Category Archives: Lent

The End of Ordinary Time

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Esther Hizsa

It’s the end of Ordinary Time in the church year. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. For the next forty days, like many Christians, I will give up something I enjoy, so that I can identify in some small way with Christ’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent | Tagged Ash Wednesday, Ashes, Ashes to go, confession, Esther Hizsa, Gerry Brague, John 8:31, John 8:32, last year's palms, lent, ordinary time, penitance, repent, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, St. Martin, Stephen 10on12 | 2 Comments

Christ Has Died

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

Homeless they take him down from the cross his PUTcold body pierced PUTbruised mouth silenced PUTsoft eyes blind as he began now at end PUTwrapped in cloth strips PUTlaid in wrong place helpless God stone heaved tomb sealed sudden scream PUTmine guards curse push me PUT“Go home!” can’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Easter, Holy Week, Lent, Poetry, Popular Posts | Tagged Caravaggio, Christ has died, Easter Saturday, Entombment of Christ, homeless | 1 Comment

With Christ in Glory

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

I look at the naked, bloodied body next to me. “What’s he doing here?” A sinless man is being crucified beside us: me on his left, the other criminal on his right. The crucified always die in disgrace, our lives held up as negative examples. Yet, he is good. People called him rabbi, healer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Easter, Holy Week, Lent, Stories | Tagged Anima Christi, Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, crucifixion, David L. Fleming SJ, Good Friday, Heinrich Hoffmann, Luke 23; 32-46, Soul of Christ | 1 Comment

Stay with Me

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

See how tenderly the angels comfort Jesus in his anguish. He longed for such compassion from his friends, but they couldn’t do it. They disappeared into a panacea of sleep. We rely on Jesus to be with us in everything, but will we be with … Continue reading →

Posted in Holy Week, Ignatian Spirituality, Lent, Praying with the Imagination, Stories | Tagged Anthony Falbo, Contemplation of Place, Gethsemane, Ignatian Sprititual Exercises, lent, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 26:36-46, Maundy Thursday, praying with the imagination, Stay with me, The Hour is Near | 3 Comments

Moving from “Me” to “We”

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

If I were Jesus riding into Jerusalem, I would have been pretty agitated. Imagine entering the city where you’re about to be betrayed, abandoned, beaten, and killed. How could Jesus remain present to the crowds of joyous people shouting, “Hosanna!”? Before the week is through, … Continue reading →

Posted in Helpful Images, Holy Week, Lent, Rob Des Cotes | Tagged Brian Whelan, Isaiah 41:13-14, Jesus enters Jerusalem, Luke 19:28-42, Palm Sunday, Rob Des Cotes, Soul Care Retreat | 2 Comments

Are You Withering on the Vine?

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

“Are you suffering from spiritual depletion?” Rob Des Cotes asked participants at the Soul Care retreat we hosted at our church. To help us answer that question, Rob led us though this diagnostic list. Are you experiencing any of the following? __ … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, Rob Des Cotes | Tagged Acedia, Annie S. Hawkes, I Need Thee Every Hour, Imago Dei Communities, Jaison Cianelli, John 15:5, John 15:9, Rob Des Cotes, Robert Lowry, Soul Care, spiritual depletion, Tree of Life | Leave a comment

The Unending Miracle of Love

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

I felt my heart “strangely warmed,” like what happened to John Wesley at Aldersgate in 1738 when he knew for certain that he was saved, The same thing happened to the two travellers on the road to Emmaus. While they didn’t recognize the risen Christ walking … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, Mystical, Popular Posts, Praying with the Imagination, Stories | Tagged embracing God, Emmaus Road, Fred, heart strangely warmed, Jaison Cianelli, John Wesley, Luke 24:35, mystical experience, The Cloud of Unknowing, unending miracle of love, Warm Embrace | 5 Comments

Resisting the Sirens

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

I remember the first time I identified the delicious desire to disappear. I felt enticed to float away into another world where nothing was expected of me. Sirens,* born of innocent angst, sang to me from the shore. They continue to … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, Popular Posts | Tagged Acedia, and me, disappear, Edward Armitage, grounded, Ignatian Sprititual Exercises, Kathleen Norris, Nan C. Merrill, noonday demon, psalm 1, Psalms for Praying, unteathered | 3 Comments

The Desire to Disappear

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

“Sometimes I wish I could disappear,” I told Father Elton once while I was doing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises last year. “Of course you do,” he said. “You want to do as you were told.” “What do you mean?” I … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, Ignatian Spirituality, Lent, Spiritual Direction, Stories | Tagged being present, desires of our heart, disappear, Ignatian Sprititual Exercises, prayer, Psalm 37:4, SIMindy | 3 Comments

Closed for a Reason

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

Words bounce off my heart like rain on pavement. Not just any words. God’s words. They won’t go in. It’s like I’m closed, locked up tight. I sit with my Bible open on my lap and remember another time when … Continue reading →