Hello again dear friends. Holy Week is beginning. If you are able to get to Mass or to watch or listen to Mass on television or the radio, this weekend you will hear the Passion of Christ as recounted in the Gospel of Saint Matthew.
Saint Matthew's account of the suffering and death of our Lord is the longest of all the Gospel accounts. It draws us into a profound meditation on the depths of love, sacrifice and redemption at the very heart of our faith. Spanning two chapters, or more or less entire chapters 26 and 27, it engages us with the final hours of our Lord's earthly life, inviting us to contemplate both His human sufferings and also His divine obedience.
In reflecting on these passages we're called not only to sympathise with the pain endured by Christ but also to recognise the transformative power of His sacrifice for each one of us. My little reflection this week focusses on just three points for meditation in that whole long narrative. What is meditation? It is reflective prayer.
It's not saying prayers, it's praying with your whole being. I wrote a little haiku once, defining meditation, and it runs as follows.
Heart lifted,
mind stilled,
humble,
as my emptiness is filled by
you, Lord.
It's not so much about what we do, it's more about giving space and time for Christ to enter into our minds and hearts.
The first point for meditation is the agony in the garden, especially our Lord's words, "Father not my will but your will be done". Matthew begins his account with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, overcome by sorrow and distress.
He prays, "my Father, if it's possible let this cup pass from me yet, not as I will but as You will". In these words we encounter the human vulnerability of Jesus, who genuinely experiences fear and anguish. At the same time His unwavering submission to the Father's will exemplifies perfect obedience and trust.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He taught them the Our Father. "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy will be done". Here, Jesus perfectly practises what He Himself had preached.
For this moment is a model of prayer and surrender, reminding us that even in our darkest moments we are called to place our lives in God's hands and that there is no better place to be than in the hands of God.
The second point for meditation is our Lord's betrayal, abandonment and loneliness. St Matthew makes no bones in telling us of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas and the abandonment by His closest friends. He says then all the disciples deserted Him and fled. This profound loneliness, intensified by false accusations and mockery, reveals the cost of true love.
Jesus faces injustice and isolation and yet He remains silent and steadfast. Reflecting on this we are invited to consider the times we have failed to stand with Christ or with others in need. Here the passion challenges us to grow in fidelity and compassion, even when such virtues come at a personal cost.
And the third point for meditation is of course the crucifixion itself. In the fourth Eucharistic prayer we read, "For when the hour had come for Him to be glorified by You, Father most holy, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end". Jesus loves us to the end, indeed beyond the end. Behold He says "I'm with you always, even to the end of the age".
Matthew's depiction of the crucifixion is stark and unflinching. Jesus is stripped, scourged, crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross, hung up to die. Yet amidst the pain He continues to show love, praying for His persecutors, caring for His mother and offering hope to the criminal.
"This day you will be with me in paradise". He prays, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" These words echo Psalm 22, demonstrating both the depths of our Lord's sufferings and His unwavering faith. For us the cross is not merely a symbol of suffering, but also of ultimate victory.
Through Christ's death, sin and death are defeated, opening the way to eternal life. I hope these points may help you to fill some time with God this week. As we meditate on Matthew's account of the Passion, let us allow ourselves to be moved to gratitude and repentance.
We are challenged to acknowledge our own part in the suffering of Christ through sin and at the same time embrace the divine mercy and forgiveness which He pours out on us from the cross. We are called to live lives shaped by self-giving love, humility and faithfulness. At Mass in the Eucharist we encounter the living Christ who gave Himself for our salvation.
In our everyday lives we are invited to share in His passion through loving others as He has loved us.
Dear friends, please join me in asking God to give us the grace this Holy Week to renew our commitment as followers of Christ, bearing our own crosses with patience and unfailing trust in the redeeming love of God.
Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free.
You are the saviour of the world.
Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set me free.
You are my saviour, my Jesus.
You love me infinitely. Help me to love you in return. Amen.
God bless you all this Holy Week and again please remember to say a prayer for me.
It is sobering to realize that Jesus genuinely experienced fear and anguish but at the same time heartening to see His absolute submission to God the Father.
ReplyDeletePondering our Lord’s betrayal, abandonment, and loneliness is a huge comfort since human feels all of that from time to time. He is a (the) high priest who has experienced and felt our sorrows.
To learn from His example, we see that Jesus remained silent and steadfast. No angry outcries or threats we cannot carry out.
Such remarkable teachings for those of us who want to be like Him!
Thank you Barbara for these thoughts. Indeed, Jesus was fully human and fully Divine. As a human He experienced the same emotions like us; including fear and betrayal as well as the extreme pain of the crucifixion. As God, He accepted all of this for us.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.