“[The day of judgment] will be the birth for which humanity has been in travail. The suffering, the labor, the patience, that what was hidden will bear fruit, the fruit will be red on the bough. The ugliness that disfigured grief will give place to beauty. The blood spilt in the dust will blossom like a rose.” — Carryl Houselander (+ 1954)
Intention: Lord, please give us fair and honest elections.
Friday: Jesus Had No Sin
1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
Scripture:
[And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him.]
— Luke 22:43
Reflection:
Not even Jesus Christ could be spared by the Father His terrible
suffering in order to achieve our salvation.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, I know that God made You to be sin, although
You had no sin, for my sake, and I am so grateful. Please
straighten me out in all the ways I need to be straightened
out, and make me the righteousness of God in You (see 2
Corinthians 5:21). Amen.
Friday: By His Stripes
2nd Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
Scripture:
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.
—Isaiah 53:5
Reflection:
Jesus proclaimed the gospel of God’s love and forgiveness, and
mercifully healed many people with His divine power. Yet
when the time came for His confrontation with the powers that
wanted Him dead, there was no goodwill to be found; most of
His friends even deserted Him, too.
Prayer:
Jesus, Isaiah prophesized accurately when hundreds of years
earlier he said about You, “By his stripes we were healed”
(Isaiah 53:5). Heal me of all greed, and make me impervious to
even the temptation to be greedy. Amen.
Friday: Jesus’s Touch
3rd Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning With Thorns
Scripture:
I gave my back to those who beat me,/ my cheeks to those who
plucked my beard;/ My face I did not shield/ from buffets and
spitting.
—Isaiah 50:6
Reflection:
Sin and death—the cause of evil in mankind—were dealt a
triumphant blow with Jesus’s sacrifice, that only He could
make, because He was consubstantial with the Father.
Prayer:
Jesus Christ, lovingly touch those who are homeless and hungry,
and inspire many to care for them and provide for their needs.
Let this world become a place of sharing and caring for all.
Amen.
Friday: The Cross is the Door
4th Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
Scripture:
They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is translated
Place of the Skull).
—Mark 15:22
Reflection:
God came to humanity through Christ’s Cross, and the
martyrdom of the cross is still with us today, especially in our
inhumanity to one another.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I recognize that the cross is the door by which
You come into my life. Help me to accept my cross, and make
me more compassionate, patient and loving through it. Amen.
Friday: Heavy Hearts
5th Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion
Scripture:
Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it [in] clean linen and laid it
in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled
a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. But
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there,
facing the tomb.
—Matthew 27:59–61
Reflection:
Jesus’s death on Good Friday deeply affected all of Jerusalem,
especially His disciples and His Blessed Mother. A kind of hush
fell on the whole city that night and the following day.
Prayer:
Jesus, the heavy stone that sealed the entrance to the tomb
was like the weight of the crucifixion, that crushed the heavy
hearts of the women who prayed outside. Bring all the dead
into heaven, into the light of Your face, to see the twinkle in
Your eye. Amen.
