I took the prey

 

Look what came in the mail today! My Lord of the Rings necklace? New age jewelry? No... It's the Trinity! Celtic style. 

It's also a diffuser necklace. It came with little felt squares on which you put a couple drops of essential oil and place inside the pendant. There are holes that allow the aroma to come through so that I'm inhaling Joy all day long. I've replaced the albatross around my neck with the oil of gladness. 

In addition to my super cool necklace, I also received in the mail today a Lenten book with daily meditations and excerpts from the writings of John of the Cross. 

In thinking about the metaphor of shooting the albatross, I remembered John's poem where he repeats the line "I took the prey," which is God.

The weight of my sin has been lifted. Now I place around my neck a reminder of the One who has taken it upon Himself, Who has allowed Himself to be captured and killed. How horrible it feels on Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion to cry out with the crowd "crucify Him!" But oh happy fault, that gained us such a Savior. I'll gladly wear this symbol around my neck every single day. Ave Crux, Spes Unica!