Tag: Passion

“I thirst.” | Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

From the responsorial psalm: “But my trust is in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God. In your hands is my destiny; rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.’ Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

The full passion narrative can be found on The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041825.cfm

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 18:1—19:42).

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Jesus takes on himself the passion that begins with his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane and ends in his crucifixion. After Judas betrays Jesus in the garden and after being brought before Annas and then Caiaphas, Jesus endures from them false accusations as well as Peter’s denial. At first Pilate finds no fault in Jesus, but he condemns him as the pressure of the crowd mounts as they cry out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Mocked, beaten, and led to Golgotha, Jesus is crucified alongside two criminals. As he completes his Father’s mission, he says from the cross, “It is finished.” After his death, soldiers pierce his side and, John tells us, “immediately blood and water flowed out,” which is the means of entering into new life through Baptism (water) and spiritual nourishment (the blood of Christ). By the mystery of his suffering and crucifixion, Jesus, the Lamb of God, becomes the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

God, quiet my mind and soul today so that I open more fully to the mystery of salvation that unfolds even now through the crucifixion. Throughout the day, whether I am engaged in work or activities, help me call to mind that what took place two thousand years ago is not just a past event but the ever-present saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ crucified. In his passion and death, you laid upon your Son the guilt of us all, each of us you call by name. Because of this, you greatly exalt him and bestow on him the name which is above every other name. Lamb of God, have mercy on us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil

From the responsorial psalm: “The right hand of the LORD has struck with power; the right hand of the LORD is exalted. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 16:1-7)

On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”

After the sabbath, early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome go to the tomb of Jesus to anoint him. As they approach the tomb, they question among themselves how they will remove the stone. When they look up, they see that it has been rolled away. A young man sits at the right side of the tomb who tells them Jesus has been raised, and he sends them with a message, mentioning Peter by name and the disciples. Jesus would meet them in Galilee, as he told them. In the resurrection, saving us from sin and death, Jesus goes ahead of us. And God always keeps his promises. In the Easter vigil Mass, the triumph of light over darkness appears in the risen Christ, the Light of the World.

God, help me fully embrace the passion, death, and resurrection of your Son in understanding it as much as your grace allows so that I can partake in the full Easter joy of receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. By taking him in, I take in his victory over sin and death and am strengthened through him in the hope of the resurrection, which he made possible for all who believe in him. Grant me the grace, Lord, to participate in the mystery of Christ’s resurrection and know the joy it offers for me and for the whole world. Have mercy on us, Lord, and on the whole world. “By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

From the responsorial psalm: “Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your kindness. Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the LORD. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 18:1—19:42)

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Until the moment of his death, Jesus was aware that he was accomplishing his Father’s will. Throughout the days leading up to his passion and through all its brutality, he never lost sight of it and in the last moment knew when he had fulfilled all he was sent to fulfill. What was it Jesus thirsted for? To be sure, as a man, he thirsted as a man thirsts; as Immanuel, he thirsted not for any created thing but for the salvation of all. In saying “It is finished,” the Son announces to the Father in that moment the finality of life but also the beginning of the end of sin and death in his glorious resurrection to come. Jesus’ death on the cross is not an end but for all who believe in him the full flowering of the hope of the resurrection.

God, in contemplating the death of your Only Begotten Son on the cross, I strive to see the profound depth and breadth of its effects, for the sake of the whole world and for my own sake. Help me weigh the small sacrifices I make today against the weight of your crucifixion. There is no comparison, and it could be that all I can do today is stand in wonder of that. Give me the grace to know more deeply the meaning of the crucifixion; teach me through obedience to your will the meaning of suffering as a means of sanctification. A sinner, I am inclined to want to look away from the crucifixion and what it draws me to—Christ your Son—but I can’t look away. Help me understand who it is I behold and what it means.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Tuesday of Holy Week

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.” Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

These words from today’s Gospel follow Judas’s betrayal of Jesus. John tells us that after Judas took the morsel that Jesus gave him, Satan entered him. Jesus then tells Judas, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” When Judas leaves, Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once.” He also tells them he will be with them only a little while longer. It seems at first odd that Jesus should say at this betrayal that he is glorified and that God is glorified in him. However, Jesus looks to the short time ahead when his death and resurrection will fulfill his Father’s will in bringing redemption and salvation to all.

God, what opportunities are there for me today that will give you glory? To know your will begins by first seeking and knowing it and then doing it. For me, it is impossible that every action of mine would reach that end. Help me understand that this is not something I can accomplish on my own but instead has to begin with you. Work with me today, God; work through me so that I allow you to work all things for the good. After betraying Jesus, Peter ultimately laid down his will and his life for Christ. Help me be faithful to you, Lord, through my thoughts, words, and actions.

Sometimes, Lord, I lose the opportunity to know your presence through silence, afraid that I’ll have little to measure against the yardstick of time. Teach me to be quiet, to want what you want, to accomplish your immeasurable will.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Monday of Holy Week

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.

Before Passover and after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus goes to the house of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus for a dinner they invited him to. John tells us that Mary takes a liter of costly perfumed oil and anoints the feet of Jesus and dries them with her hair. At this, Judas Iscariot complains, saying that the oil should have been sold to give to the poor. He says this not because he cared about the poor but because he held the money bag and would steal from it. Jesus says to Judas: “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” Seeing large crowds of Jews go to see Jesus there, the chief priests plot to kill Jesus and Lazarus. Because of Lazarus, many people were coming to believe in Jesus. In Jesus’ rebuke of Judas, there is tenderness toward Mary’s anointing. During Holy Week, what little extravagance of love can I offer the Lord?

God, you are outside of time; yet, your Son recognizes his time on earth was coming to an end. Mary sits at the feet of Jesus, just as he would soon be at the feet of the Twelve, the servant of servants washing them clean of sin. Help me understand the paths of those who came to believe in you, whether through their heart or head. Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Mary said to him: “I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Others came to believe in you through the works your Son performed while on earth, witnesses to his many miraculous healings. In the first reading from Isaiah, you say: “I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand.” There is only so much time to come to believe in you, Lord, and remain firm in belief; take initiative, take me by the hand.

God, grant me the grace today to use the things of this world for your glory. Creator of heaven and earth, you are a light for the nations. Open my eyes today to see the light and do what is pleasing to you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Then the high priest said to him, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.'” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed. . . ! He deserves to die!”

In this Sunday’s Gospel, the Lord’s Passion as told by Matthew, the Mass readings for today are rich in symbolism and meaning. At the start of the Gospel, Judas Iscariot makes a deal with the chief priests to hand over Jesus to them for thirty pieces of silver. Later, Jesus gathers the Twelve together for the Last Supper, where Judas Iscariot’s betrayal is made clear and where Jesus institutes the Eucharistic: “Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew goes on to relate how Jesus was handed over to the chief priests and then Pilate; how he was scourged, stripped of his clothes, and carried the cross to Golgotha where he died on the cross. At his death, Matthew tells us, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two, the earth quaked, and tombs were opened, and the bodies of many were raised from the dead. Seeing this, the centurion and the men appointed to keep watch over Jesus, said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” In witnessing this, do I have the same sense of awe and wonder as the Roman centurion?

God, the passion and death of your son is simultaneously the single greatest act of love for humanity—and for me personally—yet hard to keep my gaze fixed on. The high priest asked Jesus to tell him whether he was the Son of God. Eons, centuries, decades, and finally days and hours would pass before the truth of Christ was revealed through his resurrection. He is the Son of God, your only son. Help me take from it a means to know you, love you, and to do your will. Just as the centurion was transformed by his realization of the significance of Jesus’ death, help me by your grace keep my eyes fixed on the Son of Man who sits at the right hand of the Father.

Lord, help me today by keeping my gaze fixed on the passion and death of your son and giving praise to your name. With Saint Paul, let me proclaim: “God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. . . . Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings