An Elliptical Glory: THE FRIEND -- Daily Images of God--Lent 2022 Day 30 March 31

Thursday, March 31, 2022

THE FRIEND -- Daily Images of God--Lent 2022 Day 30 March 31

Daily Images of God--Lent 2022

Day 30

March 31

THE FRIEND

This is my commandment: love each other as I love you. There is no greater love than laying down your life for your friends. If you follow this commandment, you are indeed my friends. “Slaves” is what you once were called, but I can’t use that word for you. Slaves know nothing of what their master is up to. Isn’t it obvious you are my friends? I have hidden nothing from you of what my Father has confided to me! (John 15:12-15, TAB)

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This web log is intended to share homilies, some liturgical materials I have prepared or adapted (prayers, litanies, etc.), and occasional journal entries.

"Elliptical" can mean "fragmentary, with words missing," or "in the shape of a flattened circle." While "glory" refers to the brilliance surrounding the Deity, it can also refer to the grace that reflects such radiance in life. In Christian iconography, a "glory" is the whole body halo around the Christ or the Blessed Virgin in paintings and statuary.

According to Kepler’s First Law of Planetary Motion, an object in orbit follows an ellipse, with the center of mass as one of the foci. The ellipse was called “imperfect” by theologians who originally objected to its use by Kepler to refine Copernicus’ heliocentric model of the solar system, as opposed to the “perfect” circles of Aristotelian geocentric cosmology. "Elliptical" can thus also imply the 'imperfect' path between two centers, or falling toward the true center, but moving forward fast enough to avoid collision, but slowly enough to prevent escape.