Tag Archive | Good

How to Make a Good Decision – Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius

Jun7

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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, [1914], at sacred-texts.com

THREE TIMES

FOR MAKING, IN ANY ONE OF THEM, A SOUND AND GOOD ELECTION (Decision)

First Time: The first time is, when God our Lord so moves and attracts the will, that without doubting, or being able to doubt, such devout soul follows what is shown it, as St. Paul and St. Matthew did in following Christ our Lord.

Second Time: The second, when enough light and knowledge is received by experience of consolations and desolations, and by the experience of the discernment of various spirits.

Third Time: The third time is quiet, when one considers, first, for what man is born — namely, to praise God our Lord and save his soul — and desiring this chooses as means a life or state within the limits of the Church, in order that he may be helped in the service of his Lord and the salvation of his soul.

I said time of quiet, when the soul is not acted on by various spirits, and uses its natural powers freely and tranquilly.

If election is not made in the first or the second time, two ways follow as to this third time for making it.

THE FIRST WAY

TO MAKE A SOUND AND GOOD ELECTION (Decision)

It contains six Points.

First Point: The first Point is to put before me the thing on which I want to make election, such as an office or benefice, either to take or leave it; or any other thing whatever which falls under an election that can be changed.

Second Point: Second: It is necessary to keep as aim the end for which I am created, which is to praise God our Lord and save my soul, and, this supposed, to find myself indifferent, without any inordinate propensity; so that I be not more inclined or disposed to take the thing proposed than to leave it, nor more to leave it than to take it, but find myself as in the middle of a balance, to follow what I feel to be more for the glory and praise of God our Lord and the salvation of my soul.

Third Point: Third: To ask of God our Lord to be pleased to move my will and put in my soul what I ought to do regarding the thing proposed, so as to promote more His praise and glory; discussing well and faithfully with my intellect, and choosing agreeably to His most holy pleasure and will.

Fourth Point: Fourth: To consider, reckoning up, how many advantages and utilities follow for me from holding the proposed office or benefice for only the praise of God our Lord and the salvation of my soul, and, to consider likewise, on the contrary, the disadvantages and dangers which there are in having it. Doing the same in the second part, that is, looking at the advantages and utilities there are in not having it, and likewise, on the contrary, the disadvantages and dangers in not having the same.

Fifth Point: Fifth: After I have thus discussed and reckoned up on all sides about the thing proposed, to look where reason more inclines: and so, according to the greater inclination of reason, and not according to any inclination of sense, deliberation should be made on the thing proposed.

Sixth Point. Sixth, such election, or deliberation, made, the person who has made it ought to go with much diligence to prayer before God our Lord and offer Him such election, that His Divine Majesty may be pleased to receive and confirm it, if it is to His greater service and praise.

THE SECOND WAY

TO MAKE A GOOD AND SOUND ELECTION (Decision)

It contains four Rules and one Note.
First Rule. The first is that that love which moves me and makes me choose such thing should descend from above, from the love of God, so that he who chooses feel first in himself that that love, more or less, which he has for the thing which he chooses, is only for his Creator and Lord.

Second Rule: The second, to set before me a man whom I have never seen nor known, and I 17 desiring all his perfection, to consider what I would tell him to do and elect for the greater glory of God our Lord, and the greater perfection of his soul, and I, doing likewise, to keep the rule which I set for the other.

Third Rule: The third, to consider, as if I were at the point of death, the form and measure which I would then want to have kept in the way of the present election, and regulating myself by that election, let me make my decision in everything.

Fourth Rule: The fourth, looking and considering how I shall find myself on the Day of Judgment, to think how I would then want to have 18 deliberated about the present matter, and to take now the rule which I would then wish to have kept, in order that I may then find myself in entire pleasure and joy.

Note. The above-mentioned rules for my eternal salvation and peace having been taken, I will make my election and offering to God our Lord, conformably to the sixth Point of the First Way of making election.

Source: Sacred-Texts.Com

Pope Francis says a person who complains is not a good Christian

May8

How did the world find out that Pope Francis had:

(1) One lung?
(2) Bad knees?
(3) And can’t sing?
(4) Likes the bus
(5) Doesn’t like his throne
(6) Doesn’t like the Papal Quarters
(7) Doesn’t like obeying Canon Laws or Vatican Protocol.
(8) Doesn’t like a safer Pope Mobile or to be told what to do, by his security detail

Is he accusing himself, of not being a “good Christian” or implying, that an “opponent” his sermon was aimed , at was a “bad Christian?”

What elderly person complains that doesn’t need a need filled?

If we are going to examine their conscience or culpability for them, then why wait for God to Judge them? You’ve already done it.

I sense he has someone in mind, that he has failed to love, as the target for his homily.

I learn by example. When words don’t line up with what you do – I am less inclined to follow those words. I’ve worked with the sick since I was a child. I have “an ear” for their complaints.

I guess after those babies are kissed, and the cameras are off; when it’s all said and done, he is a phony. He doesn’t practice, what he preaches.

How else did we learn about his illnesses had he not told the world and complained. He must be calling himself names, or in reality, more likely an opponent.

Clever deceptions, I’d say. Clever. But evil, to accuse anyone but oneself of sins.

Folks in hospital or nursing home settings have folks turn a deaf ear all the time – to their plaintive cries, for help.

Since they aren’t the Pope, their cries for help are ignored by their younger caretakers. I’ve seen it more often, than not.

But, isn’t it true – that GOD said – the Priest or Levite would go out of their ways not to help a man who was robbed, beaten and left for dead on the side of the road – in the Good Samaritan Story?

It wasn’t a Religious Person who helped the ailing man. It was a Good Samaritan who went out of his way and went the “extra mile” to love and care for that unfortunate man.

Food for thought, Pope.
“I was hungry and, you gave me to eat.”

I was hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and I found none, today.

(Only in Christ).

Another Way of Looking at this is well …

FRANKLY – I AM TIRED OF POPES WHO TACITLY COMPLAIN ABOUT BEING A POPE – A PAPA.

That’s all men need to hear, of a Pope complaining, because his job is getting too hard.

How hard can it be?

A Pope is waited on hand and foot. You have everything handed to you. Even your chasuble is held just so – so you don’t trip over yourselves in your very lavish threads.

Meanwhile real people don’t buy new clothes for years. They put up with that bad boss, abusive spouse, or politician.

Seems with the Pope bow-outs and the tacit complaints of the New Pope; fathers of a family and young single men are being given the example that they too, can vacate the family, when the going gets too tough.

So many examples of getting old: which one to follow? Christ. Only Christ. Popes must be followed, but to what extent? Their examples? Which Pope? The current one, speaks good one minute and is sharp the next. He seems to like to tell people off. And, insult them. I saw two women from Africa received that way. But, they kept smiling despite the Pope’s brusk words to them.

They were more of a good example to me, than what the Pope said to them.

“A good priest can be recognized by the way his people are anointed”

Mar29

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This morning I have the joy of celebrating my first Chrism Mass as the Bishop of Rome. I greet all of you with affection, especially you, dear priests, who, like myself, today recall the day of your ordination.

The readings of our Mass speak of God’s “anointed ones”: the suffering Servant of Isaiah, King David and Jesus our Lord. All three have this in common: the anointing that they receive is meant in turn to anoint God’s faithful people, whose servants they are; they are anointed for the poor, for prisoners, for the oppressed… A fine image of this “being for” others can be found in the Psalm: “It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down upon the collar of his robe” (Ps 133:2). The image of spreading oil, flowing down from the beard of Aaron upon the collar of his sacred robe, is an image of the priestly anointing which, through Christ, the Anointed One, reaches the ends of the earth, represented by the robe.

The sacred robes of the High Priest are rich in symbolism. One such symbol is that the names of the children of Israel were engraved on the onyx stones mounted on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, the ancestor of our present-day chasuble: six on the stone of the right shoulder-piece and six on that of the left (cf. Ex 28:6-14). The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were also engraved on the breastplate (cf. Es 28:21). This means that the priest celebrates by carrying on his shoulders the people entrusted to his care and bearing their names written in his heart. When we put on our simple chasuble, it might well make us feel, upon our shoulders and in our hearts, the burdens and the faces of our faithful people, our saints and martyrs of whom there are many in these times…

From the beauty of all these liturgical things, which is not so much about trappings and fine fabrics than about the glory of our God resplendent in his people, alive and strengthened, we turn to a consideration of activity, action.

The precious oil which anoints the head of Aaron does more than simply lend fragrance to his person; it overflows down to “the edges”. The Lord will say this clearly: his anointing is meant for the poor, prisoners and the sick, for those who are sorrowing and alone. The ointment is not intended just to make us fragrant, much less to be kept in a jar, for then it would become rancid … and the heart bitter.

A good priest can be recognized by the way his people are anointed. This is a clear test. When our people are anointed with the oil of gladness, it is obvious: for example, when they leave Mass looking as if they have heard good news. Our people like to hear the Gospel preached with “unction”, they like it when the Gospel we preach touches their daily lives, when it runs down like the oil of Aaron to the edges of reality, when it brings light to moments of extreme darkness, to the “outskirts” where people of faith are most exposed to the onslaught of those who want to tear down their faith.

People thank us because they feel that we have prayed over the realities of their everyday lives, their troubles, their joys, their burdens and their hopes. And when they feel that the fragrance of the Anointed One, of Christ, has come to them through us, they feel encouraged to entrust to us everything they want to bring before the Lord: “Pray for me, Father, because I have this problem”, “Bless me”, “Pray for me” – these words are the sign that the anointing has flowed down to the edges of the robe, for it has turned into prayer. The prayers of the people of God. When we have this relationship with God and with his people, and grace passes through us, then we are priests, mediators between God and men. What I want to emphasize is that we need constantly to stir up God’s grace and perceive in every request, even those requests that are inconvenient and at times purely material or downright banal – but only apparently so – the desire of our people to be anointed with fragrant oil, since they know that we have it. To perceive and to sense, even as the Lord sensed the hope-filled anguish of the woman suffering from hemorrhages when she touched the hem of his garment. At that moment, Jesus, surrounded by people on every side, embodies all the beauty of Aaron vested in priestly raiment, with the oil running down upon his robes. It is a hidden beauty, one which shines forth only for those faith-filled eyes of the woman troubled with an issue of blood. But not even the disciples – future priests – see or understand: on the “existential outskirts”, they see only what is on the surface: the crowd pressing in on Jesus from all sides (cf. Lk 8:42). The Lord, on the other hand, feels the power of the divine anointing which runs down to the edge of his cloak.

We need to “go out”, then, in order to experience our own anointing, its power and its redemptive efficacy: to the “outskirts” where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters. It is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord: self-help courses can be useful in life, but to live by going from one course to another, from one method to another, leads us to become pelagians and to minimize the power of grace, which comes alive and flourishes to the extent that we, in faith, go out and give ourselves and the Gospel to others, giving what little ointment we have to those who have nothing, nothing at all.

A priest who seldom goes out of himself, who anoints little – I won’t say “not at all” because, thank God, our people take our oil from us anyway – misses out on the best of our people, on what can stir the depths of his priestly heart. Those who do not go out of themselves, instead of being mediators, gradually become intermediaries, managers. We know the difference: the intermediary, the manager, “has already received his reward”, and since he doesn’t put his own skin and his own heart on the line, he never hears a warm, heartfelt word of thanks. This is precisely the reason why some priests grow dissatisfied, become sad priests, lose heart and become in some sense collectors of antiques or novelties – instead of being shepherds living with “the smell of the sheep”, shepherds in the midst of their flock, fishers of men. True enough, the so-called crisis of priestly identity threatens us all and adds to the broader cultural crisis; but if we can resist its onslaught, we will be able to put out in the name of the Lord and cast our nets. It is not a bad thing that reality itself forces us to “put out into the deep”, where what we are by grace is clearly seen as pure grace, out into the deep of the contemporary world, where the only thing that counts is “unction” – not function – and the nets which overflow with fish are those cast solely in the name of the One in whom we have put our trust: Jesus.

Dear lay faithful, be close to your priests with affection and with your prayers, that they may always be shepherds according to God’s heart.

Dear priests, may God the Father renew in us the Spirit of holiness with whom we have been anointed. May he renew his Spirit in our hearts, that this anointing may spread to everyone, even to those “outskirts” where our faithful people most look for it and most appreciate it. May our people sense that we are the Lord’s disciples; may they feel that their names are written upon our priestly vestments and that we seek no other identity; and may they receive through our words and deeds the oil of gladness which Jesus, the Anointed One, came to bring us. Amen.

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Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday)

Mar29

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Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday) Lectionary: 40

Reading 1
IS 52:13—53:12

See, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. Even as many were amazed at him—so marred was his look beyond human semblance and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man—so shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; for those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.

Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom people hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, a grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. But the LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.

Responsorial Psalm
PS 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25

R. (Lk 23:46) Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me. Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.

R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

For all my foes I am an object of reproach, a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends; they who see me abroad flee from me.
I am forgotten like the unremembered dead; I am like a dish that is broken.

R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

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.”

R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness. Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the LORD.

R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Reading 2
HEB 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Brothers and sisters:

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

In the days when Christ was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Gospel
JN 18:1—19:42

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him, “Jesus the Nazarean.” He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. When he said to them, “I AM,” they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” Jesus answered,
“I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in. Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.” When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?” They answered and said to him, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” At this, Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” The Jews answered him, “We do not have the right to execute anyone, “in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die. So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Not this one but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, “Behold, the man!” When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They cried out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,” in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says: ‘They divided my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.’ This is what the soldiers did.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”

Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”

And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

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.

(Here all kneel and pause for a short time.)

Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says: ‘They will look upon him whom they have pierced.’

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

Scripture Readings for Good Friday are from the USCCB.ORG Website: Bible Readings for GOOD FRIDAY

Vatican’s Good Friday “WAY OF THE CROSS 2013″

Mar26

2013-03-26 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) the texts of the meditations for the Good Friday vis crucis at the Colosseum in Rome have been released. Prepared by Lebanese young people under the guidance of the Maronite Patriarch, His Eminent Beatitude Béchara Boutros Raï, the meditations focus on the suffering of people – especially Christians – in the Middle East. The special libretto published for the occasion and available through the Libreria Editrice Vaticana contains illustrations of a 19th century Way of the Cross by an unknown Franciscan artisan in Bethlehem. (Please find the full text in English, below.)

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GOOD FRIDAY THE PASSION OF THE LORD MEDITATIONS by Lebanese young people under the guidance of His Eminent Beatitude Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï

WAY OF THE CROSS 2013 Introduction

“A man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” (Mk 10:17).

Jesus answered this burning question, which arises in the innermost core of our being, by walking the way of the Cross. We contemplate you, Lord, along this path which you were the first to tread, and after which “you built a bridge to death with your Cross, so that men might pass from the land of death to the land of Life” (Saint Ephraim the Syrian, Homily).

The call to follow you is addressed to all, especially to the young and to those who are tried by division, wars or injustice and who fight to be signs of hope and builders of peace in the midst of their brethren.We therefore place ourselves before you with love, we present our sufferings to you, we turn our gaze and our heart to your Holy Cross, and strengthened by your promise, we pray: “Blessed be our Redeemer, who has given us life by his death. O Redeemer, realize in us the mystery of your redemption, through your passion, death and resurrection” (Maronite Liturgy).

I Station: Jesus is condemned to death

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark 15:12-13, 15

Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. From Pilate, the man with power, Jesus ought to have obtained justice. Pilate did indeed have the power to recognize Jesus’ innocence and free him. But the Roman Governor preferred to serve the logic of his personal interests and he yielded to political and social pressures. He condemned an innocent man in order to please the crowd, without satisfying truth. He handed Jesus over to the torment of the Cross, knowing that he was innocent … and then he washed his hands.

In today’s world, there are many “Pilates” who keep their hands on the levers of power and make use of them in order to serve the strongest. There are many who are weak and cowardly before the spectre of power, and mortgage their authority to the service of injustice, trampling upon man’s dignity and his right to life. Lord Jesus,
do not allow us to be among those who act unjustly.

Do not allow the strong to take pleasure in evil, injustice and tyranny. Do not allow injustice to condemn the innocent to despair and death.

Confirm them in hope and illumine the consciences of those with authority in this world, that they may govern with justice. Amen.

II Station: Jesus takes up the Cross

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark 15:20

When they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

Jesus Christ stands before soldiers who think they have complete power over him, while he is the One through whom “all things were made … and without him was not anything made that was made” (Jn 1:3). In every age, man has thought he could take the place of God and determine for himself what is good and what is evil (cf. Gen 3:5) without reference to his Creator and Saviour. He has thought himself omnipotent, capable of excluding God from his own life and from that of his peers, in the name of reason, power or money.

Today too, the world bows to realities that seek to expel God from human life, such as the blind secularism that suffocates the values of faith and morals in the name of an alleged defense of man; or the violent fundamentalism that claims to be defending religious values (cf. Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, 29). Lord Jesus, who accepted humiliation and stood alongside the weak, we entrust to you all who are humiliated and suffering, especially those from the tormented East. Grant that they may find in you the strength to be able to carry their Cross of hope with you. We place into your hands all who are lost, so that, thanks to you, they may find truth and love. Amen.

III Station: Jesus falls for the first time

A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah 53:5

He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.

He who holds the lights of heaven in his divine hand and before whom the powers of heaven tremble: see him falling to the ground, without protecting himself, under the heavy yoke of the Cross. He who brought peace to the world, wounded by our sins, falls under the burden of our guilt.

“O ye faithful, behold our Saviour as he moves forward along the path to Calvary. Oppressed by bitter sufferings, his strength abandons him. Let us go to see this incredible event that surpasses our understanding and defies description. The foundations of the earth were shaken and a dreadful fear took hold of those who were present when their Creator and God was crushed under the weight of the Cross and let himself be led to death, for love of all humanity” (Chaldean Liturgy).Lord Jesus, raise us from our own falls, lead our wandering spirit back to your Truth. Do not allow human reason, which you created for yourself, to be satisfied with the partial truths of science and technology without seeking to pose the fundamental questions of the meaning of our existence (cf. Porta Fidei, 12). Grant, Lord, that we may open ourselves to the action of your Holy Spirit, so that he may lead us to the fullness of Truth.
Amen.

IV Station: Jesus meets his mother

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 2:34-35, 51b

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” His mother kept all these things in her heart.

Wounded and suffering, carrying mankind’s Cross, Jesus meets his mother and, in her face, all mankind. Mary the Mother of God was the first disciple of the Master. In accepting the Angel’s message, she encountered the Incarnate Word for the first time and became the Temple of the living God. She met him without understanding how the Creator of heaven and earth could have wanted to choose a young girl, a fragile creature, in order to become incarnate in this world. She met him in a constant search for his face, mediating on the word in the silence of her heart. She thought she was seeking him, but in reality, it was he who was seeking her.
Now he encounters her as he carries the Cross. Jesus suffers on seeing his mother suffer, as does Mary on seeing her Son suffer. But from this shared suffering a new humanity is born. “Salam to you! We implore you, holy and glorious ever-Virgin, Mother of God, Mother of Christ. Let our prayer rise up before your beloved Son, that he may forgive our sins” (Theotikon from the Horologion, Al-Aghbia, 37).

Lord Jesus, in our families we too experience the sufferings caused to children by their parents and to parents by their children.

Lord, grant that in these difficult times our families may be places of your presence, so that our sufferings may be turned to joy. Support our families and make them oases of love, peace and serenity, in the image of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Amen.

V Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 23:26

As they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the Cross, to carry it behind Jesus. Jesus’ meeting with Simon of Cyrene took place in silence, providing us with a lesson for our lives: God does not want suffering and he does not accept evil. The same is true of the human being. But suffering, accepted in faith, is transformed into a path of salvation. Then we accept it as Jesus did, and we help to carry it as Simon of Cyrene did.
Lord Jesus, you have involved man in the carrying of your Cross.

You have invited us to share your sufferings. Simon of Cyrene is like us and he teaches us to accept the Cross that we encounter on the paths of life.
Following your example, Lord, we too carry the Cross of suffering and illness today, but we accept it because you are with us. It can nail us to our chair, but it cannot prevent us from dreaming; it can obscure our vision, but it cannot touch our conscience; it can deafen our ears, but it cannot prevent us from listening; it can bind our tongue but it cannot suppress our thirst for truth; it can weigh down our spirit, but it cannot rob us of our freedom. Lord, we want to be your disciples so as to carry your Cross every day; we will carry it with joy and hope because you are carrying it with us, because you have triumphed over death for us.

We give you thanks, Lord, for every sick or ailing person who knows how to bear witness to your love, and for every “Simon of Cyrene” whom you place on our journey. Amen.

VI Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

A Reading from the Book of Psalms 27:8-9

Of you my heart has spoken: “Seek his face.” It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face. Dismiss not your servant in anger; you have been my help. Do not abandon or forsake me, O God my help! Veronica sought you in the midst of the crowd. She sought you and finally found you. While your anguish was at its height, she wanted to ease it by wiping your face with a towel. A small gesture, but it expressed all her love for you and all her faith in you; it has remained impressed on the memory of our Christian tradition.

Lord Jesus, it is your face that we seek.
Veronica reminds us that you are present in every person who suffers and goes forward along his or her path to Golgotha. Lord, grant that we may find you in the poor, in the least of your brethren, in order to wipe away the tears of those who weep, to take care of those who suffer and to support those who are weak.

Lord, you teach us that a wounded and forgotten person loses neither worth nor dignity and remains a sign of your hidden presence in the world. Help us to wipe away from his or her face the marks of poverty and injustice, so that your image in him or her may be revealed and may shine forth. We pray for those who are seeking your Face and who find it in those of the homeless, the poor and children exposed to violence and exploitation. Amen.

VII Station: Jesus falls for the second time

A Reading from the Book of Psalms 22:8,12

All who see me deride me. They curl their lips, they toss their heads. Do not leave me alone in my distress; come close, there is none else to help.

Jesus is alone under the interior and exterior weight of the Cross. In this fall, the weight of evil becomes too great and there seems no longer to be any limit to injustice and violence. But he rises once more, strong in the infinite trust that he places in his Father. Before the men who abandon him to his lot, the power of the Spirit raises him up; it unites him fully to the Father’s will, that of love which can do all things.

Lord Jesus, in your second fall, we recognize so many of our situations from which there seems to be no way of escape. Among them are those that derive from prejudice and hatred, which harden our hearts and lead to religious conflicts.

Enlighten our minds so that they recognize, despite “human and religious differences,” that “a ray of truth shines on all men and women”, called to walk together – with respect for religious freedom – towards the truth that is in God alone.

Thus, the different religions can “join one another in service to the common good and contribute to the development of each person and the building of society” (Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, 27-28).

Come, Holy Spirit, to console and strengthen Christians, especially those from the Middle East, so that, united in Christ, they may be witnesses of your universal love in an area torn apart by injustice and conflicts. Amen.

VIII Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem who weep for him

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 23:27-28

There followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

On the path to Calvary, the Lord meets the women of Jerusalem. These women are weeping at the Lord’s sufferings as if it were suffering without hope. All they can see in the Cross is the wood, sign of a curse (cf. Dt 21:23), whereas the Lord chose it as a means of Redemption and Salvation. In the Passion and Crucifixion, Jesus gives his life as a ransom for many. Thus he gave relief to those who were oppressed under the yoke and he consoled the afflicted. He wiped away the tears of the women of Jerusalem and opened their eyes to Paschal truth.

Our world is full of afflicted mothers, of women whose dignity has been wounded, abused by discrimination, injustice and suffering (cf. Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, 60). O suffering Christ, be their peace and be a balm to their wounds.Lord Jesus, by your incarnation from Mary, “Blessed among women” (Lk 1:42), you raised the dignity of every woman. With the Incarnation you unified the human race (cf. Gal 3:26-28).

Lord, may the encounter with you be the desire of our hearts. Let our path, filled with sufferings, always be a path of hope, with you and towards you who are the refuge of our life and our Salvation. Amen.

IX Station: Jesus falls for the third time under the weight of the Cross

A Reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 5:14-15

The love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

For the third time Jesus falls under the Cross, burdened with our sins, and for the third time he seeks to get up again, summoning up the strength that remains to him, so as to continue his journey towards Golgotha, refusing to let himself be crushed and to succumb to temptation. From the moment of his Incarnation, Jesus carries the Cross of human suffering and sin. He has fully and eternally assumed human nature, showing men that victory is possible and that the path towards divine sonship is open.

Lord Jesus, the Church, born from your open side, is oppressed under the Cross of the divisions that distance Christians from one another and from the unity that you willed for them; they turn away from your desire “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21) as the Father is with you. This cross bears down with all its weight on their lives and on their common testimony.

Grant us, Lord, the wisdom and the humility to rise once more and to move forward along the path of unity, in truth and love, without succumbing to the temptation to have recourse merely to the criteria of personal or sectarian interests, in the face of our divisions (cf. Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, 11).Grant that we may renounce the mentality of division, “lest the Cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Cor. 1:17). Amen.

X Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments

A Reading from the Book of Psalms 22:19

They divide my clothing among them, they cast lots for my robe.In the fullness of time, Lord Jesus, you clothed yourself in our humanity, you whose “train filled the temple” (Is 6:1); already, you are walking in our midst, and those who wish to touch the hem of your garments are healed. But you have been stripped even of this garment, Lord! They have stolen your cloak and you have also given us your tunic (cf. Mt 5:40). You have allowed the veil of your flesh to be torn so that we might once more be admitted into the Father’s presence (cf. Heb 10:19-20).
We thought we could find fulfilment by ourselves, independently of you (cf. Gen 3:4-7).

We found ourselves naked, but in your infinite love you reclothed us with the dignity of sons and daughters of God and of his sanctifying grace.

Bestow, Lord, upon the children of the Eastern Churches – stripped by various difficulties, sometimes to the point of persecution, and weakened by emigration – the courage to remain in their countries to proclaim the Good News.

O Jesus, Son of Man, who were stripped so as to reveal to us the new creation raised from the dead, tear in us the veil that separates us from God and weave in us your divine presence.Grant us to conquer fear before the events of life that strip us and leave us naked, and to put on the new man of our Baptism, in order that we may announce the Good News, proclaiming that you are the only true God who guides history. Amen.

XI Station: Jesus is nailed to the Cross

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 19:16a,19

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross; it read: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”Behold, the long-awaited Messiah, hanging on the wood of the cross between two thieves. The two hands which blessed humanity are pierced. The two feet which trod our earth to proclaim the Good News are now suspended between earth and heaven. The eyes full of love, whose gaze healed the sick and forgave our sins, now gaze only heavenward.

Lord Jesus, you were crucified for our sins. You pray to God the Father and you intercede for humanity. Each hammer blow echoes like a beat of your immolated heart. How beautiful upon the mount of Calvary are the feet of the One who proclaims the Good News of salvation. Your love, Jesus, has filled the universe. Your pierced hands are our refuge in distress. They embrace us whenever the abyss of sin threatens us, and in your wounds we find healing and forgiveness.

O Jesus,we pray to you for all those young people who are overcome by hopelessness, for young people who are the victims of drugs, of sects and of perversions. Free them from their enslavement. May they lift up their gaze and accept Love. May they find happiness in you; save them, our Saviour. Amen.

XII Station: Jesus dies on the cross

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 23:46

Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” And having said this, he breathed his last.From the height of the cross a cry is heard a cry: a cry of abandonment at the moment of death, a cry of trust amid suffering, a cry accompanying the birth of a new life. Behold, hanging on the tree of life, you deliver your spirit into your Father’s hands, causing life to spring up in abundance and forming the new creation. Today we too face the challenges of this world: we sense the surge of fears which overwhelm us and shake our trust. Grant us, Lord, the strength to know deep within our heart that no death will conquer us, until we rest in the hands which have shaped us and accompany us.

May every one of us be able to cry out: “Yesterday I was crucified with Christ, today I am glorified with him. Yesterday I died with him, today I live with him. Yesterday I was buried with him. Today I have risen with him.” (Gregory Nazianzen ) In the darkness of our nights, we contemplate you. Teach us to turn towards the Most High, your heavenly Father.Today, let us pray that all those who promote abortion may become aware that love can only be a source of life. Let us think also of those who defend euthanasia and those who encourage techniques and procedures which endanger human life. Open their hearts to know you in the truth and to work for the building of the civilization of life and love. Amen.

XIII Station: Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to his Mother

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 19:26-27a

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother: “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple: “Behold, your mother!”

Lord Jesus, those who love you remain at your side and keep faith. In the hour of your agony and death, when the world believes that evil triumphs and that the voice of truth, love, justice and peace is silent, their faith does not fail.

O Mary, into your hands we place our earth. “How sad it is to see this blessed land suffer in its children, who relentlessly tear one another to pieces and die!” (Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, 8). It seems that nothing can overcome evil, terrorism, murder and hatred. “Before the cross on which your Son stretched out his sinless hands for our salvation, O Virgin, we fall prostrate this day: grant us peace” (Byzantine liturgy).

Let us pray for the victims of the wars and of the violence which in our days devastate various countries in the Middle East, as well as other parts of the world. Let us pray that the displaced and the forced migrants may soon return to their homes and lands.

Grant, Lord, that the blood of innocent victims may be the seed of a new East, ever more fraternal, peaceful and just,
and that this East may recover the splendor of its vocation as the cradle of civilization and of spiritual and human values. Star of the East, show us the coming of the Dawn! Amen.

XIV Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 19:39-40

Nicodemus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

Nicodemus receives the body of Christ, he looks after it and puts it in a tomb in the middle of a garden which evokes the garden of Creation. Jesus lets himself be buried, even as he let himself be crucified, in the same abandonment, entirely “delivered” into the hands of men and “perfectly united” to them, “even to sleeping beneath the tombstone” (Saint Gregory of Narek).To accept difficulties, painful events, death, demands steadfast hope, living faith.

The stone placed before the entrance of the tomb will be overturned and a new life will arise. For “we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom 6:4)We have received the freedom of the children of God, so that we will not return to slavery; life has been given to us in abundance, so that we will no longer be satisfied with a life lacking beauty and meaning.
Lord Jesus, make us children of the light
who do not fear the darkness. We pray to you today
for all those who search for meaning in life and for all those who have lost hope,
that they may have faith in your victory over sin and death.
Amen.