Joseph of Arimathea has approached Pilate
- Nicodemus brings myrrh and aloes, about 100 lbs
- Slowly Jesus' body is placed in Mary's arms
- Joseph places Jesus' body in his own new tomb
- A huge stone is rolled over the tomb's entrance
Let us offer our bodies with Christ that others may have life.
At the cross of Jesus a group of women and John
- Jesus' last gift and duty, to care for his mother
"Woman, this is your son."
"This is your Mother"
- So we too pray "and at the hour of our death"
- The new family of faithful disciples of Jesus
Let us dwell on the words: "Behold your son."
a new community is born:
a family for everyone
"My God, my God why have you forsaken me?"
bereft!
"It is finished"
completed
loved to the end
Jesus dies on the cross - bereft of any consolation
Jesus hands back his spirit to the Father
The divine mission is fulfilled
From his pierced side blood and water flowed
Let us pray in union with Jesus,
Into your Hands, O Lord, I commend my Spirit.
The Stations of the Cross will be continued tomorrow. Holy Thursday is such a gift to us. Jesus began by washing the feet of his disciples and thus giving us an example of how we are to serve one another with love. Then Jesus gives us Himself in the Eucharist. He took bread and wine and changed it into His own body and blood so that he could continue to be present to us through all the ages. He waits for us to come to receive Him in the Eucharist; He gave those present at this last supper the grace to go and do this in remembrance of Jesus. We can go visit Jesus in a special way whenever we go to a Catholic church or chapel where there is a tabernacle with a sanctuary lamp burning to indicate that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. What a gift we have!
Let us spend time in adoration after the Holy Thursday services tonight so we may be with Jesus to thank Him for His gift to us as well as stay with Him for it is on this same night that He will suffer the agony in the garden, the betrayal of Judas, and the abandonment of his friends.
Jesus between the two thieves
-One criminal taunts, the other asks
"Jesus remember me..."use of first name
"Today...." we will receive the same reply
-What of those who are not close to Jesus?
-Let us speak to Jesus for ourselves, for our friends.
for our enemies, for the persecutors of our friends.
Let us draw courage from the promise: "Today you will be with me in Paradise."
The interchange of love that constitutes the essential happiness of Heaven
a dizziness, a heart-pounding, a thundering Now, an Eternal embrace, a consuming happiness
The pall of death and doom hangs over Golgotha
The beam is thrown on the ground
Soldiers tear off Jesus' clothes
Jesus' arms are stretched wide on the beam
Nails are hammered into his wrists
With a jolt the beam slits into the upright
Jesus' feet are nailed
The chief priests mock
Jesus only prays "Father, forgive them.
Let us reflect on the words: "Forgive them they know not what they do"
Forgive us our closed minds, which deny truth
Forgive us our closed eyes which fail to see needs
Forgive us our closed hands which fail to give
Forgive us our closed ears which shut out cries
Forgive us our closed hearts which limit sympathy
Forgive us our deliberately held blind spots
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem - this is Pope John Paul II's Scriptural Way of the Cross and is his Station IX
-A large crowd, held by curiosity
-A group of women offer relief
-Is his Mother in this group?
-Jesus sees the women, speaks
"Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me.
Weep for yourselves - your city is doomed.
If this is the green wood what to the dry?"
-If Jesus the innocent suffers so much, what will be the judgment on the guilty?
Let us beg fulfillment in our being as People of Communion, People of Contemplation, People of Reconciliation,
therefore grant unto us
-a heart that remembers
-a heart that is faithful
-a heart that is grateful
-a heart that truly loves
The commemoration of the Lord's entrance into Jerusalem begins with a procession. The opening prayer is worth taking time to reflect on so I am copying it here:
Dear brothers and sisters,
since the beginning of Lent until now we have prepared our hearts by penance and charitable works.
Today we gather together to herald with the whole Church the beginning of the celebration of our Lord's Paschal Mystery, that is to say, of his Passion and Resurrection. For it was to accomplish this mystery that he entered his own city of Jerusalem. Therefore, with all faith and devotion, let us commemorate the Lord's entry into the city for our salvation, following in his footsteps, so that, being made by his grace partakers of the Cross, we may have a share also in his Resurrection and in his life.
Then comes the blessing of the palms and the procession begins.
During the Mass, the Passion is read from Mark's Gospel.
It's a requisition
Simon caught unaware
death must be avoided before public execution
Simon shoulders the beam
Simon steps into Jesus' footsteps - a disciple image
Faith comes to Simon and his sons
Jesus, we, too, need a Cyrene.
Be our Cyrene in
those who give us a spiritual uplift
those who smilingly chat with us
those who share their courageous spirit with us
those who give new meaning to life
those who visit and sit silently with us
those behind the scenes who feed us
those who remind us of God's mercy
And we are called to be a Cyrene for Jesus and for others!
Roman soldiers lead Jesus out
The execution beam is placed across his shoulders
The beam is our human rebellion against God
The beam crushed...
Jesus stumbles....staggers....falls
Jesus, grant us the strength to carry our crosses:
when it seems all our energy has failed
when living seems monotonous
when we remain attached to the past
when all seems unsure, unclear, doubtful
when small arrangements nag us
when mental and physical pain dominate
when we can no longer be creative
when we feel that no one understands
when we cannot pray
when both body and soul are restless
when we feel opposition
A chastisement!...blow after blow
No one counts
The crown cap is pushed on Jesus' head
The jeers, the slaps, the mockery of homage
They kept coming up 'Hail, king of the Jews'
Jesus is handed back to Pilate
Pilate shows the utterly disfigured Jesus to the crowd - Ecce Homo
"Take him yourselves...
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, deliver us
from the desire of being esteemed,
from the desire of being loved,
from the desire of being extolled,
from the desire of being honored,
from the desire of being praised,
from the desire of being preferred to others,
from the desire of being consulted,
from the desire of being approved.
I am back to following the booklet with Pope John II's Stations
Pilate the Gentile interrogates:
Are you the king of the Jews?
Pilate finds a loophole: Jesus is a Galilean
Pilate hands over Jesus to Herod
Herod hands Jesus back to Pilate
"I do not find this man guilty nor does Herod."
Another stratagem: This man or Barabbas?
Weak Pilate washes his own hands and hands over Jesus to be whipped by the soldiers.
My own reflection: Jesus is now passive. He allows all this suffering to show His love for us. What will I say and do as I contemplate the Heart of Jesus undergoing all this to show His love for me?
Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss; Peter denies three times even knowing Jesus. What must the Heart of Jesus feel when his chosen ones betray him, leave him, and deny him?
Today, in all parts of the world, we have people in pain, people who are betrayed, denied, by those in power; people who need to flee from their home to save their lives. Jesus still sees and suffers with the injustice in our world today. He asks us to do something to help the homeless, the refugees, the outcasts in our world. What will I do?
