The Passion of Christ

Passion of Christ Part X

‘A sword will pierce your soul too’ 

  The prophecy of Simeon, Luke 2:34–35 (NJB): 34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce your soul too—so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’ I was just reflecting about Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary. How Mother Mary waited all these years to allow her son to be sacrificed. Simeon prophesied that the sword would pierce Mother Mary's heart. She was expecting this and spiritually preparing to accept Jesus' death on the Cross according to Heavenly Father's plan. 

  I went to Mount Malayatoor in 2010 for a personal retreat to be alone with Jesus Christ. While hiking the mountain in one day, during the meditation on the Way of the Cross. I paused near the 13th Station on this mountain. The lifeless body of Jesus lay on Mother Mary's lap, and I glanced at her face. I sensed she was quite relaxed since her Son had fulfilled His task, which Heavenly Father had endured for the sake of all humanity, namely the salvation of all humanity.

  After Jesus' death, Mother Mary was overjoyed when she accepted his dead corpse on her lap with the assistance of John and other female friends. Pieta, a stunning sculpture by Michelangelo, commemorates this incident. The torment of passion was ended according to Heavenly Fathers' plan; otherwise, Salvation and the Most Holy Sacrifice were completed, and she is now enjoying the heavenly happiness that she was experiencing with angels and saints by defeating Satan and his companions by shedding Jesus' own blood; not only her son, but also Heavenly Fathers' own Son. A few minutes before, in a human way, I was thinking about the sorrowful element of Christ's passion on the cross. The world was thinking differently, as they imagined how Christ would die on the Cross, maybe saving himself and avoiding the death penalty. Matthew 16:22 (NJB): Then, taking him aside,  Peter started to rebuke him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord,’ he said, ‘this must not happen to you.’ Even Peter also does not understand the redemptive value of this Eternal Sacrifice at first sense the death of Jesus on the Cross. Matthew 16:23 (NJB): 23 But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.’ The passion and death of Jesus Christ have the greatest redemptive value for the past, present, and future of all living beings. It was the Heavenly Father's plan, which He determined after Adam and Eve committed sin. He was also happy with Abraham's offering of his own son as a living sacrifice, as he had asked for. Abraham gained God's heart, which strengthened God's desire to bring His only Son to the earth and offer him as a live sacrifice for our sins. 

   Mother Mary, who was uniquely chosen by God the Father to be the Mother of His only begotten Son, must endure all of Christ's passions and our Lord's redemptive plan as part of this redemption. She is a co-redemptorist in the mystery of salvation. She was aware of all of the Heavenly Father's mysteries and plans, and she carried the sorrow and suffering from the birth of Child Jesus until his death on the Cross. Let us fulfil Jesus Christ's mission, which he has explicitly given to all of us. 

The Passion of Christ

Passion of Christ Part IX

If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

  John 12:5–8 (NJB): Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’  6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contents. 7 So Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone; let her keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You have the poor with you always, you will not always have me.’ Here, Judas Escariot complains about the ointment with which St Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus. He is questioning why spending so much money to show respect to Jesus when you might sell it and donate it to the poor. His purpose was not to give this money to the impoverished, but to keep a portion of it for personal use. Jesus foresaw his suffering and death on the Cross, therefore he told let her use it for his burial. What a wonderful devotion and love he showed this unfortunate person for her deed of love and respect.

  Is 50: 7-9, Lord Yahweh comes to my help, this is why insult has not touched me, this is why I have set my face like flint and know that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He who grants me saving justice is near! Who will bring a case against me? Let us appear in court together! Who has a case against me? Let him approach me! 9 Look, Lord Yahweh is coming to my help! Who dares condemn me? Look at them, all falling apart like moth-eaten clothes! Jesus is requesting his Father for help, and he is confident that his Father would not abandon him. There was no evidence that he deserved punishment. Jesus is suggesting that everyone will break apart on their own due to their improper vices, unclean practices, and wicked ways. 

  Matthew 16:24–25 (NJB): If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. Jesus is calling us to follow him by carrying our own crosses, surrender ourselves, and abandon all the conveniences of our modern world. Even if we sacrifice our life for Christ, it is a blessing. You are aware that the 21 Egyptian martyrs killed in Libya by the Islamic State were all willing to accept the cross for the sake of Jesus. They never lose trust in Jesus our Lord. The persecutors asked them to abandon their Christian beliefs and convert to Islam. They accepted death for the sake of God and became martyrs. What a magnificent faith these victims possessed, which we can all experience in this twenty-first century. Their example of the martyrdom makes us to keep our enthusiasm for the faith in Jesus and sacrifice ourselves for his kingdom. 

  

The Passion of Christ

 

Passion of Christ Part VIII

Jesus was never turned away from the insults and spitting

  Jesus was rejected by everyone, and he thought he had been removed from the Father's presence. Jesus' passion began at birth, and he thought he was finished, with no more power to bear all of his afflictions alone. The adversary floods around him all day and night, stabbing him with whips and lances to give him the maximum punishment on earth than anybody else in this world..  Psalm 88:14–18 (NJB): 14 why, Yahweh, do you rebuff me, turn your face away from me? 15 Wretched and close to death since childhood, I have borne your terrors—I am finished! 16 Your anger has overwhelmed me, your terrors annihilated me. 17 They flood around me all day long, close in on me all at once. 18 You have deprived me of friends and companions, and all that I know is the dark. Jesus was taken away from all his friends and companions. A great passion and death is very inevitable for him. He felt the darkness everywhere as the heavenly light has taken away from him as a fulfillement of the will of Heavenly Father.  Psalm 38:9–10 (NJB): Lord, all my longing is known to you, my sighing no secret from you, 10 my heart is throbbing, my strength has failed, the light has gone out of my eyes. 

  Isaiah 50:4–10 (NJB): Lord Yahweh has given me a disciple’s tongue, for me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning he makes my ear alert to listen like a disciple. 5 Lord Yahweh has opened my ear and I have not resisted, I have not turned away. 6 I have offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; I have not turned my face away from insult and spitting. Jesus received all of the invisible and visible virtues, nature, and qualities of the Heavenly Father. The soldiers struck Jesus and plucked his beard till blood flowed down his cheeks. He never turned away from all of the punishments and persecutions. Jesus never turned away from the presence of the Heavenly Father. 

The Passion of Christ

Passion of Christ Part VII

‘The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

While we meditate these verses from Psalm 88, here Psalmist is explaining how Jesus was left alone in the dungeon like among the dead. Psalm 88:5–9 (NJB): left alone among the dead, like the slaughtered lying in the grave, whom you remember no more, cut off as they are from your protection. 6 You have plunged me to the bottom of the grave, in the darkness, in the depths; 7 weighted down by your anger, kept low by your waves. Pause 8 You have deprived me of my friends, made me repulsive to them, imprisoned, with no escape; 9 my eyes are worn out with suffering. I call to you, Yahweh, all day, I stretch out my hands to you. Jesus was placed in the pit like a butchered animal, without God's protection. All of his friends and relatives abandoned him, as if they would no longer be with him. He felt like he was in a graveyard where the dead are buried. Jesus sensed that Heavenly Father was furious with him. Jesus felt he had been buried in the grave forever, with no chance of ever living again. But Jesus trusted His Father and was obedient to Him. 

Psalm 49:7–9 (NJB): But no one can ever redeem himself for pay his own ransom to God, 8 the price for himself is too high; it can never be 9 that he will live on for ever. Only Jesus can become the ransom for many of us. What a magnificent sacrifice he made by offering his own life as the greatest sacrifice on earth and in heaven. Another method Christ teaches us how to be leaders is to serve others.When aspiring to be a leader, we must first serve those to whom we belong. Matthew 20:26–28 (NJB): Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, 28 just as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ 

Matthew 20:18–19 (NJB): Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised up again.’ I was so moved by hearing on this Antiphone, Communion Antiphon for today on 28th Feb: ‘The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

The Passion of Christ

 

Passion of Christ Part V

We all will suffer death in our body, but God will raise us on the Last Day in body and soul.  

 The Psalm 88, the church is identified them as anticipating the kind of suffering that Christ endured. There are other two Psalms(22, 69) also mentioned about the sufferings and afflictions Jesus to be faced before his death on the Cross. Psalm 88:1–4 (NJB): Yahweh, God of my salvation, when I cry out to you in the night, 2 may my prayer reach your presence, hear my cry for help. 3 For I am filled with misery, my life is on the brink of Sheol; 4 already numbered among those who sink into oblivion, I am as one bereft of strength. This Psalm is very closely related to Jesus' punishment of being thrown into the dungeon, as ordered by High Priest Khaiaphas. That is why pilgrims visiting the Holy Land travel to this deep well to experience Jesus' agony. Many visitors to the dungeon read this Psalm and ponder on Christ's sufferings. We might ponder on the aforementioned verses and reflect on them. Jesus cried out to his Father for rescue while he lay in this hole for one day and one night. He lost all of his power since he was alone in the dungeon, which was full of darkness. There was no one to help him, and no light could penetrate the dungeon. We know how much he suffered before his death on the Cross.

  Matthew 16:21 (NJB): From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, throughout his ministry to his apostles and disciples, he made it obvious to them that he would suffer for the salvation of the entire world. He never hides anything from his apostles, who he considers friends and brothers. Jesus always made it plain that his suffering and death on the Cross were a sacrifice according to the desire of the Father in Heaven. He stated that after death, he will be revived on the third day to defeat Satan and the death of souls permanently. In this way, we have hope in Christ Jesus, who will redeem us and bring us eternal life in its fullness. Matthew 16:22–23 (NJB): Peter started to rebuke him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord,’ he said, ‘this must not happen to you.’ 23 But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.’ When Jesus revealed the sufferings and death on the cross to the apostles, Peter was not ready to accept the reality of this mystery. Peter said, this should not happen to Jesus. Jesus rebuked Peter and called him Satan, because Peter was not thinking in Godly perspective but with the human standard. 

The Passion of Christ

 Passion of Christ Part IV

Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver from evil. 

 Jesus is saying his soul is troubled. He was forseeing his suffering ahead before his trials infront of the High Priests and Roman authorities. John 12:27 (NJB): Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it is for this very reason that I have come to this hour. He was so much troubled and in great agony. Later on he was preaching and teaching the apostles and disciples about the Kingdom of God. He was sure that his time is nearing for to be for his sacrifice of his life.

   Luke 22:39–46 (NJB): He then left to make his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, with the disciples following. 40 When he reached the place he said to them, ‘Pray not to be put to the test.’ 41 Then he withdrew from them, about a stone’s throw away, and knelt down and prayed. 42 ‘Father,’ he said, ‘if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine.’ 43 Then an angel appeared to him, coming from heaven to give him strength. 44 In his anguish he prayed even more earnestly, and his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 45 When he rose from prayer he went to the disciples and found them sleeping for sheer grief. 46 And he said to them, ‘Why are you asleep? Get up and pray not to be put to the test.’ Jesus went to pray on the Mount of Olives. From here, Jesus can see the Temple of the Lord. He left the apostles to pray alone because he preferred silence and being alone with the Father in Heaven. He told them to pray not to be put to the test. Jesus bowed on the ground and begged Father, 'If you are willing, take this cup away from me'. Jesus understood that suffering and death would be extremely difficult for him, but he knew the Father's will and responded, "Let your will be done, not mine." Jesus was in immense suffering and couldn't tolerate it because he knew what would happen to him a few days later.He prayed hard to the Father, and his sweat dripped to the ground like droplets of blood. God sent him an angel who appeared to him and gave him power. Lord, I believe my prayers are insufficient to rescue my soul. Lord, how can we participate in the mystery of salvation? Our souls are willing, but our bodies are weak, so we sleep while praying. Have pity on us. After a while, he rose from his prayer and addressed the disciples, telling them not to sleep or Satan would enter and test them. In this Lent season, let us ask our Lord to teach us how to pray. What a lovely and powerful prayer Jesus has taught us to pray: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,  as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and glory, forever and ever. Amen!

The Passion of Christ

 

Passion of Christ Part III

Lord, Your mercy and grace is our hope, we trust in You! 

  We all will be persecuted, because we are living in Christ Jesus and we follow his narrow path and he is the way and truth. David also proclaims the persecutions of Jesus Christ. Jesus knew everything and what he has to do for the salvation of His creation, because he was the Son of God. ‘My strength is trickling away, my bones are all disjointed, and my heart has turned to wax, melting inside me. My mouth is dry as earthenware; my tongue sticks to my jaw. You lay me down in the dust of the death. A pack of dogs surrounds me; a gang of villains is closing in on me as if to hack off my hands and my feet. I can count every one of my bones, while they look on and gloat; they divide my garments among them and cast lots for clothing. Ps. 22: 14-18. As David had prophesied, Jesus was in severe anguish. He says Jesus' bones will be separated, his heart will melt like wax, and he will be fervently thirsty for souls. He would be assaulted like wolves would a prey, and he could count his bones because his body had been tainted by Roman troops' brutality. He could bear the troops' scourging and tormenting, but the most terrible part was being ignored by his own people, who mocked him, spitting on him, laughing at him, and cursing at him in harsh terms. Through this great sacrifice, he bore all of our faults and weaknesses as humans. Lord, we are sinners have mercy on us. Lord, Your mercy and grace is our hope, we trust in You!