{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Homilies from the National Shrine","title":"The Stones We Throw: Denial, Gaslighting, and the Mercy of the Cross - Fr. Mark Baron | 3/27/26","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1362,"description":"The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032726.cfmIn the past two days, the Gospels have revealed the core reason Jesus was nailed on the Cross: our sins. Historically, this unfolded through the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders, particularly the Pharisees and scribes. Yesterday, Jesus declared, \"I am,\" connecting Himself to God’s self-revelation to Moses as existence itself. Today, He reveals an even deeper truth: the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son. This Trinitarian revelation speaks of an intimate, interpenetrating life where the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father.Yet, the most fascinating aspect of this passage is not the historical conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees leading to the Cross, but the internal battle within the hearts of the Pharisees — and within our own hearts. Jesus faces a defense mechanism of denial. The Pharisees do not deny the miracles He performs; they deny what those miracles point to: His divinity. They see the good works, but refuse to trace them back to the divine cause. This denial stems from a threat to their ego.  Jesus, as a greater authority, threatened their status, their livelihood, and their self-perception.When denial fails, the mind moves to rationalization. The Pharisees found a legal reason to reject Jesus: apparent blasphemy. They claimed He was a mere man making Himself equal to God, a crime punishable by death. This is the intellect serving the will to avoid an unwanted reality. hen we do not desire a truth to be real, our will moves our intellect to find a reason to reject it. The Pharisees rationalized their rejection to protect their pride.Next comes projection. The Pharisees took their own internal chaos — pride, resistance, and anger — and projected it onto Jesus. They called Him a blasphemer, transferring their own spiritual blindness onto Him. This is the dynamic of looking at the speck in another’s eye while ignoring the beam in one’s...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/RyS-C2ZLvo8KH5NqfI6NL8IYJ95DYB9GdIPXRzHWFC4/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE3MzgyLzE2Mjc2/NTE3MjQtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}