This line from a meditation called “The Way of the Cross” by Fr. Richard Veras published within the Magnificat jumped out at me as paradoxical:
Jesus was the happiest man on the way Calvary that day.
But then on second thought, it does make sense. Jesus knew that God was with him every step along the way. The people along the way, even the Roman soldiers and pharisees, did not know that God was there with him. “Jesus had certainty that neither trial, nor persecution, nor suffering, nor even death could separate him from the love of his Father.” The women weeping for him along the way did not have any sense of certainty; “their only consolation was their feelings of pity.”
Thus, even at this moment when Jesus is experiencing intense pain and is surrounded by indifference and disdain, he is happier than those [people].
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, let the roots of my faith be deeper than my feelings, let my abiding joy be the certainty that I am on the road to peace you forged that day on your way to Calvary.”
This quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s book, The Cross and the Beatitudes: Lessons on Love and Forgiveness, seems fitting for today on Good Friday:
There is a personal equation between that Cross and us. Life with its rebellions, its injustices, its sins, all played a role in the Cruxifixion. We can no more wash our hands of our guilt than Pilate could wash his as he held them up under a noonday sun and declared himself innocent.
It was not so much the Cruxifixion that hurt and wounded, it was not Annas, it was not Caiphas, it was not the exectioners, for “they knew not what they did”; it was not his enemies who caused his greatest sorrow: “If my enemies had done this, I could have borne it.” It was us who grieved him most, for we know what we do—we have tasted his sweetmeats; we have broken Bread with him; we are his familiars. That is our sorrow—that he who came to heal the broken hearts had his own Heart broken by us.
But mourning is not despair. If we have crucified Christ, there is pardon: “Father, forgive them”; if we have pierced Mary’s heart, there is pardon still: “Son, behold your mother”; if there are tears in our eyes, they shall be wiped away: “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Lord Jesus Christ, you endured every ill at the hands of your enemies for love of all people who were not yet your friends. Obedient to the Father’s will, you walked into the darkness of death to open out before us the light of light. Grant us the grace to follow where you have led, who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Oh Lord,
I confess that there is within me so much
that is ignoble, selfish, and sinful.
My little house is in ruins.
I cannot repair it.
You yourself must come to rebuild it
so that it may be a fit dwelling for you
all the days of my life on earth.
Amen.
Oh, Lord my God,
you called me from the sleep of nothingness
merely because in your tremendous love
you want to make good and beautiful beings.
You have called me by my name in my mother’s womb.
You have given me breath and light and movement,
and walked with me every moment of my existence.
I am amazed, Lord God of the universe,
that you attend to me, and more, cherish me.
Create in me the faithfulness that moves you,
and I will trust you and yearn for you all my days.
Amen.