Heavenly Father,
As we contemplate Your Son’s gift of His real body and blood in the Eucharist, seen in the light of His complete surrender to You in self-sacrifice for us, may we be moved by every dimension of His love—Your love—manifest in every insult, wound, drop of blood, gasp for breath, and experience of pain. Pour His loving libation over our sins, release us from the grip of evil, heal our troubled conscience, and keep us on the path to Your eternal life. As we journey with Him on the way to the cross, may our love for Him and You grow out of sheer gratitude for so priceless a gift.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Reflection
The entire reflection for this week is Mark’s Passion Narrative (Mark 14:1 -Mark 15:47).
And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the praetorium); and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they knelt down in homage to him. And 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.
And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyre′ne, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Gol′gotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour, when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests mocked him to one another with the scribes, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land[i] until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “E′lo-i, E′lo-i, la′ma sabach-tha′ni?” which means, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Eli′jah.” And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Eli′jah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus[j] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son[k] of God!”
There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Mag′dalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salo′me, who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered to him; and also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
Did This Prayer and Reflection Speak to You?
If you found that your heart needed this Lenten prayer and your faith found peace in the further reflections, consider continuing your journey with these three Fr. Spitzer titles:
Because God the Son became man, we have a person to look to in our pursuit of truth: Jesus Christ Himself. Christ helps us see that truth is not just the object of science and reason but what animates the mysterious and loving power of faith. Purchase Science, Reason, and Faith: Discovering the Bible in the Magis Store.
God So Loved the World probes the major question: Even if we accept that God is real, why believe that He has personally revealed Himself to mankind? Fr. Spitzer does an in-depth examination of Jesus’ forgiveness of sinners, teachings, miracles, and His rising from the dead.
Christ versus Satan in our Daily Lives is divided into two main parts: the realities of God’s goodness and spiritual evil and recognizing and overcoming diabolical tactics ranging from temptation and deception to deadly sins. Fr. Spitzer shows readers how to experience God’s peace even during suffering and persecution.
