The original Good Friday was awful. A man was beaten horribly, spat upon; a circle of thorns thrust into his scalp. Forced after the beating and torture to carry a cross up a hill to Golgatha, outside the city walls where criminals wer hanged, nailed or tied up, to stay there for days. To be the example to others not to “do the same thing.” But what evil crime did he commit? He loved us.
My dear gentle listeners. Many have questioned my desire to attend daily Mass, and quite honestly! I enjoy the time with Jesus! Well today was no exception! I was blessed to hear our visiting priest Monsignor Mark’s homily. At a certain point I wanted to "rewind to hear it again!!!!" But all we have are my measly notes, taken as he spoke. He spoke about John 8:21 and Numbers 21 wherein the serpant was raised on a stake to save sinning Hebrews, and Jesus said he too would be lifted up to save sinners. The church links these two readings just before Easter to point out the intimate connection between the Old Testament and the fulfillment by Jesus. Monsignor spoke of a man who opposed war in Nazi Germany and died for his resistance. Dietrich Bonhoeffer died by hanging in a German prison camp. He answered the Jewish questioning, "Where is God?" by pointing to a young man being hanged by Germans… "he is here." Where we find Jesus is not pleasant to look at. But Catholics look at the Crucifix. Jesus affixed to the Cross in often bloody fashion. Where we see suffering and innocence killed by sinners who kill innocence, there we find God. Then Monsignor Mark quoted a prayer Pope Frances recently prayed, composed by Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples:
Lord Jesus, born under the bombs of Kyiv, have mercy on us.
Lord Jesus, dead in the arms of a mother in Kharkiv, have mercy on us.
Lord Jesus, in the 20-year-olds sent to the frontline, have mercy on us.
Lord Jesus, who continues to see hands armed with weapons under the shadow of the cross, forgive us, Lord.
Forgive us if, not content with the nails with which we pierced your hand, we continue to drink from the blood of the dead torn apart by weapons.
Forgive us if these hands that you had created to protect have been turned into instruments of death.
Forgive us, Lord, if we continue to kill our brother. If we continue like Cain to take the stones from our field to kill Abel.
Forgive us if we go out of our way to justify cruelty, if, in our pain, we legitimize the cruelty of our actions. Forgive us the war, Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, we implore you to stop the hand of Cain, enlighten our conscience, let not our will be done, do not abandon us to our own doing. Stop us, Lord, stop us, and when you have stopped the hand of Cain, take care of him also. He is our brother.
O Lord, stop the violence. Stop us, Lord. Amen.
Copyright © 2022 Catholic News Service, Inc. All rights reserved.
During these weeks before Easter we are encouraged to think about our beliefs and feelings about what we choose and what we do. We read in the Book of Jeremiah that Jeremiah was thrown into a deep dry well to die because he wouldn’t worship false gods…. in Daniel a dictator threw Hebrews into a furnace when they refused evil ways; a lady named Susanna would rather die than give in to lusty old men. …Daniel and Jeremiah summarize: "It is better for me to fall into a pit without guilt than to serve false gods."
During Lent, we are asked to think about our false Gods: hedonism, disbelief of Scripture, immorality, love of money, to the exclusion of helping others. Is it better to give up false gods than to sin before God? It is better to become Fire! May you realize the Holy Spirit is working very hard to get you to listen to Him! He is the Spirit of God and he wants your trust. Sunday is Palm Sunday! We still have time! God bless us!