Today He who is the King of angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona nobis pacem.


All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood.


So many of the things I crave and seek are vain. They do not satisfy the innermost cravings of my heart. They never could. I know that no matter how hard I try to chase other loves, none but Christ will satisfy. Only He could possibly reach the depths of me, let alone clean out the rot and fill the emptiness. He is more precious than the finest of earthly treasures. I have set my gaze to seek an pursue Him all the days of my life.

But oh, the vain things are charming. Pursuing God means an end to pursuing myself, an exchange well worth it but still incredibly difficult. The things that draw me in shout and speak and coax and whisper, "No, it's about you. I will satisfy you." They lie, of course, but charmers do. I let my gaze glance away from Christ. I allow or even force my ever-present sense of Him to blur. He isn't satisfying me right now, so I will turn my back on Him in hope of a quick fix elsewhere. I find the sin less satisfying than even my selfish discontent, my awareness of God snaps back into focus, I find that I've denied the one I love, and I end up brokenhearted at the sight of His broken heart.

He is quick to forgive. His blood soaks me again, and I come out clean, like a bride in her splendor. I deserve none of it, I writhe in my guilt, but he says, "I do not condemn you. I love you. Enter into the joy of your salvation."

What else can I do? If that's what He wants, if that's what will make Him happy, I will accept this gift, this grace, and rejoice, and love him with all I am once again.

I know myself well enough to know that I will fall again. If not in this way, than in another. Christ became my sin for me, and I am called to become His righteousness for Him. I stink at becoming righteousness.

But because my eyes are fixed on Him again, I'll try. And as long as my eyes are fixed on Him, I'll succeed. The God who asks it of me is also the God who empowers me. This is my Jesus, whom I love. And all the vain things that charm me most, I'll sacrifice them to His blood.


Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world: give us peace.