Unutterable and exalted joy!

These things I have spoken to you,

that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be full.

~John 15:11

The concrete sign that we have truly encountered Jesus

is the joy that we show in communicating it to others.

~Pope Francis, 9/17/16 Tweet

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

O blessed Cross,

you alone were worthy to bear

the King and Lord of heaven, alleluia!

~from the Office for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

~Isaac Watts

Dead or alive?

I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.

~John 10:10

Have you wept at anything during the past year?

Has your heart beat faster at the sight of young beauty?

Have you thought seriously about the fact

that someday you are going to die?

More often than not,

do you really listen when people are speaking to you,

instead of just waiting for your turn to speak?

Is there anybody you know in whose place,

if one of you had to suffer great pain,

you would volunteer yourself?

If your answer to all or most of these questions is no,

the chances are that you’re dead.

~Frederick Buechner