REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Day Thirty-Nine of Lent
The Pietà
Consider how, after Our Lord had died, He was taken down from the cross by two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, and placed in the arms of His afflicted Mother. She received Him with unutterable tenderness and pressed Him close to her bosom. (Thirteenth Station of the Cross, by Saint Alphonsus Liguori)
Our Blessed Mother was no longer standing before the foot of the Cross, gazing at her Son. Instead, Jesus’ body was laid in her arms and she held Him close to her Immaculate Heart.
Though this was a moment of profound sorrow at the death of Jesus, it was also a moment of profound intimacy. As our Blessed Mother held the body of her Son, she knew it was not the end. Though her heart was pierced deeply, she knew that her pain would turn into joy. She was relieved that His earthly suffering was over, but her relief began to turn into hope and anticipation as she pondered His death and future Resurrection.
As our Blessed Mother held her Son close, she would have reflected upon Jesus’ words spoken so often in His public ministry: “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 17:22-23). She was witnessing His words come true. She knew that just as His prophecy regarding His death came true, so also His prophecy regarding His Resurrection would come true. “On the third day,” He said. Our Blessed Mother knew that her pain would soon be turned into joy as she began her vigil in anticipation of her Son’s Resurrection.
As our Blessed Mother held her Son close, she would have reflected upon Jesus’ words spoken so often in His public ministry: “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 17:22-23). She was witnessing His words come true. She knew that just as His prophecy regarding His death came true, so also His prophecy regarding His Resurrection would come true. “On the third day,” He said. Our Blessed Mother knew that her pain would soon be turned into joy as she began her vigil in anticipation of her Son’s Resurrection.
In most of our lives, we will face events that tempt us to despair. These events may be small encounters in our relationships with others that leave us feeling hopeless, discouraged and disappointed. At other times, we may encounter grave and tragic events that seem to leave us in utter desperation. The meaning of the Pieta, our Blessed Mother cradling the dead body of her Son, can never be exhausted. It’s an image of hope in the midst of seeming hopelessness. It’s an image of love that conquers all fear. It’s an image of faith in the perfect plan of God no matter what comes.
Reflect, today, upon this tender image of our Blessed Mother with the sacred body of her divine Son resting in her lap. Reflect upon her pain and sorrow. Ponder also her faith in the promise of her Son, her hope in the fulfillment of that promise, and her love which enabled her to press on through her own grief. There is much we can learn from our Blessed Mother. Her heart, in particular, was one that shone brightly with the perfection of every virtue. She is a pillar of grace and strength surrounded by suffering. She is an example for all.
PRAYER
My dearest Mother, I can only try to imagine the sorrow you felt as you held your Son close to your Immaculate Heart. But I know that your sorrow was also mixed with hope as you anticipated the fulfillment of His promise. In faith, you knew this grief was not the end.
My loving Mother, strengthen my hope in the transformation of all sin and suffering in my life. As I encounter the hardships of life, pray for me that I may never despair. May I follow your example of faith, hope and love always. Please hold me close to your Immaculate Heart and pray that I may share in the Resurrection of your divine Son.
My dear Jesus, all earthly wisdom could not understand the meaning of Your suffering and death. By Your complete annihilation, You conquered the ruler of this world and destroyed his power over my life. May I see in this image of Your dead body a promise of Your Resurrection. As I encounter struggles in life, give me hope and trust that final victory is always found in You.
40 Days Journey with Our Lord
Day Thirty-Nine: Death
Good Friday
Death is frightening only if one dies without faith in God. Though Jesus’ death was excruciatingly painful, He was not afraid. He faced His cross with hope and joy, knowing that it would win for many the gift of eternal life.
Death is required of us in two ways. One death comes at the end of our earthly lives when we will receive our particular judgment and be rewarded or condemned in accord with God’s perfect justice and mercy.
The other form of death that is required of us is ongoing and will be the determining factor in our particular judgment. Recall Jesus’ words to His disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24–25).
Are you willing to die? Are you willing to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow our Lord into your own Good Friday? Pure love is always sacrificial. It’s not an emotion or good feeling. The form of love in which Jesus invites us to participate requires that we die to our own wills and sacrificially give ourselves to others in accord with God’s will.
Sacrifice initially hurts. That is the Cross. But the more we live sacrificially, the more we love. And the more we love, the more we will be driven to give ourselves sacrificially and take great delight in it. We must love to die and die to love. All selfishness must be purged from our actions, making us a total and selfless gift to others in accord with God’s will. One thing Good Friday should teach us is that the perfection of love can have no bounds. There is no limit to how much we must love. Love requires the total sacrifice of our lives.
A perfect icon of love that is placed before us today is our Blessed Mother. John’s Gospel says, “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala” (John 19:25). By standing at the foot of the Cross and gazing at her crucified Son, the love in the Immaculate Mother Mary’s heart expanded beyond comprehension.
It was there that she fully consented to her Son’s death and offered herself to the Father’s will in union with her Son’s offering. What went through her mind as she stood there those three hours? Perhaps more than we can imagine. Most importantly, what went through her Immaculate Heart was the perfection of love. Her role at the Cross was to love Jesus with a perfect love. Jesus was keenly aware of that love and permitted Himself to receive the consolation of her love as He suffered and died.
The Blessed Mother’s love was made manifest through sacrifice, suffering, and death. Likewise, our love will become more nearly perfect only if we permit sacrifice, suffering, and death to transform our hearts and make them more like Christ’s Heart and His mother’s.
Ponder this scene of pure and unfathomable love that mother and Son shared in the midst of excruciating sacrifice, suffering, and death. Pray that you will be drawn into their Sacred and Immaculate Hearts. Bathe in the mercy that bursts forth from those hearts, and be strengthened to live in union with them.
PRAYER
Most Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary, to ponder Your hearts is to ponder the incomprehensible. The depth of love You both bore at the moment of the crucifixion was the climax of human perfection. No love was ever stronger, no compassion ever deeper, no mercy ever greater. Please draw me into the love of Your Hearts so that my life will share in the Sacrifice of the Cross. Mother Mary, pray for me.
Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Source: mycatholiclife