THE DEATH THAT BROUGHT ETERNAL LIFE - 04/15/22 (Good Friday)

John 19:23,26-30,34

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took His garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also His tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom;

26 When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing near, he said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" 27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 28 After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), "I thirst."

30 When Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, "It is finished"; and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. 

34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

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Blessed Good Friday! Today, we remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our God. He is not just the King of the Jews, but He is also the King of the Universe. All that He deserves is being praised, glorified and honored. However, what was given to Him on Good Friday was the opposite of love. He suffered and died on the cross. 

As we ponder on the passion of our Lord, may we remember that the sufferings due to our sins which He bore was more painful than the physical sufferings He accepted. Jesus Christ was more offended by the thorns of our sins that wounded His heart than the physical thorns on His head. Our rejection of God's mercy caused lashes on His Sacred heart that was more damaging than the physical lashes He received on His back. The grave sins we committed pierced the Heart of Christ even worse than the nails which crucified Him and the spear that was thrusted on His side. As our God, He does not even deserve to receive a single scratch, but there may be times when we even justify our small sins rather than be humble. The passion of our Lord should lead us to true repentance of our sins. 

When we have offended someone and realized our mistakes, there is a tendency for us to be discouraged and worried thinking that the other person will not forgive us. Jesus is different, and in Him, we can find true hope. Although it's true that He suffered because of our sins, we need to remember that He offered Himself to the Father because He desires our salvation and the healing of our souls. As God, He did not have to become a Man and die for us, but He did it solely because of His Mercy for us. When He was undergoing His Passion, what gave Him strength and interior joy was His knowledge of people who obtained His graces and chose to follow Him instead of the ways of the world. We are in the mind of God in the most bitter moments of His life. When the soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a spear, blood and water came out. The blood represents the Eucharist and the water represents baptism. What is behind the sacrifice of Christ is His deep love for us and His desire for our union with Him. 

Jesus Christ, our Lord, did not just suffer for us. He suffered with us. He did this so that we may find hope and strength in Him during the most bitter moments of our lives as well. It's not true that He abandoned us. The truth is that He is with us no matter how difficult our struggles are. We experience many sufferings from personal problems, broken relationships, family issues, and many more. When we persevere in following Christ, we also suffer because we are being deprived of the satisfactions of sins. And yet, we can only be victorious in this struggle if we depend on Jesus. The dark moments of our lives are opportunities for us to express our pure faith, a faith that is not based on our feelings but on our love for Him. This happens when the old man within us, our prideful self, is crucified. When we desire the death of our prideful self, then we can truly open our hearts for Jesus to live within us and work through us. 

Instead of offending God, Jesus is inviting us to satisfy His thirst. Our Lord is thirsty for our love. He is looking for people who are willing to accompany Him in His sufferings, so He can pour His mercy from His Sacred heart. How do we satisfy the longing and thirst of Christ for our love? If we want to be obedient to God's will, we need to accept Mary as our Mother and ponder on the passion of Christ. Praying the rosary, especially the Sorrowful Mysteries, the Stations of the Cross and other prayers are truly pleasing to our Crucified Lord. Let's offer all our sufferings, worries, and sacrifices, including our fasting and abstinence to Him. Nothing is vain as long as it's done out of love for our God. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic