“I shall consider everything that happens to me, joyful or painful things, elevating or depressing, in the light of eternity. In my patience I will possess my soul. By neither word nor deed will I sin, and I will do everything out of love, and out of love I will suffer everything.” –Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg (+ 1943)
Intention: Lord, please make of America a nation that becomes like a shining city on a hill for the rest of the world, and inspires the world to become more just, kind, peaceful, free, and resistant of Communism. I thank You God ahead of time for this.
Friday: Your Will Be Done
1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
Scripture:
Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not
provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of
angels? But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which
say that it must come to pass in this way?
—Matthew 26:53–54
Reflection:
Jesus was true God and true man and, on account of His
humanness, He chose to prepare for His passion through intense
prayer—which we know of as His agony in the Garden of
Gethsemane. His Father needed Him to be a sacrificial victim
to atone for human sins. Although it was abhorrent to His
human nature, He chose to sacrifice Himself for us, to make
satisfaction for the sins that we had committed.
Prayer:
Even if my distress is at its highest possible level, it could never
be as extreme as Jesus’s anguish, because He took on the sins
of all humanity in His sacrifice on the Cross. Heavenly Father,
help me to remember to pray Jesus’s prayer to You when I am
suffering and in distress: “Father, if you are willing, take this
cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done” (Luke
22:42). Amen.
Friday: Infinite Value
2nd Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
Scripture:
Pilate questioned him, “Are you king of the Jews?” He said
to him in reply, “You say so.” The chief priests accused him
of many things. Again Pilate questioned him, “Have you no
answer? See how many things they accuse you of.” Jesus gave
him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
—Mark 15:2–5
Reflection:
Jesus took on our human nature so that He could sacrifice
Himself at the pillar and on the Cross to make amends for
our sins, and thus accomplish our Redemption. The animals
sacrificed under the Old Law had only been of partial merit.
But Jesus, being wholly divine, as well as wholly human, had
infinite value in His sacrifice.
Prayer:
Jesus predicted what was going to happen to Him and could
have avoided it if He had wanted to. We can see this, because
He spoke of His passion a few times before it happened. Dear
Father, when I am facing a tough situation and doing the right
thing seems difficult, give me Your strength to follow Jesus’s
example and do Your will anyway. Amen.
Friday: Last Drop of Cup
3rd Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning With Thorns
Scripture:
All who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
—2 Timothy 3:12
Reflection:
The soldiers ridiculed, scourged, and pierced Jesus with thorns.
And Pontius Pilate, though he thought Jesus was innocent,
submitted Him to all this and also to the ultimate suffering of
the crucifixion.
Prayer:
Even though the soldiers left Jesus in a pathetic state, and
Pilate proclaimed His innocence, the crowd insisted on Jesus’s
crucifixion, and Pilate capitulated. Lord Jesus, Angel of Great
Counsel, if I am ever persecuted by unjust powers-that-be, give
me Your tenacity and poise to endure until I drink every last
drop from the cup. Amen.
Friday: Faith, Hope and Love
4th Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
Scripture:
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these
is love.
—1 Corinthians 13:13
Reflection:
After Pilate handed Jesus over to carry His Cross, the soldiers
forced Him to trudge down the road to Golgotha. All the
while, in His weakened state, He had to endure the abusive
name-calling of the people who had lined the road to jeer
at Him.
Prayer:
Jesus dragged His Cross for our sake with the infinite faith, hope
and love of His divinity. Father, assist me in following in His
footsteps by giving me some of His faith, hope and love while I
carry my own cross in life, blessing anyone who disparages me
along the way and ignoring their detractions. Amen.
Friday: Heal Hearts
5th Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion
Scripture:
Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among
themselves and said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the
cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified
with him also kept abusing him.
—Mark 15:31–32
Reflection:
Jesus’s suffering and death were foretold by the prophet Isaiah
who said, “He was like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and
like a sheep that before its shearer is dumb and opened not his
mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Jesus came, partly, to fulfill the scriptures.
Prayer:
Isaiah also foretold that Jesus would come to make reparation
for the sins of the people when he said, “He poured out his soul
to death, bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). And then He forgave those who
had wounded and killed Him, too. Holy Spirit, come into our
land and heal those who have been wounded by people in the
church. Heal their hearts, Holy Spirit. Amen.
