " Christ has died, Christ is Risen, and Christ will come again ", in each and every moment of the unique life, that is gifted to us. Now, on reflection, what is emerging from the new revelation, that appears as both a threat and a blessing ? After how many readings has, The Supernatural Mystery of our faith, found a  tentative footing on the outskirts of our ?   Let us bring it home.

         Holy Thursday, ends the 40 days of our desert. preparatory, and revelatory experience. Today we enter the three days of celebration. We are being invited, in many different ways, not to be an observer, but to immersion. The Holy Spirit will gently lead you to new in-depth understandings, not to upset or shatter anything, but through struggle be awaken to a life only dreamed about, until now. This sacramental now moment ,reveals an eternal mystery, "ever ancient, ever new".

       The gospel readings reveal The Historical Jesus, as a concerned mother and a caring Shepherd. He will leave His contemporary form. Through His betrayal, suffering, death, burial, and Resurrection a new Presence is presented to His scared apostles and disciples. All that is contained in those previous words, is both hidden and revealed in your every human thought and action. At The Last Supper, Jesus, took bread, He blessed and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, " take this and eat it, for this is my Body". So the first mass was celebrated. The disciples were given the power to make this Mystery a reality from that moment on. So much has been written to sensitize us to what was really present, and continues to be present, in each ever new Eucharistic celebration. All are active participants, not disengaged observers, in each Liturgical celebration. We are challenged to be bread, that is being blessed,  broken, and given to a neglected and starving cosmic family.

    Where do you see hunger, neglect, dehumanizing actions, betrayal, exploitation, etc. Being a contemporary Eucharistic presence your body, is now The Body of Christ. Yes! the body that will be blessed, broken and given so what was celebrated 2000 years ago is a living, nourishing, transformative power. There is always an awakening. Then a reawakening to the depth of your eternal choosiness. Your choosiness is a gift, the good news. The bad news is you will suffer ALL that Christ suffered. These days are given annually to be provided with a time for reflection, and recommitment. 

  Where do you see, and react to, the Gospel that was written 2,000 years ago is being written in the blood, sweat and tears of today's Gospel writers. Now take the time to recognize and identify with the contemporary authors. How and where is your gospel being authored and revealed ? Is this, my innate dignity, unsettling to my complacency ? What more has come to consciousness, from a place you cannot physically locate ? What reverence is being offered ? 

    A blessed Paschal Tridium to you all. I reverence The Presence that is present in your sacramental presence. Most importantly I pray you will be lead to an ever deepening response to be your Eucharistic call. What is that ? Only you can have a personal response to that question. This will be the concrete foundation on which a new and transformed life will be built. The Gracious Creative, and Creating One is waiting on your timid, yes. Building on this timid yes, a new and mysterious reality you will enter continuously, until......                                           Paschal Love, is all there is to offer. Gramps.

      

 Lent 2026. I really wanted write 25 !!!!! This 2026, is triggering some really indescribable spiritual movements. I have learned the hard lesson, that is the process of acceptance. I am struggling with this,  post-graduate  immersion. 

       Our Lenten-desert experience is winding down. We must always remember Lent was seen, by the early church, as a time of retreat. Retreat for the Catechumens and for the faith communities   they had chosen to enter. These faith communities are challenged to be again, converted. Old answers will not satisfy the questioning minds of the,  2026 converts. These are new and challenging times. Trite answers will only lead to, disillusionment. SAD ?? These two essential essential elements of Lent, have not changed, over the centuries. Neglected ? sadly, YES.

        We are all,  again, invited by The Holy Spirit to enter a time of spiritual honesty and conversion..  Those in recovery are very well acquainted with the essential, for their trudge, "honesty, open-mindedness  and willingness". Daily practice and participation in those, will lead to sanity, sobriety, and serenity". The desert of encounter, transformation, and transfiguration, is a challenging place of silence, emptiness, and nothingness. Doe that mean there is nothing happening ? That there is a Loving, Gentle Power, noiselessly working to slowly trigger the  awakening  of an aspect of the true self that was hidden, neglected, and or, deliberately ignored. Ignored, because of the pressures, both internal and external imposed on our, isolated, fear-filled false self. The Holy Spirit sees that an awakening is called for, so The Spirit's plan for the cosmos, can be realized. See how much power we have been, freely gifted with ? We can, and do frustrate the original plan. Plan "B" has to be relied upon.

    The false self sees very few options that will lead to freedom. Freedom to say no to The Father of Lies, and prosecutions. Freedom to shout out a resounding, NO, to the  hellish life of deception, and pain filled nonentity. Free to enter the river of the beloved, to be carried effortlessly by a Love that was always present, empowering us to  exit the crucible of  abandonment,  suffering and terror. Lent reveals The Only One, Who has the power to confront, The Liar, with The Living Truth,  because He is The Infinite, Eternal Truth, Who has made a home in our depths. The Power, celebrating, in the tabernacle within, gently works to awakened, us all, again and again. These awakenings slowly lays the foundation of a living, loving relationship that cannot be compromised or negated. All healthy relationships can only progress an ever deeper, and ever deepening  intimacy. This is  the real truth, the stepping stone to real freedom. This is essential it is only when fear is challenged, fearlessly encountered, CAN there be intimacy. On author was given to write, " raw, naked fear, is the last hurdle to be cleared, on the way to true intimacy."

         Reading and rereading the gospels for Lent have you connected with The Woman at The Well, The Blind Man, and the account of Lazarus, being resuscitated.Have you found they each trigger a connection with something inside, that we cannot express in thought or word ?   This silent dynamic is what is powering our  new awarenesses. We come to accept those are not events of 2,00 years ago. They are yours and mine, in the sacrament of this present moment. In this now moment they are speaking to us.  Silently, and gently bringing the reluctant, private, person within, to an encounter with the present understandings of Jesus, Who became The Christ of God. One who is thirsting, suffering blindness, and is experiencing at a level of death which is very unsettling, and disturbing, yet !!, and has the power to  rewaken and renew. Reflect again on how the three are encountered and treated by The Christ, with whom there gradually brought to faith. Does this process provide some unseen balm, leading to serenity,  peace, and wellbeing ? A deepening appreciated of the workings of Mysterious Grace ????

 How  or where do you see yourself in the progressions, the evolutions  that were the experience of The Woman, and The Blind Man, Martha, Mary, Lazarus, and the witnessing community ?? There is no time and space when it come to the spiritual journey, and spiritual realities. That means all the above are within you, in your here and now, to be discovered, and become your teachers. We have, The Christ, making a home in the tabernacle of the true self. We are always being led to ever new awakenings. Where do you see yourself encountering  Christ's presence in every reality, in the unique life you are being gifted with ? 

         To summarize,  this has been a very finite effort designed to trigger, IF CHOSEN, a reawakening. A reawakening to the essential surrender to the mysterious movements,  silent workings of The Holy Spirit.  Leading from thirsting, blindness, and Paschal deaths, to....... ??? I do not have a clue ???? Blessings on the mysterious  journey your are being led on, one step, one moment. Gramps.

 

 

           Gregory of Nyssa, the spiritual journey, "an ever deepening purification of perception."

         " There are none so blind, as those, who will not, see." Old, old saying I heard in my youth. 

       " Come Holy Spirit and transform my disbelief, into a deepening journey into, uncertainty.(jhi)

 

 I have viewed many videos of children receiving  miracle  glasses, then, "lo and behold", they can see. Their joy and excitement  is shared by their parents. Being able to see is a time of joy-full celebration. The time will come when that child will see a messy room, and act blind, to the reality.  The miracle of Jesus, gifting the blind man with sight, was a joy for the blind man.  For his parents it was a different story, right ? This is a great example of, "Every curse, is a blessing, every blessing, is a curse". 

 

        I cannot go any further without help. Darn it !!!!! I was so comfortable with my previous understanding, but this week is challenging that, comfort. I cannot spew that old lifeless, crud.  The scriptures are a verdant source of new light, leading to new understanding.  Inherent in this new knowledge,  understanding, is, a contemporary, challenge. A challenge we have ALREADY been strengthened to meet. Thank you St.Paul for the reminder," we will never be tested beyond our strength." Joe, just like most,  does have some, usually a lot, of questions about that. Do I hear an,  AMEN ? Faith is a journey into uncertainty, nor certainty? "Ever so comforting", says cynical Joe

           At one time, in those years. of blindness, I would have agreed with the apostles. I was brought up, that if there was a screw up, punishment was to follow.  How much time have I wasted trying to come to grips with was I had done wrong, to deserve a current punishment ?  So it would stand as reasonable, to that archaic way of thinking, looking at the blind man, someone had to be blamed. The Prophet Jesus, turns that  one on its head.  (The Incarnated prodigal love, of our Prodigal Father, stands always revealed, but not immediately seen.)  He will continue this challenge of the accepted beliefs, and practices. We will see that in His radical approach to the lepers that approached  Him ?? For The Prophet, sin and punishment do not belong together. " In God, there is no condemnation". With our, Prodigal Father, it is mercy, upon, mercy upon mercy.  Reflect again on The Parable of The Prodigal Father. Our Father NEVER grows weary of His mercy-full love for you and I. The problem lies in the reality we get weary of the, repetition. The dynamic of, toxic shame and guilt blinds us to the true meaning of mercy-full love. It is always good to be reminded that the action of mercy leads us to be, healed, soothed, comforted, protected, strengthened, transfigured, and transformed. When we look at mercy that way, we are ever and always in desperate need. Well at least that is my experience.

         When the news of His healing reached the religious leaders, they were shocked into necessary action. The fact that The Prophet Jesus, worked this miracle on the sabbath, may have something to do with it ??? Jesus choose the sabbath to work a number of his miracles, this triggered a conspiracy to kill Him. It worked. The religious leaders ignored the facts. They had to protect their certainties, so they expelled him from the temple. Where have you experienced  similar reprisals for expressing your evolving beliefs and understandings ? How many 'walk no more with you"? How many have you chosen to disconnect from, because of their toxic beliefs and actions ? This is what it means to have healthy boundaries." We do not think our way into a new way of acting, we act our way into a new way of thinking"

 Faith leads to understanding. Understanding leads to action, always guided by The Creative Spirit. Actions that confront the accepted, will never be received kindly. As it was in the time of The Prophet Jesus, so it is today, and unfortunately will be into the foreseeable future. A radical change in consciousness will be needed. The seeds of that change, Is, within your power, right now. This is one of the great conversions needed, to meet the challenge of  that radical change in the collective  consciousness. There will be forces in action to prevent change at any cost. 

 

       Do we not see an inordinate amount of power and money at work, to prevent meaning-full and healthy change. Reflect back on the reaction of the religious leaders to the challenging response of the man, once blinded, but now can see, clearly. They cannot respond to his questions and responses. So to deal with him, they just kicked him out of the temple, as if that solved the challenge facing them. When power is challenged, how often is power used to negate the challenge ? We see how female reporters, doing their job, are belittled, when their challenges, hit a nerve. That was the experience of the once, blind man. The religious leaders were stumped, so toxic power was used to get rid of the perceived challenge to their authority. They kicked the challenger out of the Temple. Our Pope Leo is an active challenger to all that is destructive to the safety, and well being, of all. Have you kept up to date with his many exhortations? See his challenge to all the Catholics present in the, current, administration. There are many !!!!! 

         This getting out of hand ??? So sorry. Do you see yourself in the conversion process, of the blind man ? I see blindness challenged, over these many years. The Second Vatican Council was, and still is an agent of change and challenge ? Have you had, or are currently having to deal with the challenge of The Social Gospel as, pronounced by The Prophet Jesus. This Prophet that was, is now the Risen Christ Who has chosen you personally, not only to be His dwelling place, tabernacle, but to be active Force, Power inspiring and guiding your conversion, and subsequent actions. Much more to write, but I choose to be prudent and stop. I may have a matinee ??? Mercy-full Love and prayers.GP.